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Olympic tickets available, but where to stay?

Whistler accommodation organizers working to have some rooms ready for booking this fall

You can buy tickets to the 2010 Olympic Games in just a few weeks but booking accommodation to go with it may have to wait.

And that is a concern as people may be put off buying tickets for Whistler events if they think they won’t be able to get anywhere to stay.

Tourism Whistler, which operates Whistler.com, the go-to site on the 2010 Olympic Games website, is concerned enough that it is trying to work with some of its members to get some accommodation ready to book this fall.

“It is one of the areas we are looking at now,” said Breton Murphy, Tourism Whistler’s Manager, Corporate and Member Communications.

“We are communicating with our members to encourage them to try and confirm the inventory much earlier than they normally would…

“But we… are expecting there to be availability (for the Games) and we want to let folks know that so if you are buying your ticket in October, given the fact that we have over 10,000 bedrooms, we are confident that you are going to have some choice.

“ But… if they are looking to book in October it is unlikely that it will coincide at the exact same time they want to buy their tickets.”

This week senior staff with the Fairmont chain in B.C. met to discuss the situation as well.

  The Fairmont Chateau Whistler property has been booked out by the Olympic family. But it remains the five-star hotel’s hope that non-Olympic family guests will be able to stay there as well during the event.

“We still don’t know what that inventory will look like,” said spokeswoman Lynn Gervais.

“It is go time for everyone and unfortunately we don’t have much more information that we did previously.

“We anticipate that there will be some rooms available, however, people will most likely need to book through a tour operator and those are just the details we are trying to work out right now.

“It is a concern of ours as we want people to be up in Whistler… and I wonder what will happen with tickets sales if people are reluctant to purchase because they have nowhere to stay.”

While there are some accommodation providers who are advertising that they will take 2010 bookings, such as Aloha Whistler Accommodations, many others are waiting until closer to the year countdown, in February.

There are several reasons at the root of that delay when it comes to Whistler accommodation. One is that many private owners who normally rent out through property managers don’t have to commit one way or the other until 12 months out at the earliest. Some owners can give just a few months notice.

Other owners can’t decide if they want to be here yet or not. Still others want to get their own tickets to the 2010 Games before deciding, as the dates of the tickets will determine what nights they want to be in the resort.

Allura Direct.com Vacations Ltd is seeing that first hand. The site has over 500 properties listed for rent by owners. Of that only 13 per cent have been booked for the entire month of February, 79 per cent are not yet taking bookings, and the rest are considering bookings. Of those booked one per cent are booked for less than eight nights.

“The inventory is there, the challenge is those owners haven’t really decided what they want to do,” said Sue Chappel CEO and founder of Allura.

“Some of them are waiting until tickets go on sale.

“What is going on on our site really reflects the goals of different owners. They really are emotionally attached to Whistler and it is a place that holds many memories and hopes and dreams for them and the Olympics is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them and their families, so this is one of the moments where they can really reap the rewards and joy of owning up there.”

Chappel expects more properties to come on line for rent this fall as owners make their final plans about whether to use the property personally, for business, rent it out or sell it.

She has also found the publicity around Olympic price gouging in Whistler frustrating and points to the prices on Allura, most of which are what you would expect to see for a New Year’s Eve booking, with smaller places starting at $240 a night and going up to $1,000 a night for larger properties.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee is ramping up for tickets sales, which start Oct. 3.

VANOC is encouraging people to check out the event schedule and then make a list of the sports they want to see in preparation for tickets.

“It is not a race, take your time and plan your program with friends and family,” said Caley Denton, VANOC’s vice president of ticketing and consumer marketing.

People can log in to buy tickets and take until Nov.7 to make their final selections. After that VANOC will start assigning tickets. If an event is over prescribed it will be done on a lottery system.

Purchasers should know by Dec. 5 what events they have tickets for. If you are paying by credit card, you can only use a VISA, an official sponsor, and the purchase won’t show up until your tickets are confirmed.

•More than 100,000 tickets will be available for $25.

•Half of all Games tickets are priced at $100 or less

• Go online to Vancouver2010.com from Oct. 3 through Nov. 7, 2008 to get tickets. Canadian residents will be able to complete and submit online applications for tickets using a simple step-by-step process that will allow you to choose exactly the tickets you’re interested in buying.

•If you do not have Internet access you can visit your local library for free internet access. You can also contact the Vancouver 2010 Ticketing Call Centre to request a paper application form. A courier charge of $10 will be added to your ticket request.

•Ticket requests cannot be made over the phone during Phase 1. Vancouver 2010 Ticketing Call Centre representatives are available to assist with any questions and will accept ticket orders by phone beginning in February 2009, for Phase 2. Call 1.800.TICKETS (1.800.842.5387

• Seat assignment will be done in the summer of 2009.