How To Score In-Demand Hotels During College Football Weekends

Heat up the grill and get your koozie ready — college football season is here. For out-of-town fans traveling to support their team, that fandom can be costly, with hotel room rates often seeing a dramatic increase in price during game day weekends. That increase can be even more extreme in smaller college towns with fewer hotels. But with a little planning, you can secure a room while keeping money in your pocket.

Here are five tips for scoring an in-demand hotel room during the college football season.

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1. Know the hotel reservation calendar

Most major hotel chains permit bookings between 350 and 395 days in advance. That means you can often book a game day weekend room for next season before the schedule is released (typically around January or February each year).

Don’t fret if the hotel you want gets instantly booked up. Cancellations happen, so keep checking if you don’t find immediate room availability. You can also call the hotel directly to see if they’ll add you to a waitlist.

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2. Book (many) months in advance

Hotel prices generally increase in the time leading up to game day weekend, as less-well prepared fans jockey for any remaining rooms. If you know you’re attending a game before the season starts, booking in advance can not only secure a hard-to-find room but also save you money. This is even more important in smaller college towns that lack the hotel infrastructure of bigger cities. Lower supply and higher demand will make a game day room in Auburn, Alabama or Athens, Georgia harder to find than in a bigger city like Los Angeles, Seattle or Atlanta.

If you’re planning to attend a game next season, preemptively book a room when the schedule gets released at the beginning of the year. If the hotel permits free cancellations and doesn’t require a deposit or prepayment, you can preemptively book a room for each weekend around the time of the season you want to catch a game, then cancel the rooms that don’t work once the schedule is released.

Both local boutique and chain hotels often have stricter cancellation penalties during periods of peak demand, which may include issuance of partial refunds or requiring you to pay for at least one night for cancellation within a certain period before your stay. Be sure to confirm the cancellation policy with the hotel before you book.

» Learn more: How to find and book a hotel

3. Use hotel loyalty points 

Using hotel points during expensive weekends can be a great way to get outsized value from your rewards. This is especially true for loyalty programs with a fixed award chart (like Wyndham Rewards and World of Hyatt) and not dynamic pricing, where the number of points required is based on the cash rate of the room.

For example, a game day weekend room at the Hyatt Place in Gainesville, Florida to see the Florida Gators play can cost up to an outrageous $850 per night. The same room can be booked with 15,000 World of Hyatt points, resulting in a redemption value of 5.7 cents per point. That’s way above the valuation of 2.2 cents per point that NerdWallet assigns World of Hyatt points.

The caveat is that it’s up to the hotel to accept award stays during high-demand periods. But if you can find a hotel that accepts points or free night certificates, that can lead to big savings when you visit your alma mater.

The easiest way to earn a slug of hotel points is through a credit card sign-up bonus. The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers new cardholders the following bonus: Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent. You’ll also earn a free night in a Category 1 to 4 hotel each cardholder anniversary year.

If the hotel where you want to book an award stay is at capacity, try using a tool like PointsYeah to alert you in real-time when a room becomes available.

» Learn more: How to choose the best hotel loyalty program for you

4. Use fan packages and travel agencies

Depending on the size of the school, alumni travel packages may be offered through the college or university that bundle game day tickets and a hotel stay. While this may not be as cost-effective as booking everything yourself, you’ll get a guaranteed room and a game ticket with minimal hassle.

Similar to what may be offered through the university, local travel agencies may specialize in getting people to and from game day. These companies, such as On Location and Uniglobe Travel, often partner with local hotels to provide packages inclusive of game tickets and lodging, and may even arrange for transportation to and from the airport if needed.

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5. Book in the neighboring town

If you really want to get to the game but can’t find a hotel near the stadium, check for hotel availability in a neighboring town. It won’t be as convenient, but prices may be lower and room availability may be more abundant. Before you book out-of-town, be sure to consider how long the drive will take when tens of thousands of fans hit the road after the game.