Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

Accommodation for Winter 2010 Olympics… A Status Update

If you are planning to attend the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games as a spectator, you may be wondering where to find accommodation in the Vancouver area.

In general, conventional booking engines will not accept hotel reservations more than twelve months in advance. Attempts to book a Vancouver hotel rooms on Expedia as of December 24, 2008 returned the error message “We can only accept dates that occur between 24/12/2008 and 19/11/2009. Please enter a new date.” Similar attempts using Travelocity returned much the same result.

There are, however, viable accommodation options for spectators wanting to book accommodations during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Your first option is to rent the home of a Vancouver-area resident. Not all Vancouver residents want to attend Olympic events in 2010. Many will prefer to escape (perhaps to warmer climates) during the 2010 Games.

What is a private rental likely to cost? Using a sample of about 200 listings from the website Rent 2010, local homeowners are seeking a nightly rate of about $350 (CAD) per bedroom (on average). A number of pro-active travelers have even placed Accommodation-Seeker listings of their own on Rent 2010, and on other popular websites such as Craigslist.

Your second option is to arrange for a hotel room through a reputable tour company. While conventional booking through Expedia and Travelocity are not yet possible, a handful of operators have managed to pre-arrange a limited number of rooms for their clients. A sample of hotel package rates can now be found at Rent 2010’s Hotel Info page.

As February 2010 is still more than a year away, travelers are advised to explore a range of accommodation options before making their bookings. Contact the hotel tour operators, speak to several Vancouver homeowners, and consider advertising your own needs pro-actively as an “accommodation-seeker”. Your early and thorough travel planning will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the Winter Games in 2010.

Tags: Accommodation, craigslist, hotels, rentals