It should not shock anyone to realize that special events bring higher room rates for hotels. When the special events are likely once-in-a-lifetime events, the rates may seem out of reality. The Olympic Games are no stranger to gouging by businesses in and near the events either - unless they are help in a city like Los Angeles, where there are SO many hotels that it would be impossible NOT to find a reasonable rate if you really looked.
But when they come to smaller cities or are scattered around different cities, it is not as easy to get a decent rate. This would appear to be the case for Vancouver B.C. in the next Olympics. Not a small city but not a Chicago or Montreal either. So one should expect somewhat pricey accommodations (don't get mad at the hotels, get mad at the people who PAY the higher prices!) around the Olympic time and that is what I see now.
A tour company in Canada is suggesting 5-6 hotels and motels and it appears that hotels are going for about $300 per night and up. Some of the ones listed here (like the Ramada or Howard Johnson) have '6-7 night packages for pretty much $2950 (What a surprise. They are ALL quoting $2950!) which works out to about $400 + per night! In contrast, the same Howard Johnson on Expedia is $137 in July 09 and the same Ramada Inn is $155.
If you read my book discussing how and when to book reservations, you would recall that hotels dangle rates they would LIKE to get until they reach a point where either panic sets in and they slash rates or they sell out and become unavailable. If I intended to partake of the Olympics and faced the dilemma of booking early (at high rates) or waiting to see if rate come down, I would wait and watch rates. But I would also search for hotels/motels about 5-10 miles out of town and seeing if their rates are more amenable to me. If I had to pay $3000 for just a bed, I would look into 2 other options as well. Short-term apartment rentals (where at least you could dine in and save another $1000) or house swaps. There HAVE to be people in Vancouver who want to get away from the area during the Olympics and if you have something worthwhile to offer (like you live in New York, Miami, San Francisco for instance) or a large house to swap, you might be able to just pay your rent or mortgage as normal and save thousands.
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