We recently completed our hotel and badge reservations for the FIRST Championship, and as a pre-qualified team for this year’s event, we had early access to the system. We wanted to share our experience with you all to help you prepare for the process.
Overall, the system was straightforward and easy to navigate, but there are several steps involved, so it’s important to be prepared. Here’s a brief write-up of how the reservation process worked for us.
In previous years, we typically reserved our own rooms starting in December, booking around 20-22 rooms each year. Our go-to hotel has been the La Quinta Inn & Suites in the Galleria Area. We liked this hotel because of its flexible cancellation policies in case we didn’t qualify for the event.
This year, however, that hotel wasn’t listed as an option in the system, so we had to find another location. Fortunately, we were able to select a hotel with similar features that worked for our team. Since we charter a bus to Houston, we don’t need to stay very close to the George R. Brown Convention Center—we’re okay with driving in each day if it helps us save money.
Last year, our hotel budget was $15,000, but this year, we increased it to $20,000, anticipating higher costs through the new system. We’re happy to report that we were able to find a hotel that met our needs and stayed under budget.
Check out the PDF link below. It includes the initial emails and screenshots of the process.
First Championship Hotel Reservation Review.pdf (8.3 MB)
We hope this insight helps others as they plan their trip to the Championship. If you have any questions about our experience, feel free to ask!
