If you’re heading to big anime and cosplay conventions in another state (or maybe in another country), it’s expected that you have to book a hotel to stay for the entire weekend. These places tend to fill up so fast especially during convention season. Now the question is: how do you get cheap accommodations during the convention season.

I have asked a lot of people with their experiences on this topic (as well as sharing mine) so right now, here are some very useful tips to be able to get accommodations on cheap.

Book a Hotel Early

The secret to cheaper accommodations is booking your rooms early. A lot of hotels actually accept bookings a year ahead. If ever they do offer that, then expect the prices of the rooms to be cheaper than the standard on regular days. So this should be your first option.

We would also recommend that you get hotels that are just a few walks away or one ride away to the venue of the convention that you’re going. So you wouldn’t have to even worry much on spending on transportation.

Stay in a Group

This is usually the common practice—you go with a group and book in the same large room. As early as now, you can go ask your friends (or ask in social media) if they will be going to the same convention as you so that maybe you can plan out and book a huge room for all of you. Usually, hotels have dormitory style or huge group rooms where more then 5 people can be in one room. If you guys will be doing a cosplay group in the upcoming convention, then this option is highly recommended if you want to stay with the squad.

Wait for Discounts and Promos

Hotels have discounts and promos all year round. You are able to save a lot on your accommodations for the whole weekend, and the good thing here is there are no excess fees or miscellaneous fees to pay. The first thing you need to do is to follow the official social media pages on these hotels or subscribe to their e-mail newsletter, then you wait for those announcements to roll in.

Book on the Convention’s Affiliated Hotels

Usually, conventions partner up with nearby hotels so that would be easier for their attendees to get better deals. You can try booking rooms in these affiliated hotels because they might have freebies and other cool offers that you can’t find in any hotel.

So that’s about it! We hope you will be enjoying your next convention soon and have fun with the events and with the people you meet!