Thousands are expected to roll through the Queen City when Regina welcomes the Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets for the 2019 Heritage Classic in October.
But trying to book a hotel room has left some people stressed.
“It’s been an absolute nightmare. I thought I booked them three times, but have had the accommodations cancelled,” said Andy Larkin, a B.C. resident.
“I’ve called basically every hotel listed in Regina.”
And he’s right. It’s been almost impossible to find a room at a Regina hotel.
“It happened pretty quickly. As soon as the announcement was made, a lot of people started booking and pre-booking and we saw within a couple of weeks that a good percentage of our hotels were being booked,” said Erin Stankewich of the Regina Hotel Association.
Stankewich said the problem is typical for an event of this magnitude.
“When there are mega-events, hotel rooms do tend to be a hot commodity,” Stankewich said.
Tourism Regina sees this situation, not as a problem, but a good thing for the city.
“They’re going to be at the game, they’re going to be staying at our hotels, they’re going to be experiencing our attractions and what we have to offer here locally,” said Ashley Stone with Tourism Regina.
“We are really excited to be welcoming folks.”
For people like Larkin, who already have their tickets, it’s left them waiting and hoping for the best.
“Tough to book this far in advance to get let down,” Larkin said.
Stankewich said since there were so many rooms booked before the tickets were released and prices were announced, they are anticipating rooms to be dropped once people start buying those tickets.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 25.
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