Posted on January 23, 2010 - by Janice

Travel Partners Make Sundance Affordable

As this post comes out I am on a plane headed for Salt Lake City where I will be collected at the airport by my new friend M, from Slovenia. We’ll drive together to Park City where we’ll meet another new friend, A, from San Francisco. There we will check into the condo we’re sharing at The Canyons then go our own ways to explore and experience the wonders of the Sundance Film Festival as volunteers.

Special events travel is perfect for solo travelers.
We are all solo travelers as we arrive in Park City. But it doesn’t feel that way and we certainly won’t be solo for long. The nature of volunteering at a special event is that you immediately become part of a community. For a while, it seemed that I wouldn’t be part of that community. With about 4000 people sign up for 2000 volunteer spots, the chances were slim. In fact, I didn’t make the first cut. But three weeks ago I received an email saying that they had an unusual number of volunteers back out and I was in.

It was time to scramble the logistics together.

Accommodation can be EXPENSIVE for a solo travelers
That’s the first thing I learned about Park City during Sundance. It is expensive. And it is doubly so for solo travelers.  I was quoted room rates at $1300 per night plus – without any apologies. Obviously, this is beyond a humble travel blogger’s budget.

There are just over 8000 residents of Park City. With approximately 2000 volunteers and 45000 attendees descending on the city, it is understandable that hotel rates are high. I’m sure the whole town makes hay while the projector lights are shining.

Coordinating Affordable Accommodation
So, obviously, I had a bit of work to do if I was going to be able to volunteer. I had to get my costs down.

I started with the volunteer center. They directed me to the Facebook discussion board for Sundance volunteers where there are currently 881 members. This is where I learned just how far afield people are coming from to volunteer. The farthest I saw was New Zealand. Amazing!

Facebook turned out to be a fantastic tool for working out my accommodation. Scanning the postings of people looking to share rides, wondering what the dress code is and just how cold  2 degrees / -6 celcius is — what it feels like — I found one woman looking to share accommodation. I contacted M immediately.

After a few exchanges, we decided to share accommodation if we could and I started looking for the best deal I could find. I booked a loft condo with three queen sized beds. It looks good online and Debbie at  Park City Lodging was kind enough to offer a discount based on my mentioning them in a couple of posts. (Big Thank You!) She was, without doubt, the most helpful person I spoke to in Park City. She seemed to get that not everyone is a star and can afford a thousand dollars a night.

Finding a Third Roommate
The condo wouldn’t be available for long so, after discussing it with M via email, we decided to take the risk of carrying the whole thing by ourselves. I booked it with the hope that we would find a third to share with us.

So, back I went to the discussion board and posted the availability. I tweeted it out and put in on the Solo Travel Society Facebook page. Then I put it on my personal Facebook page. I wasn’t getting any bites and we started to worry.

So I went through all the listings on the Volunteer Discussion board again, looking for people deep in the list that had been looking for accommodation and messaged them directly. Success. After a few email exchanges, A became our roommate.

So, I guess you’re wondering what the bottom line is. We’re each paying $70 per night plus taxes.

Not bad.