My sister and I were in Paducah for the quilt show this year, and DH was able to book us one room with two queen size beds ($177) back in Jan or Feb; so I considered us lucky to have gotten ANY hotel room that late for the upcoming quilt show. But I am not sure if I would want to book a whole year in advance (or perhaps, yes, because of 7 or 8 people in your party). My question here is, are you sure of the dates for next year's show? Whatever, what you go through to get here will be worth it in my estimation. Even though the show is huge, and you have a hard time getting around to all the venues and shows and classes, it is well worth attending the Paducah show.

Just a note in passing, we just happened to catch a show in Louisville, KY sometime last fall, that was a smaller version of Paducah, which I thoroughly enjoyed because of the smaller size. We were able to book late (it might not be such a popular show) and still able to attend a couple of the classes and the vendors were much more accommodating (not so crowded that they couldn't give you some one-on-one time); but they didn't have Ricky Tims either, so that made Paducah my favorite of the two.

Many quilters book hotels for just over the river in Metropolis, IL. I would call the hotels and find out if they will be offering transport to the show.
When there is a quilt show here, most all of the hotels offer round trip transport to the show.

All the hotels price gouge during the Paducah show. We paid 125 + tax for a total of 146, for a room that normally goes for 65

Is is kind of tricky.. If you stay somewhere you have first choice for the next year. Most of the hotels, motels, cabins etc will not let you book until after about May 14/15. We have stayed at Kentucky Lake Dam Lodge, they have nice cabins. You may have to stay about 25/30 miles out.. Also at Grand Rivers there is Lighthouse Landing or something like that they have cute cabins right on the lake... Just go online and look up lodging for paducah and surrounding areas... You will love it. We used to go in a group and had a blast. Most places require you to put up at the price of one night to reserve. Some don't