The Best Way to Get a Great Hotel Deal for Lollapalooza Chicago

Many music festivals in summer attract masses from various countries. Some festival provides particular camping areas where attendees can build their tent for a quick nap during the festival. It’s one of the cheapest options for budget travelers who want to party and needs to find a place for a few days but doesn’t want to overspend. However, Lollapalooza Chicago never has a camping site because the music festival happens in the heart of downtown Chicago - in the historic Grand Park. That’s why there are only a few options for where you can stay: individually find a hotel or choose one of the Lollapalooza Chicago suggested hotels, stay in a hostel or rent an Airbnb apartment. Let’s check how much each option costs and how can you be sure that you found a good deal. 

Please note that prices were checked between 8 am - 10 am on the 24th of March. Usually, people go to music festivals with a friend or in a group. So I decided to check hotel prices for a 4-day event for 2 people. 

Staying at Lollapalooza Chicago suggested hotel vs Your Chosen Hotel

On the official website of Lollapalooza Chicago, there is a list of several suggested hotels not far away from the venue and supporting the festival. Most of the time, event organizers agree with some hotels to give a reasonable price for their customers. And it often works really well, but only sometimes. That’s why I highly recommend checking the price before blindly taking the first offer.

For example, I check one of the hotels Lollapalooza Chicago has on its hotel booking list. The hotel price is for 2 people, and taxes are included. All good. 

However, I wondered if it was the best price I could get from the travel market. I had no thrill of overspending my time in opening each booking site manually, so of course, I used RatePunk - the best hotel price comparison you can find in the world. And guess what; there definitely was the better deal that Lollapalooza Chicago's official site suggested. 

If I had blindly booked the room on the first site, I would have paid $1263.22, while RatePunk showed that the same room on a different provider's site cost $1143 plus free cancellation. I checked for hidden fees, so no worries- taxes are included in the price. So by using this free browser extension, you can save $120.22. I don't know how about you, but to me, it is much. Of course, hotel prices differ, so sometimes you can find a provider who offers cheap hotel rooms than others, or everyone offers the same prices at the market. However, still- it's worth trying. Moreover, RatePunk has a rebooking feature, so you can activate this function to get a notification if the price drops and once again save more money.  Super user-friendly travel tool! 

Important reminder. If you are considering booking a hotel, you must do it ASAP, and I’ll explain why. The Congress Plaza Hotel is the closest hotel to the festival, just a few steps from the park entrance. Sadly enough, on the 24th of March, all hotel booking sites showed that this hotel had no accessible rooms. So again, it confirms that people book hotels for special occasions as soon as possible. 

Take Your Naps at a Hostel 

If you're a budget-conscious traveler looking for lodging options during Lollapalooza and staying at the hotel even with your friend is a bit too pricey- the HI Chicago Hostel is an excellent choice. It is located near Grand Park, and the price is lower than staying at the hotel. While it may mean sharing a dorm room with up to nine others, still you’ll get a cheaper deal (including taxes) than staying in a hotel. However, booking early is essential as beds at this popular hostel sell out quickly during the festival.

Even for finding a hostel, I recommend using RatePunk. This time even if it didn’t show a cheaper offer than I found, it showed which provider included breakfast and free cancellation at the same price. 

Staying on Airbnb Rentals 

The last option for accommodation is staying on Airbnb. It's a really great option, especially if you travel with your buddies. However, if you are alone or with friends, staying on Airbnb might not be the best choice in choosing accommodation. While I was working on the accommodation research for the Lollapalooza Chicago festival, the most affordable Airbnb accommodation near the venue was $740. And again RatePunk showed that the same (!) accommodation costs $99 less on Booking than on Airbnb. You got me right! RatePunk works even on Airbnb. The one difference is that it suggests similar accommodation from hotel booking sites to your chosen Airbnb rental. You reconsider staying in a hotel rather than Airbnb for several reasons: fees are too high compared to hotels, Airbnb creates difficulties for locals in finding rentals, there are no pampering services such as room service, etc. You can find out more about it in our latest article. 

To sum up, the price of your accommodation during the Lollapalooza Chicago Festival depends on your budget and requirements (privacy, cost, or services). Nevertheless, all cases showed that RatePunk might help you ensure that you pay a reasonable price and not overpay. 

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