Edmonton Taylor Swift fan booked a Vancouver hotel without knowing she’ll secure concert tickets

An Edmonton-based Taylor Swift fan has booked a hotel in Vancouver even though she has yet to secure tickets to one of her high-demand concerts, yet she believes it was an important step.

Catherine Hiller says she reserved a spot at the Lonsdale Quay Hotel in North Vancouver on November 2. As of Thursday, the same day tickets to Swift’s Vancouver concerts went on sale, a room on Expedia was listed for more than $1,500.

“The hotel I booked, two hours later, went up in price I think four times. At the time I paid $157 a night at that hotel, ” she said.

“When they announced Vancouver dates, the first thing I did was book a hotel because I knew they were gonna go so, so, so quickly.”

Hiller tells CityNews that paying the $157 was a good deal, even if the hotel is outside of downtown.

“I booked the first thing they had because everything was booked so quickly, everything downtown was $600 dollars a night and I wasn’t going to pay that!” she said.

Expedia Manager Sarah Marcucci says the company sees a big demand for hotels whenever an A-list celebrity brings their tour to town.

“The cultural impact of the Eras Tour is undeniable,” she said.

“Over the past few days, we have seen a spike in hotel searches on Expedia.com and that shows people already have an interest without having tickets.”

Marcucci urges fans not to worry if they can’t find a room in Vancouver for next year’s concerts yet.

“Even though people are going on Expedia and reporting that we are sold out, we actually aren’t. We haven’t introduced that inventory quite yet,” she said. “It’s up to our hotel partners to decide when that inventory is made available, so you will see some of them coming online already.”

Hiller says, with her hotel already booked, she can focus on finding tickets for one of the Vancouver shows next year. She says she’s seen tickets being sold for more than $1,400, but this is a “bucket list” event she can’t miss.

“Even though I’ve seen her before, I haven’t seen her on this tour and this tour is massive,” she said.

“I will certainly find a way to be there … I don’t know how, but I will find a way to be there!”