If you're a football fanatic who feels compelled to attend Super Bowl LIV, you'd better get on the ball, because hotel availability is already dwindling and becoming increasingly pricey.
Even with the landmark game nearly eight months away, many of the larger hotels report that they are already fully booked for the days leading up to the event, according to a random survey of several high-profile hotels in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The game, which kicks off February 2, 2020, at Hard Rock Stadium, is expected to draw tens of thousands of out-of-state visitors.
A review conducted by the Super Bowl Host Committee in Atlanta following last year's Super Bowl revealed that attendance at its Super Bowl LIVE and "Super Bowl Experience" events topped 500,000, with around 5,800 members of the media having descended on the city from 23 countries. And, on February 4, 2019, the day most visitors left town, the TSA reported screening a record number of airport passengers in a single day: 101,999.
Among the establishments that have already declared "no vacancy" for dates surrounding the Super Bowl are the Biltmore in Coral Gables, the JW Marriott and Kimpton Epic in downtown Miami, and the Fontainebleau Hilton in Miami Beach.
Regarding the spike in hotel-room prices, Rolando Aedo, chief operating officer of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, "It's supply and demand - the prices of rooms will definitely change…The first quarter of each year has the highest room rates. Add a special event, and the prices go exponentially higher. This is a very common pattern. We've lived it for many years."
Aedo also cited several reasons for the shrinking supply of available accommodations. He said that around 15,000 are already under contract to the NFL and that a number of corporations have also picked up rooms for their own events, which are unrelated to the NFL.
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida announced last week that it will open its 450-foot, 35-floor, guitar-shaped hotel on October 24, 2019 with 638 rooms on offer. While reservations can be made online beginning July 24, 2019, the hotel has yet to determine room rates and availability for dates leading up to the Super Bowl.
Reportedly, those questions will be decided at a meeting of top executives next week, according to spokesman Gary Bitner. He did emphasize in his statement that the hotel wants to ensure accommodations will be made available for frequenters and loyal regulars of the hotel.
Don't wait until the last minute to make your Super Bowl travel plans or else your wallet will take quite the hit.
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