A friend of mine is flying from Switzerland to Chicago to run the marathon in October.

He does not want to pay $300 for a hotel room near the start line (Grant Park).

I am wondering what the best approach would be for him to save some money. I see he could get a cheaper room out by OHare and take the blue line into the city. But I am afraid he will be bored to tears sequestered out at the airport.
He will be in Chicago for 3 days, and he does not drive.

Is this scenario the best? Does anyone have any other suggestions for an economical room near public transport?
He needs to be at the race start line by 7:30 Sunday morning.

I do not have a specific hotel recomendation but I can say that staying by O'Hare is not the best idea. If he will only be here for 3 days it is best to stay in the city itself and take taxis or walk.

I agree that with three nights I would stay in the city. It is possible to find more budget-friendly hotels in the city if he doesn't mind doing some searching. I usually check out travelocity or orbitz and usually find pretty good deals.

Tracy

I'm not sure what the hotel availability situation will be like anywhere in the downtown area that weekend, but most (all?) hotels will be close enough to public transportation to get him to the race pretty easily. We (family, including kids) stay at Homewood Suites when we visit Chicago; it's a block west of Michigan Ave. and about 1 block north of the river. Not only would he be bored out by the airport, but if he's anything like me, he'd be a nervous wreck about taking the El the morning of the race.

Don't stay at O'Hare. There are lots of mid-price hotels on the streets off N Michigan (Ontario St, Superior, Erie, N St Clair, Wacker). A hotel on any of these streets would be great. Or try one of the Days Inns (they may be full but are worth a try).

Contact the marathon organizers. They must have people available to help overseas runners - it's such a big event.

Whoever you contact, always ask them to recommend another place even if they are full. The knowledge of local people in the industry always helps.

You can also try the local, neighborhood chambers of commerce - (e.g., Lincoln Park, West Town, Old Town, Bucktown Wicker Park) - they should be able to make recommendations and help immensely.

Just mention the marathon and you will get help.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I cannot find anything downtown for less than $295 a night on that weekend! (Oct 20 – 23). I have tried Tripadvisor, Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Hotels.com.

I am afraid he will have to stay out in the suburbs. It would be cheaper to take a taxi in daily from Schaumburg than a $300 a night room. And he thinks Switzerland is expensive...

I will try the race organizers - great idea.

Any more thoughts?

Chicago is more expensive than usual that weekend precisely because it is the marathon weekend - that draws many out of town runners who all need someplace to sleep.

If your friend stays at a hotel near O'Hare that has a shuttle to the airport, he can get into the city using the blue line el for $2 each way, in about 45 minutes time. It's definitely not ideal, but it's feasible.

I'd recommend booking something in that neighborhood now that can be cancelled and keep searching.

One way to get a cheaper room is by bidding blind on priceline. Any hotel in the N. Michigan Ave. or Loop zones would be in a decent location for getting to the marathon and general sight-seeing. Here's a post at Bidding For Travel about bidding on priceline for non-US residents. Their FAQs about hotel bidding are a good place to start when figuring out how best to bid, and they can help with suggestions if you request help using their form.

http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelinean...opicID=6.topic

Bidding is only a good idea if his trip is firm. Once your bid is accepted, your credit card is charged, and there are no changes or cancellations allowed.

Also, as the time gets closer www.travelzoo.com may show some type of deal, and hotels may adjust their rates if they haven't met the expected occupancy rates.

Another area to check for potentially cheaper rates and easier access to central Chicago than by O'Hare would be Lincoln Park. There's a Days Inn there, and the Best Western Hawthorn Terrace, plus maybe others.

If you can post the exact dates of his trip, someone may be able to help with a more detailed search, but I wouldn't give up hope of a better deal this far in advance.

What about a hostel? I just saw this on Wild Chicago on the PBS station, looks great if he wouldn't mind dorm style sleeping arrangements.

Whoops...forgot to include the web link for the hostel in previous post.

http://www.hichicago.org/

I live in a Chicago suburb, and I get a Priceline hotel downtown at least once a year, sometimes two or three. I have done the Marathon weekend when my D-in Law ran. I have also gotten rooms then when everyone else said it was impossible. There are LOTS of hotels in LOOP, Michigan Ave., Water Tower, North areas of Chicago. LOTS OF THEM.

Go to Priceline, bid 4 star on Michigan Ave. secter pick only. You can't go wrong. You just can't. You may get Swissotel, Hyatt or any of the others mentioned. I would start at $70- put in your exact dates and go up from there. Of course, you will have to pay on a credit card, no cancellations, etc. due and paid immediately. If you are unsuccessful, wait the required lock out time and try again with a higher increment. I paid $93 when everyone else said it was impossible to get anything that weekend for under $200. That last time I got the Hotel Allegra because I had to end up going LOOP and 3 star instead. You could do that too.

4 star only is MORE than safe. Go.

I have heard that you can not do Priceline from certain countries. A Canadian just told me that they can not do it. If not, try www.hotwire.com and do 4 star Michigan Ave./Water Tower areas. It won't be as cheap but it might be close.

Do NOT stay near OHare or any other place while doing the marathon.

A point rarely raised in all this is that the Priceline or Hotwire taxes added are MUCH, MUCH less and internationally you don't get them added as you bought it through your own country's vendor. If you aren't successful with that, than try the Homewood Suites, Days Inn, Best Western etc. But they are probably full already for that Oct. weekend.

Do Priceline or Hotwire now. Do not wait.

Thanks everyone.

I emailed this thread to him.

He may go with the Hostel option as we spent several nights in similar circumstances on climbs in the alps, with no problems.

Although to do that experience the night before a marathon...we'll see how thrifty he really is.
Thanks again.

There is a Days Inn on Diversy in Lincoln Park - no frills but a good location (and not to far from the Red Line which he could take to/from the race) plus Lincoln Park is a lot of fun. http://www.lpndaysinn.com/index2.html

JJ5 - Canadians (and others outside the US) can use priceline, but they have to work around the system that is not set up to handle foreign addresses. The link I posted above gives details of how to do it.

Also, not sure why you recommend Michigan Ave. only. Especially for the marathon, a Loop hotel would probably be preferable (closer to the starting line), but even for your average tourist it's perfectly fine. No need to limit bidding to Michigan Ave., and might end up with something a bit cheaper if including both.

Queenie - Depending on budget, a hotel on priceline would certainly be infinitely more comfortable than a hostel. It would be more expensive than a shared bunk-style room with shared bath at the hostel, so if budget is that critical the hostel would be perfect.

I agree with you jlm mi, but I do this rec (Michigan Ave. only 4 star) because it most often works quickly and the concept is easier for a new bidder to get their mind around, and PLUS (for the more important reason) that I have had feedback from posters who have then actually accomplished it. First timers are scared with bidding and this makes it less "risky" in their own agendas for some reason.

But I do agree that you wouldn't go wrong with a 3 star or 4 star LOOP either. Lots of people get Hotel Allegro or Burnham doing this and they would be GREAT for the marathon logistics.

But for some reason they just think that that opens the door to too many scary options that they won't be able to refute after the fact.

Believe me, get him to do it NOW, Queenie. It's the fear of "something is going to be wrong" if it is that cheap.

It won't be.

And I did think that Canadians could get on the Priceline band wagon, but didn't want to argue with her. I will forward that link now, jlm mi, THANKS.

Queenie,

Have you tried priceline? My honey got $65 rooms at the Palmer House hotel in downtown before....and that's a great location.

Be careful with public transportation and a deadline early Sunday morning. I know the blue line to the airport runs 24/7 as does the red line. But a few of the lines don't start running until after 6:00am on Sunday mornings.

www.transitchicago.com

How about a youth hostel?

http://www.hichicago.org/

It is at Wabash and Congress (one block from Michigan ave, close to Grant Park)

Whoops...just saw isabellasu already posted the link.