<p>I booked a hotel room for move-in weekend at the end of August and got a pretty good price. I thought it might be a good idea to book parents weekend while I was thinking about it and before all the other freshman parents beat me to the nearby locations (I’m so sneaky) but when I browsed for places at the end of September, the prices were higher. Could it be because it’s when the leaves turn in the Virginia mountains where son’s college is located? Or are they higher because I’m looking 5 months out? I can’t use priceline because I may not be able to go but I’m wondering if I should just wait another month and take a chance on not getting as close to the college but perhaps getting a better deal. I’ve been looking on side-step. The place that I just paid $88 for two weeks ago is now $112+. For my daughters college we learned to book parents weekend as soon as we knew the date because of the scarity of nearby hotels or bed and breakfasts. Suggestions?</p>
<p>hotels near my daughters school will give you a special rate if you say you are going to a college event- you might ask if the college has something similar.
It is interesting rates are higher in fall than summer- but if the area has more tourists then, that could be an explanation
with the hotels where we stay, I book over the phone but don’t pay, then when we check in, they give me a better rate</p>
<p>I’m not sure why the prices would be higher in September than in August. The fall leaves won’t be turning by the end of September in Virginia so I doubt that that is the reason. I second EK’s recommendation to check with the school to see if they can recommend a hotel, which is close and which will give you a good rate for parents’ weekend. There’s almost always a few in the area of every college which will do this.</p>
<p>I’m sure the colleges in the area are well aware of the school calender and will charge accordingly. The higher prices in September could be just for parents weekend (the hotel right across the street from the football stadium at my school has a fairly significant price increase for home game weekends. Some hotels will give you a special rate if you have a student at the school, so that’s worth looking into.</p>
<p>I do feel stupid. I think I have actually give that piece of advice to people doing college visits. I was too busy searching for internet deals to think about using the old fashioned telephone and calling the hotels directly. Thanks for the reminder!</p>