Hotel room prices in New Orleans skyrocketing ahead of Super Bowl weekend
According to a recent report, Super Bowl fans will have to pay at least three times the normal cost for a hotel room in New Orleans.
With over two months to go until game day, hotel rates are skyrocketing for the Super Bowl weekend between February 1 and 4, according to data released this week from travel website Cheaphotels.org.
The report shows that only around a dozen hotels in New Orleans and its surroundings currently have rooms available. On average, these hotels have increased their rates by 304 percent.
The survey also found that the Holiday Inn West Bank Tower is currently offering the most expensive rate. Located in the city's business center, the average cost of a room in the hotel is $109 per night. However the cost has increased by 403 percent to a total of $549 per night over the Super Bowl weekend.
According to the survey, the low-budget Midtown Hotel located in the suburbs of the city, which normally offers rooms for $65 a night, is charging $449, 590 percent more than the usual cost, for those dates.
With the current rates, Super Bowl fans who have not already booked ahead will have to spend between $300 and $400 for an overnight stay in the city or its suburbs. According to the survey, guests wanting to stay in one of the available hotels need to commit to at least three nights and in some of the cases to five nights.
It is not unusual to see hotel prices sky rocketing for a Super Bowl event. Last February Fox News reported that hotel rates in Indianapolis during the Super Bowl weekend reached $2,000 a night, compared to a basic price of $150.
Besides the fact that American football is one of the most popular sports in the US, this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the NFL (National Football League) blocks hotel rooms a year in advance.
As Barbara Adams from Cheaphotels.org explains: "The vast majority of hotel rooms (in New Orleans) are currently blocked by the NFL", adding "as in previous years, some of these rooms are expected to be released close to the Super Bowl. Hence, more reasonable-priced hotel rooms should become available."
