Are Hotels Still Available During Pope’s Visit?

The topic of where to sleep in Philadelphia during the pope’s visit in September has been a hot one. With over 1.5 million visitors expected to flood the city over the last weekend in September and less than 20,000 hotel rooms available in the city, it doesn’t take an experienced mathematician to determine that the numbers don’t work. Airbnb has been awash with home rentals available for thousands of dollars per week, there has been talk of students and pilgrims sleeping on museum floors in sleeping bags, and the city is even considering allowing camping in Philadelphia’s parks.

If you have the money, rooms at The Loews Hotel are still available during the papal visit.

That’s why it is such an outrageous thought to consider that there still might be hotels available in Philadelphia over September 26 – 27. And yet, according to a recent NBC Philadelphia story, that is exactly the case. Jaimi Gordon, public relations director for The Loews Hotel at 12th and Market Streets, says that there are still 100 rooms available during the weekend of the pope’s visit. And NBC found at least seven other hotels in the city that were available for the full weekend – checking in Friday and leaving Monday.

Gordon said that most people must be assuming that everything is sold out. After all, if the mayor is talking about people camping out in parks, it must be a foregone conclusion that everything civilized is long gone. And yet, it’s not true! The only catch to all of the available hotels is that they are pricey. NBC found the cheapest option to be the Hotel Monaco on Chestnut Street for $305 per night. At The Loews, rooms start at $599 per night and there is a three-night minimum stay. On the other hand, you are only minutes from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. If you have the money, it’s definitely a sweet deal.