Comic-Con International has announced that this year’s San Diego Comic-Con Hotel Sale, also known by SDCC attendees as Hotelpocalypse, will take place on Thursday, April 11 at 9:00 am PT. Yep, that’s tomorrow. And they just announced it yesterday, giving attendees only 2 days’ notice!
If you are a badge holder for San Diego Comic-Con 2019, you should have received an email from CCI on April 9 around 4:13pm PT with info about the Hotel Sale and a link to the onPeak hotel reservation waiting room.
This year’s Hotel Sale will operate much like last year’s Hotel Sale, and similarly to SDCC badge sales, where you enter a waiting room before the sale begins, and are put into random order at the start of the sale regardless of what time you got into the waiting room. You can enter the waiting room via the link in your email as early as 8:00am PT on April 11, though the sale does not start until 9:00am PT. Click here to make sure your browser settings are compatible.
Once you are randomly selected for a registration session, you will fill out a registration form, in which you may select up to 6 downtown hotels AND up to 6 non-downtown hotels, each list in order of preference, for a total of up to 12 different hotels. However, you are only required to select one hotel.
Forms will be processed based on the time which you are granted access to the form, rather than the time that you submit the form, so don’t feel like you have to rush through it. You can click here to a look at a sample form so that you can see ahead of time what you’ll be dealing with. Additionally, the SDCC Unofficial Blog has a great visual guide to the Hotel Sale.
You also have the option of submitting your request over the phone starting at 9:00am PT by calling 1-877-55-COMIC (1-877-552-6642) or 1-212-468-5283.
If you’ve been placed at a hotel, you’ll get an email notifying you of your placement either on April 16 or April 23. If notified on April 16, you must make a deposit for 2 nights plus tax by Friday, April 19 at 11:59pm PT. If notified on April 23, you must make a deposit for 2 nights plus tax by Friday, April 26 at 11:59pm PT. Otherwise, your reservation will be canceled.
If you make the deposit, but need to cancel your reservation, you’ll have to do so before May 10 at 9:59pm PT if you want a full refund. If you cancel between May 11 and May 31 at 9:59pm PT, you’ll be charged for one night plus tax from your deposit. After that, your deposit is non-refundable.
If onPeak is unable to place you at a hotel, you’ll be notified no later than April 29. What happens if you don’t get placed? Well, if you indicated on your form that you wanted to be placed on the Waitlist, then what usually happens is that you’re given another chance later on to reserve a room from any hotel inventory that is returned. Sometimes downtown hotels pop up, so keep an eye out!
The prices for downtown hotels range from $205/night (1 adult/1 bed at Best Western Plus Bayside Inn) to $456/night (Grand King at Pendry Hotel), while non-downtown hotels start at $187/night (Days Inn San Diego Hotel Circle) and run as much as $368/night + Resort Fee (Hotel Del Coronado). Click here for the list of hotels and prices, shuttle travel times (which will no longer be available 24 hours per day!), and additional hotel information.
One good tip is to find roommates and team up with them. Friends of CC Forum has a thread for finding roommates.
For more info about the San Diego Comic-Con 2019 Hotel Sale, check out Comic-Con’s Hotels FAQ page.
