How Much Are Fans Spending on a Hotel Room for Super Bowl 50?

by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 9:15 AM ET, Fri February 5, 2016

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

Travelers headed to Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara are likely prepared to pay extra for their stay. But thanks to data from online hotel search site trivago.com, now they can see exactly how much extra.

From Santa Clara to San Francisco, the average nightly hotel price for this upcoming weekend is hefty, ranging from $570 in Palo Alto to $733 in Sunnyvale. However, the average clicked price by trivago users in those cities is much less.

For example, in Santa Clara, the average clicked price was $534 per night compared to an average city price of $670 per night. But the biggest savings by far were achieved by guests booking hotel rooms in Mountain View, California, roughly eight miles outside of Levi's Stadium. The average clicked price for hotels there was $187 per night compared to an average city price of $636 per night, representing a savings of $449 per night.

Overall, the average clicked price for each of the five cities trivago.com analyzed is at least $136 less than the average hotel price for the city for the upcoming weekend of Feb. 6-8, 2016.

"Although hotel rates typically shoot up around the time of major sporting events, many travelers are still searching for deals and budget-friendly options, as we can see by the much lower clicked prices," trivago.com spokeswoman Samantha Fanelli said in a statement.

Regardless of their proximity to the stadium, though, prices at hotels throughout the Bay Area have spiked significantly ahead of Sunday's showdown on the gridiron. Hotels 10-20 miles away from Levi's Stadium have seen the biggest jump, rising 138 percent from an average of $199 per night last weekend to an average of $473 per night Super Bowl weekend.

Average prices for hotels 20-30 miles outside of the stadium have also more than doubled.

But even nightly prices at hotels located 30-40 miles from the stadium have climbed 77 percent compared to the previous week.

"No matter if your hotel is walking distance to the stadium, or a 20 minute drive away, travelers will be looking at steep price increases of more than $200 a night on average," added Fanelli.

Given the inflated prices, it's no wonder that trivago.com found many travelers prioritizing affordability above luxury. Two-star hotels are the most searched in Santa Clara, while three-star properties are the most popular in San Jose.

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