Finding Vancouver, B.C., hotel rooms for the Olympics

Q. Do you have any recommendations on how to secure accommodations for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics? We have been checking the Vancouver 2010 Destination Planner Web site for availability and have called them directly without any luck. It seems that the Vancouver Olympic Committee has all of the hotels pre-booked for people involved in the Olympics. We were told that availability might free up right before the Olympics begin, but we hesitate to wait so long to find out whether or not we will have a place to stay.

— Jackie, Shoreline

A. Most of the downtown Vancouver hotel rooms indeed were set aside long ago for Olympics personnel and for officially sanctioned companies that sell packages that include a room and event tickets. Corporations and other big organizations nabbed the rest with group bookings for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which run Feb. 12-28 in Vancouver, B.C., and Whistler.

For U.S. residents, hotel/ticket packages are sold through CoSport, www.cosport.com. There still are hotel/ticket packages available, but they're very expensive. Prices start at around $2,800 per person for a three-night package that includes only minor events.

Other options:

• CoSport offers some rooms (without requiring ticket purchases) at two downtown Vancouver hotels. When I checked midweek, a room was available at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre for the night of Feb. 17. But like everything Olympics-related, it's not cheap: $725 a night.

• Keep checking the official site you mentioned, the www.2010destinationplanner.com. Sanctioned by Canadian tourism officials, it includes everything from B&Bs and condos to accommodations on cruise ships that will dock in the city for the Olympics. There are some nights available at few B&Bs, generally on the outskirts of the city, and on a cruise ship.

Another option is Craigslist, where individuals are offering private rentals (Go to www.vancouver.en.craigslist.ca and search for Olympics.) It's buyer beware, however, and rip-offs abound around high-demand events such as the Olympics.

Traditionally, hotel rooms do become available shortly before most Olympics when some unfilled block-booking rooms are released. But that's no good if you want to plan ahead.

Kristin Jackson / Seattle Times Travel staff

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