SXSW 2016 opened for business online in August and the SXSW Housing Department has already booked thousands of reservations for SXSW 2016 registrants. As a result, hotels are primarily sold out downtown for March 13 and 14. The SXSW Housing Department suggests that you check the availability page regularly for newly available hotel options. Because SXSW events overlap, March 13, 14, and 15 are difficult to find, but if you're flexible with your dates, you may find most of the nights you need with the SXSW Housing department.

If our hotels don’t have the dates you need available and the Housing Department hasn’t found a good solution at another hotel or through a wait list request, consider a Short Term Rental (STR) option. We currently recommend:

AllTheRooms.com

AllTheRooms.com is the world’s first and only accommodations search engine to combine traditional hotel sites (like Booking.com and Hotels.com) with vacation rentals (like Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO), and various other types of accommodations (Couchsurfing, Jetsetter and Mr. and Mrs. Smith). Save time by searching all the rental accommodations in the Austin area via this single, fast and well designed search engine.

HomeAway

HomeAway.com is part of the HomeAway family, the world’s most comprehensive, trusted source for vacation rentals. They help business and leisure travelers alike find and reserve great accommodations to meet the needs of their stay. The beautiful residences on their website -- homes, condominiums, and more -- feature homelike amenities, privacy, and usually more space than a typical hotel room. HomeAway’s goal is to help you find the right environment for an unforgettable SXSW.

Interested in offering your home as a short-term rental? List your property with HomeAway and get access to the world's #1 vacation rental websites.

Photo by Kathy Flynn