Tomorrow, those who entered the lottery for the St. George Marathon will find out if they have been selected to run this year’s marathon! If it is like last year, everyone will get in. I do not have any inside information but since they extended the registration period, it may be that they were not able to fill the field this year either but we will see!
Book This Hotel & Your Airfare for the St. George Marathon Now!
So, if you are not going to know until tomorrow if you are in, why should you book your hotel and airfare now? The simple answer is that many people will rush to make their reservations after finding out they have gotten in. You have the advantage because you know some things about travel. 🙂
Book This Hotel Now!
First of all, hotels (unless it is a special rate or advanced purchase rate) can be booked and the reservation cancelled up to a predetermined time set by the hotel. For many hotels, that is not until the week of travel or the day before. So, you can easily book your hotel for the St. George Marathon right now, pick a cancellable rate, and then simply cancel it if you do not get in.
Even better, book this hotel with points! This hotel only costs 30,000 Hilton points per night vs the standard rate of $200 plus taxes so you are getting a great value! Plus, you can cancel if you do not get in.
Great award rates for the Hilton Garden Inn
This hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn, St. George, UT (hotel link). The best thing about it, besides it only costing 30,000 points per night and having award availability, is that it is pretty much right next door to the expo and the site of the pasta dinner. I love it when I can have something so close and convenient and you cannot get more convenient than this!
The Hilton Garden Inn is the perfect location!
Book this hotel tonight before the results of the lottery are announced tomorrow! You will be happy you did if you get picked! Just remember – check the cancellation terms of the rate you select to make sure you can cancel it with no penalty!
Booking Flights Now
Now to booking airfare. Since the airlines all have 24 hour (or more in some cases) free cancellations when booking reservations, the time to book your airfare is now as well! With more limited flights into St. George than into other, larger airports, the prices will likely go up after everyone starts booking their tickets. Any award availability that currently exists will likely disappear at some point as well.
So, if you book with Delta or United (the airlines that fly into SGU or St. George, Utah), you will have 24 hours to cancel those reservations. That means you could book them right now (award or revenue) and then cancel them before the 24 hours is up if you were not selected. Perfect, right? This way, you are locked in at what is surely to be a lower price before everyone else starts booking post-lottery.
Consider Las Vegas
Of course, another option for flying there is into Las Vegas. That opens up your flight possibilities and lets you choose and domestic airline to get there – and it is only a 2 hour drive away from St. George (a beautiful 2 hour drive!). If you plan on flying into Las Vegas, you will not need to book today as flights are always available to Las Vegas and there are likely to be some sales from some of the airlines before that time comes.
Summary
Trust me, many runners are just itching to find out if they have been selected. They are waiting to push the submit button on their travel reservations and to get what they need. But, you can preempt that and the likely price increase for lodging and air travel just by booking today. If you are not selected, cancel and nothing is lost! Much better to be prepared, though!
