Who Can Book?

Confirmed SXSW conference registrants, exhibitors, SXSW official showcasing artists and filmmakers. Registrants include Speakers, Filmmakers, Press, Sales/Trade Clients, Sponsors, Media Partners, and other official conference participants.

Reservation Changes

Changes and cancelations must be made through SXSW Housing & Travel (not the hotel). This can be done in one of 3 ways

1. The ‘Request for Change’ link in your reservation confirmation email
2. Your SXsocial account
3. The shopping cart you used to register

Questions? Check out our FAQs.

*Please review all change requests carefully before submitting. Canceled nights will likely not be reinstated.

Cancelation Penalties

All hotels charge penalties for no-shows and cancelations within 7 to 30 days prior to your scheduled arrival date. The cancelation penalty period is dependent on the specific hotel you reserved. Most penalties are the equivalent to a 1 or 2 nights stay, and are outlined under the reservation agreement section of your reservation confirmation email.

Early Departure

Some hotels charge a penalty for checking out before your schedule departure date. Avoid penalties by changing your checkout date prior to checking in with the hotel. If your hotel requires a 3 night minimum stay, you will be unable to reduce your stay under 3 nights. These penalties are also outlined under the reservation agreement section of your reservation confirmation email.

SXSW 28 Day Processing Fee

SXSW will charge a $50 processing fee to the credit card on file for each reservation that is canceled or reduced in length of stay within 28 days of scheduled check-in. This is in addition to cancelation fees charged by the hotel.

Rates & Tax

SXSW conference rates are only available to confirmed SXSW attendees who book through SXSW Housing & Travel. Room rates are USD per night and may increase based on additional guests in the room. Rates do not include occupancy tax (currently 15%) or personal incidental charges.

Some hotels also add a “State Cost – Recovery Fee” of less than 1% to the total bill. This is an optional fee that some businesses in Texas can charge to offset their franchise taxes but this is not a local tax. The Texas Comptroller’s office has more information if you are curious about this charge on your bill.

Credit Card Guarantee

A valid credit card is required to make a reservation, but is not charged at the time of booking. It is simply used to secure your reservation. Most hotels charge an advance deposit to the credit card when they receive our reservations in mid to late February. Other hotels check the credit card’s creditworthiness and hold it as a guarantee of payment.

If you’d like to change the credit card number on file you must provide that number to SXSW no later than February 15. After the deadline, we cannot guarantee that the new credit card information will be updated by the hotel before the deposit is charged.

Payment

Guests are required to present a credit card at check-in for payment of room, tax and incidental charges. If you will be traveling without the credit card to be charged or the credit card is not in your own name, you must supply a credit card pre-authorization form directly with the hotel before arrival. If you must pre-pay for your hotel room, contact housing@sxsw.com for more information.

Credit Card Pre-Authorization

Guests may provide their billing information and authorization to the hotel in advance. The hotel will allow guests to pre-authorize room & tax, incidentals or both.

Please note that the hotel will not receive reservations made with SXSW Housing until the end of February. When the hotel has processed your reservation you will receive another reservation confirmation containing your confirmation number. Once you receive your confirmation number you will be able to provide the hotel with the Pre-Authorization form. Hotel pre-authorization forms will be available to you in early January, so check back to download your credit card authorization form.

Pre-Payment

While credit card pre-authorization is the recommended method, you may also elect to pay room & tax in advance. Please note that the hotel will still require a card to guarantee incidentals at check-in.

If pre-payment of your hotel reservation is necessary, please contact housing@sxsw.com for further instruction.

Deposits

Most hotels charge a deposit to the card on file when they receive the SXSW reservations from us in late February or early March. This information is outlined under the reservation agreement section of your reservation confirmation email.

If you’d like to change the card number on file you must provide that number to SXSW no later than Feb 15. After the deadline, we cannot guarantee that the the new credit card information will be updated by the hotel before the deposit is charged.

You can update it via the link to make changes in your reservation confirmation, your SXsocial Account, or the same Shopping Cart used to purchase your registration.

If you are unable to find the hotel or room type you’re looking for, SXSW registrants who do not have an existing reservation through SXSW Housing can get on the wait list. Waitlist requests rely entirely on cancelations and do not guarantee a reservation.

Most requests are not fulfilled until mid-to-late February because attendees tend cancel unneeded nights or entire reservations just ahead of their cancelation deadlines. If you need to secure a reservation before February, the wait list may not be the best option for you.

We strive to accommodate all wait list requests until your arrival date. Should a room become available for you, SXSW Housing immediately books your reservation and sends a confirmation email. If we accommodate your wait list request within 28 days of arrival, you have 24 hours to cancel the reservation without incurring our $50 cancelation penalty.

If we accommodate your wait list request within the hotel’s cancelation period (usually 7-30 days) you may be responsible for any hotel cancelation fees, if we book a room you no longer need. To cancel your waitlist request, use the link to make changes located at the bottom of your wait list approval confirmation, or from your shopping cart or SXsocial account.