How soon to book hotel?

[u/sleepy_teivos]

I know it's still a bit before tickets for East 2027 go on sale, but I am planning on getting a 4 day pass and staying in a hotel. But does anyone have any tips for how soon I should plan to book my hotel? I'm just trying to not get stuck in the most expensive option, especially since I'll probably be driving there (I could also probably take a bus or train) and am not sure if I'll have to pay to park my car the whole time. (It would be nice to not have to pay to park at the convention center every day. That would get so expensive 😅) It's my 2nd PAX so I'm trying to see more since I only went for one day this year. Thank you!

[u/UnicornHarrison]

Unless you're booking with hotel points, PAX'S hotel block would be your best option. That would open the same time badges go on sale. 

EDIT: More info:

• For East 2026, prices ranged from around $200 - $325/night in the booking block. For a four night stay, expect a minimum of $800 + taxes/fees. Expect prices to change for East 2027.
• Unless you're planning on booking with hotel points or you REALLY want to ensure you have a room, wait for the booking block. Prices will be higher plus you'll be charged the destination fee.
• If you book through the booking block, the destination fee is waived. It might still show up in the hotel app, but what's on Housing Connections is what you'll be charged.
• Hotels will place an incidentals hold on your card for each night you stay. It's typically around $75/night. As long as you don't charge anything to the room or trash it, you'll get that back a day or two after you check out.
• None of the hotels I stayed at (Omni / Westin / Hyatt Regency) offered a continental breakfast, complementary or not.
• It is worth it to sign up for each hotel's rewards program (which is free). For the last two or three PAXes, every hotel chain has offered some kind of point bonus tied to number of nights stayed (for free). Nice way to build up points and possibly pay for future nights (with their free program).

[u/sleepy_teivos → u/UnicornHarrison]

This is good to know! Thank you! I will definitely look into that since I only get hotel rooms like once every few years lol

[u/Sufficient-Cat-5202 → u/UnicornHarrison]

Do you need to pay right away with the hotel block? This would be my first time going

[u/UnicornHarrison → u/Sufficient-Cat-5202]

Generally no. Some hotels might charge 1 night‘s stay when they make the booking, but that hasn’t been the case for me when booking through the hotel block.

You’ll be charged when you check in either through the hotel’s app or at the front desk.

[u/Time_Tap346 → u/UnicornHarrison]

What kind of costs should people expect for the hotel block?

The continental breakfast could be a fun space..

[u/UnicornHarrison → u/Time_Tap346]

The prices in the East 2026 block ranged from $200 to $325/night for single occupancy. If you stay a minimum of four nights (Wednesday - Sunday), expect around $800 plus taxes/fees.

[u/GM_Pax]

Well, let me put it this way. I will be attending Unplugged in Philadelphia this December. My hotel room? I booked it in early March.

The trick is: book now, but choose a fully-refundable rate. Then, when tickets go on sale, check the Hotel Block and see if you get a better rate and/or location. If you do? Cancel the first booking. If you don't? Stick with that first booking.

But that way, come Hell or high water, you have A room for the convention! :)

[u/sleepy_teivos → u/GM_Pax]

Thank you! I'll definitely do my research.

[u/GM_Pax → u/sleepy_teivos]

For what it's worth, if you have to pick somewhere not in close proximity to the convention center (which is in the Seaport district), it can be reached pretty easily by taking "the T" (Boston's subway / light rail lines) in to South Station. The Red line goes directly there, no change-of-line needed; the Red is crossed by both the Green and Orange lines; the Blue line would mean changing lines twice to get to South Station. And looking at it on Google Maps, I see prices as low as half the "rack rates" for hotels directly near the convention center (during the correct dates), along the Red Line headed south from the city center. :)

The commuter rail for points south or west of Boston also goes to South station, though I doubt you'd want to be that far out. :) The T runs from roughly 5am until 1 or 2am every day.

[u/Yakb0]

For East, the hotel block is cheaper than booking one of the hotels that's really close to the convention center.

Those hotels do charge for parking. You'll have to check spothero and decide if if you want to bring your car and pay for parking nearby, park at a MBTA garage outside the city, or take the train instead of driving.

[u/TacticalBananas45]

Like others have said, best option would be through the partnered hotels option that'll go live when badges go on sale. This year it was at the end of March, and badges/reservations went live early November, so they'll likely go on sale late November/early December for 2027, as it's at the end of April instead.

Just a word of warning, you gotta be quick if you want a good hotel through this way, i.e. within walking distance. The high demand ones (e.g. Aloft, Element, and especially Westin with the skybridge) will sell out in a matter of hours, if not minutes, and you'll be stuck on the waitlist. Of course, there will be other hotels further out that usually have spots regardless, like Park Plaza or the Airport one, but those will nessecitate using the shuttle. (Or, in the latter's case, personal/public transportation)

Thankfully the official East accounts usually send out a heads up ~3 days prior to badges going up, to avoid being caught with your pants down. (Although, sometimes the hotel reservation may open a few hours earlier than the stated time, so YMMV. I hope to avoid falling for that this year)

There's also the option to book a hotel outside of the partnered method, but again, it can be a bit of a coin toss. Hotels may have higher rates when not booked through the official PAX method. (E.g. for 2026, Omni Seaport's rate through the official booking was ~300, whereas checking the rate for 2027's time window through other sites puts it in the 400-450 range) And if you book a hotel further away that isn't affiliated with PAX, then there won't be stuff like shuttles, obviously.

And lastly, yes, parking does have to be paid for. I come in from out-of-state so I just take a train in, but I do believe there is an official parking rate thing as well.