Ryder Cup sends hotel prices sky high in Chicago suburbs

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Ryder Cup, which will take place this upcoming weekend in Medinah, Ill., has caused hotel prices around the event’s venue to sharply soar. The Medinah Country Club in the suburbs of Chicago will play host to this year’s annual USA vs. Europe golf competition, and according to a new survey by ChicagoHotels.org, affordable hotel rooms in the environs will be very hard to come by.

In fact, in Bloomingdale, the closest city to the Medinah Country Club, no hotel rooms are presently available. The few accommodations that are situated there are completely sold out. In neighboring Schaumburg, approximately a dozen hotels are still offering room vacancies, but at a steep price differential. Hotel owners there are attempting to cash in on this unique event taking place in their region by hiking their rates exorbitantly.

As a reality check, the Holiday Inn Express in Schaumburg regularly charges $83 per night. During the Ryder Cup weekend, however, it will be charging $315 for the same double room. That equates to a 279% increase. And that’s not even the biggest price gouger. That award goes to the Wingate by Wyndham in Schaumburg, which still has a studio suite on offer. To stay there, Ryder Cup fans will have to pay $449 per night. That’s a 344% increase in comparison to the usual price for the same suite of a mere $101 nightly.

Downtown Chicago is another viable option for out-of-town visitors wanting to see the golfing event live. There, they can connect to and from Medinah via a direct train and be at the Ryder Cup venue in less than one hour. If they’re willing to make that minor sacrifice, they’ll be able to find several hotels that are charging only moderately higher rates than normal according to the survey. They should be aware, however, that budget hotels are completely sold out. Indeed, the cheapest double rooms still available currently start at $225 per night.

Those individuals hoping to score an eleventh-hour bargain will find the most affordable hotel rates around the O’Hare Airport. Located about 10 miles from the Ryder Cup venue, the cities of Elmhurst, Franklin Park and Des Plaines are still offering budget-friendly rooms for less than $100 per night.