Finding Accommodation for Festival Time

If you are looking to head to a popular festival, it can often be hard to find accommodation that meets your needs and allows you to keep to your budget. Here are two ways to look for hotels or other accommodation, even if you cannot find anything available through the normal accommodation websites and tourist centre listings in the festival locations. 

Try contacting the festival organisers

Some festivals will have arrangements with local accommodation providers to provide accommodation for festival goers, or they might be able to give you some tips on how to look for alternative potential accommodation options. This could involve staying in less-traditional accommodation such as camping or staying at a bed and breakfast that may not have a website. Often festival organisers keep a register of these accommodation options that is only available to the guests and/or participants. This can be a particularly good option if you are heading to a location that is more rural and has very limited options, which can be the case with some remote Australia music and literary festivals that are a little out of the way.

Staying in the same accommodation can also be a great way to meet other festival-goers and share rides to and from the venues. 

Post on the social media streams of the festival 

If you have left it to the last minute, you might feel like there are not many options left for accommodation. However, there are often festival goers whose plans have fallen through in the opposite way, including people who can't make it or who need someone to take a room in a shared house for a night or two to manage costs. It can be worth asking on the social media streams of the festival and mentioning that you are looking for last-minute accommodation; be sure to mention your budget. Again, this can be a way to meet with new friends or find some accommodation that you might not be able to find on the standard accommodation sites for the area. Be sure to get confirmation from the accommodation provider so you can be sure that you will be able to stay there and that you won't be turned away for not having matching identification to the initial booking details. 

If you are looking to go to a popular festival, it can make sense to look at a range of options to help you find the best accommodation.