Phoenix-area hotel rates through roof for Super Bowl week

PHOENIX — Kickoff for Super Bowl XLIX in the Phoenix area is just 60 days away, but hotel prices are skyrocketing and, in some cases, rooms are already sold out.

“Super Bowl weekend — and actually the entire week leading up to the Super Bowl — is going to be a banner week for the greater Phoenix area,” Kristen Jarnagin with the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association said.

Hotels normally have peak season rates during the winter months, but with the supply and demand of Super Bowl, rates are going to be even higher than a typical year. The National Football League has reserved nearly 20,000 of the Valley’s 55,000 rooms, further increasing demand.

“A room that would, in the summer, be $100 is already going to be $350 to $400 a night for the peak season,” Jarnagin said. “So with Super Bowl in town, who knows what those rates will reach.”

The city of Scottsdale said a combination of winter travelers, the Super Bowl and the Waste Management Phoenix Open will likely leave a no vacancy sign hanging over the city.

The Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction is also in February, and the NFL’s Pro Bowl will be played in Glendale one week before the Super Bowl. Scottsdale expects to see around one million visitors for the first two months of 2015.

Rachel Sacco of the Scottsdale Convention and Visitor’s Burea said the rush for rooms could extend all the way through the end of spring training, especially with the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series. That will likely result in more of their fans trekking to Scottsdale Stadium to see their Cactus League games in March.

The raised rates also bring good news, but more so for residents than visitors.

“Tourism generates $2.9 billion a year in tax revenue alone, that go to pay for all services that you and I enjoy,” she said, adding that influx of cash keeps Arizona tax rates lower.

KTAR’s Bob McClay contributed to this report.