Hotels in Indianapolis Skyrocket for Super Bowl Weekend

December 20, 2011

Visitors to Indianapolis over the Super Bowl weekend better get their credit cards ready. That’s because renting a hotel room in and around the city is going to cost them up to 2000% more than usual according to a new survey by CheapHotels.org.

A scarcity of rooms is the culprit behind this price gouging. As a contingency for hosting the big game, Indianapolis blocked off 18,300 hotel rooms in 141 hotels in and around the city for the National Football League. All of this occurred months ago, forcing many establishments to experience no vacancies long before Indy visitors could firm up their travel plans.

For those who demand the convenience of closeness, a few hotel rooms are still available in the near vicinity. The caveat is, they are super pricey. The Quality Inn & Suites, for instance, a 2 star hotel about 9 miles from downtown Indianapolis, will go for $1000 the night before the Super Bowl. Normally the same room costs $60 a night. That difference is the equivalent of a 1500% rate hike.

Even budget hotels on the outskirts of town are taking advantage of desperate travelers. The Knights Inn Indianapolis Airport, for example, is charging a whopping $800 a night in early February. That figure represents nearly 2000% more than the normal rate of $39.

Even hiking it to the wider Indianapolis vicinity won’t eliminate price hikes completely. Rates there are still going for about triple their usual fare. The cheapest rate found in a 20-mile radius is the Quality Inn of Noblesville, where rooms there are listed at $300 (versus the usual $100).

To break the $150 limit, hotel stayers will have to commute at least an hour into Indy. Bloomington and Lafayette are bargain priced in comparison but still double their going rate. And those travelers who refuse to fall victim to price gouging altogether will have to trek to the 90- mile circumference of Indianapolis. Hotels in Terre Haute and Richmond are the nearest ones offering their normal rates.

The following table shows available hotels in Indianapolis and the vicinity for overnight February 12 into February 13 (Super Bowl) as well as their rates for a standard double room. In determining regular rates, we took the rate for the same room one week later. All prices shown reflect the best rate we were able to find after comparing the leading hotel booking sites: Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz.