Is the IAU registration fee too expensive?

Standing outside the conference door holding my poster and talking to people as they go in, I am getting a lot of praise for, without intending to, making a statement on the price of the registration fee. Paying $700 is hard even for people with grants, so I will start the discussion: Isn't there a way to have a conference without such high fees? Do we really need to have this fancy of a convention center? Even if we need a really big convention center for a few functions, do we really need it for so many days? 

This was not the statement that I had intended by standing outside, but I am glad if so many support me "begging for donations" as statement that this conference is too expensive. Still, I am very sad to have to miss all of your talks, even if you do get to see my presentation outside. 

So if you did not come to this site through the Facebook Astronomers page, please look through my other posts to find my "Let me inside" crowdfunding link, and then share it. I've removed the link from just this post because that page does not allow solicitations. But I suppose I can mention in this post that I am trying crowdfunding, not at a significant level from astronomers, but in hopes that my friends and colleagues can help me find larger sources of support.

What about holding most of the big meeting in schools rented throughout a city? Surely there are less expensive venues. If such venues are not now readily available, could scientists advertise that we are really looking for cities to find more reasonable ways to hold large scientific meetings. Many also comment on the expense of hotels in Honolulu, saying there is not a good choice of lower cost hotels. Perhaps some lower priced cities could see this as a way to get more business.

I suspect that the Hawaii Convention Center (HCC) does not want this brought up. I wonder if the AAS does not want this brought up. It is a beautiful building but it is a big expensive building that if you look at its schedule, it is not used much. I'm told that some Hawai'i taxpayers are upset about the use of so much state money being used to build it. 

I have a volunteer who I discussed this with on video -- please pardon that the interview got broken into two pieces:
Here on YouTube: Fees too high video, part 1 of 2  Fees too high video, part 2 of 2

Let's have a discussion on the cost of conferences and what might be done.