Austin Jacks Up Hotels Rates by as Much as 500% this Mid-March for SXSW and Rodeo

March 6, 2013

A visit to the South by Southwest® (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas is going to cost out-of-town music, film and tech buffs. That's because hotels in and around Austin are jacking up their rates substantially in response to the annual music and film festival. That is the finding of a new survey by Cheaphotels.org. Travelers can expect to see these rate hikes beginning around Friday, March 8, when the festival commences, and running through March 17.

But SXSW isn't the only event to blame for the city's expensive mid-March hotel prices. Rodeo Austin, which begins the same day and runs concurrently, will also draw huge crowds into Austin. As a result of these two distinct sets of visitors, hotel rooms in the city will be sky high. Because the rodeo will last a week longer than SXSW, running through March 23, Austin travelers can expect the entire middle of March to be a pricey proposition.

It shouldn't come as a surprise then that the first weekend of these two coinciding events has rendered downtown Austin virtually sold out. In fact, if they haven't yet secured a room, travelers' only remaining option is a few high-end rooms that will set them back $500 per night. If they venture out to the Austin suburbs, they will find more available rooms to pick from, but they'll still pay about triple what they normally would. And some accommodations will be gouging last-minute planners even more.

A slightly greater number of hotel rooms are available during the week and on the second weekend of the music and film festival, but even then their rates are still at least double regular prices. The good news is that cost-conscious travelers will be able to find a budget hotel room during this timeframe for less than $200 nightly, even in downtown Austin. Rodeo visitors will find more reasonable rates during the last week of the event, when South by Southwest attendees have cleared out of the city. If they want to save money, they should plan on attending the rodeo from March 18 onward.

The table that follows lists the 10 hotels in Austin with the highest price hikes during the SXSW festival. Prices mainly reflect rates for the first weekend of the festival (March 8–10). Regular rates reflect rates for the same room during the period spanning April 5–7.

Name of Hotel	Room Type	Regular	SXSW
Super 8 Austin/Airport South	Queen	$107	$647
Homewood Suites Austin Aboretum	King 2 Doubles	$129	$499
Hampton Inn Austin-NW/Arboretum	Standard	$115	$409
Holiday Inn Express Austin South/	2 Queen	$119	$384
Austin Marriott South	Deluxe	$154	$452
Super 8 Austin University	2 Queen	$84	$240
Fairfield Inn Austin North	Queen Room	$129	$299
Extended Stay Town Lake	2 Double	$130	$270
Holiday Inn Austin-NW Plaza	Standard	$151	$360
Holiday Inn Austin -Town Lake	Standard	$188	$399