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Heat up the grill and get your koozie ready — college football season is here. And not only do people love college football, but they love traveling for it. According to a Priceline survey of more than 3,000 adults in the U.S. that was conducted in August and September 2025, 64% of travelers said they would enjoy visiting a college town. That figure is even more pronounced among younger people, as 70% of Millennials and Gen Z said they would travel specifically for a college game day.
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.
» Learn more: Best credit cards for sports fans and athletes
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.
» Learn more: The best way to use points for travel? Hotels
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, or if you want to stay at popular boutique hotels in college towns like the Graduate Hotels. 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 1.8 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.
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.
» Learn more: Do travel agents save you money?
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.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
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- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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