Hi, I will be traveling to Zermatt via Zurich on 2/7. I am a student and looking for budget accomodations for 1 person for 2 nights. The one hostel that was recommended is already booked. There was one place that sounded really great called the Alpenstern for about $57 US but they only do bookings for a Sat to Sat stay. Any recommendations?

You might try Hotel Weisshorn or Tannenhof. I think they both have websites and are similarly priced, but I'm not sure the details in winter. Good luck!

The problem is many hotel require minimum 1 week stay in winter ski season. If everything fails, try to call or e-mail Zermatt tourist office. From my experience, they are helpful and have the sort of info you are looking for. It really is not a easy time to book. Perhaps will you even consider staying in Taesch ? From Taesch it's a 10-minute shuttle train ride to Zermatt.

Thanks everyone for your prompt replies. I just completed booking a double room at the Hotel Garni Testa Grigia for CHF66/night/person. Which is an awesome rate. I also booked a single room fro CHF 78 for 2 nights. My friend will join me on the 2/10.
Funny thing that happened when I was trying to book a room at the hotel garni cima. I called him on Sunday at about 11/00 pm Swiss time and he told me to call him again. I called him again at about 11:00am Swiss time and he gruffly said he would hold the room but when I attempted to conform the price listed CHF 50 for a single and CHF 60 for a double he gave a much higher rate for the single. When I asked about the new price he said okay, "I cancel the reservation" and hung up. Pretty crazy, huh?

irmbee, nice to hear you have booked a hotel (2* as I see it) at the great rate. And the hotel is really centrally located. Perhpas 3 minutes walk from the railway station on the main street? How did you find this hotel?

I went to www.zermatt.ch. Click on lodgings and off to the right click on direct reservations. I found that checking availability did not help. Its best to just click on list of hotels and go to the 2 and 3 stars, check availability and send them an e-mail.
I found that some places such as the Hotel Alpina and the Hotel Alfa initially were charging for a single CHF 59 and CHF 75 respectively, however the rate went up to CHF 80 and CHF 90's, respectively, once I inquired about reserving a room.
I'm just so glad I was able to reserve such a highly recommended place for such a reasonable amount and kind of last minute.