Hotels already full ahead of the University of Alabama’s first game in the 2024 football season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala ( WIAT ) – If you have tickets to a game inside Bryant Denny Stadium, hotel sales directors suggest you book your room now if you have not already.

If you’ve spent a Saturday in the city of Tuscaloosa during football season, you might be familiar with how long it can take to get and do things in the city. That’s because when the Crimson Tide rolls in, so do the fans.

“We start getting phone calls as soon as the schedule is released,” Embassy Suite’s Director of Sales and Marketing Iris White said.

Rooms can book up fast, which forces some ticket holders to get a hotel anywhere within a 30 minute to an hour drive from Bryant Denny Stadium.

“We have to send them to Birmingham just because that’s going to be the next big market that they can find hotel rooms in,” Hotel Indigo’s Director of Sales Taylor Liles said.

Hotels in Tuscaloosa recommend fans book months in advance.

“We’ll open the schedule for booking as soon as it’s released in December,” Liles said.

If fans can plan their stay before the football season kicks-off, it could offer some financial benefits.

“You’re probably going to get the best pricing possible,” Liles said. “I absolutely recommend going ahead and getting your rooms for any football game.”

Some Bama football fans travel great lengths to watch the Tide. Steven Rugar flew from Vermont to see how Coach Kalen DeBoer’s stacks up against one of UA’s football legends.

“First game post Nick Saban, so I wanted to have that ticket,” Rugar said.

Coach Nick Saban led the Crimson Tide for 17 seasons. Now with the team being led by DeBoer, Rugar is eager to see what’s in store for the program. Some hotels think that type of curiosity played a role in the lack of vacancies.

“I think a lot of people are excited to see DeBoer,” Liles said. “But they want to see how everything is going to play out before they commit to the prices of some of the Tuscaloosa hotel rooms.”

However, uncertainty might not hold fans back from traveling this football season.

“Typically, our first weekend is usually a soft weekend,” White said.

The Embassy Suites Hotel is completely booked for the game against Western Kentucky.

“That’s something we are excited about. I think everybody is excited about what is going on this season,” White said.

As of Thursday, several hotels are full for highly anticipated games such as: Bama vs. The University of Georgia, Missouri, and Auburn.

Rooms could become open for those games. If you’re trying to book through a third-party service, Hotel Indigo and Embassy suites said it’s better to call them directly.

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