In less than two weeks, thousands are headed to Tallahassee to witness graduation ceremonies for Florida A&M and Florida State university students.
Now add the state’s special legislative session on redistricting from April 28 through May 1.
It all amounts to hotel room gridlock in the capital city – and surging prices due to demand.
Is it possible to still get a room? Sure, depending on how far people are willing to commute, how flexible they can be on check-in days and what they’re willing to pay.
But the likelihood of getting an affordable room closer to graduation weekend is slim and getting slimmer with each passing day. Many hotels already are booked solid with a waiting list.
Here’s what you need to know about Tallahassee’s hotel crunch:
Both occupancy and rates typically increase for graduation weekend
Whether it’s spring, summer or fall graduation, demand is going to drive hotel prices up.
This isn’t the first time there’s been a scheduling “overlap,” said Kerri Post, the head of Leon County’s Division of Tourism and Visit Tallahassee. She said an overlap occurs between the session and graduation every odd-numbered year when the regular session typically ends as graduation weekend starts.
This year’s regular session was early, happening in January-February.
“Specifically, this Special Session is scheduled to conclude on Friday, May 1, with legislators anticipated to return to their home districts that day, while families coming to town for graduation are arriving that Friday who have booked at least a two-night stay in town,” Post said in an email.
What will the hotel availability look like from late April to the first weekend of May?
When the demand goes up, so do hotel room rates.
The occupancy rate ranges from 60% to 70% through the end of April with session, and jumps to nearly 90% occupancy over graduation weekend, Post said.
As of April 20, she said available data shows nearly 80% of all available hotel rooms and over 50% of available vacation rentals were booked at this time.
“Occupancy will likely increase to more than 90% occupancy as any available remaining rooms are often booked at the last minute,” she said.
A look at hotel prices: some locations more than $1,200 per night
From April 30 to May 3, the hotel average daily rate is trending toward $450 or more per night, with short-term vacation rental rates not far behind at $350 and more per night, making the spring graduation one of Tallahassee’s busiest weekends of the year.
As of April 21, a room’s per-night cost was around $850 for May 1 to May 2 at the AC Hotel at Marriott near Cascades Park.
At the Capitol Inn on North Gadsden Street, a per-night stay for the same days will be $1,229.
It’s quite the sticker shock compared to normal rates in April.
For the month, Post said it’s been modest. The average rates overall have been down almost 22% compared to last year ($135 in 2026 vs. $174 in 2025). She says that’s due to session not being held in March-April this year.
Hoteliers describe how they prep for the upcoming high demand
Jay Green, director of sales and marketing for Hotel Indigo in CollegeTown, said the boutique hotel is already at about 90% occupancy for graduation weekend but rooms are still available for the first part of the week.
“We haven’t seen a lot of the legislative pick up yet. A lot of the first part of the week is our parents picking up their children before graduation gets crazy, so we haven’t seen the impact yet.”
Located off Gaines Street, Hotel Indigo recently added 90 rooms to the existing hotel site due to sustained demand for its product, for a total of 237 rooms.
This year, he said, is a little different with the busier days for graduation weekend being that Friday and Saturday while Thursday and Friday has typically been the busiest days during graduation season.
“If there is an overlap, it will be that Thursday with the session people getting out of town when the parents start coming in for commencement,” Green said, adding the situation requires the staff to monitor its inventory and other factors that affect a customer’s stay.
“Demand is there in the market.”
Across town at the BOB (Boutique on a Budget) Hotel on Apalachee Parkway, is one of the city’s newest hotels and has 78 rooms. It opened in July 2024 and had an 88% occupancy rate last year, said Janis Krums, one of the hotel’s several partners.
“We’re at 90% (now), so we’re basically selling out almost every night,” Krums said, with Sundays and Monday being the most available days.
Krums said graduation weekend is fully booked: “We’re sold out already for pretty much all of next week, and then I anticipate we’ll be sold out for probably the next couple of days.”
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee hotel prices surge as graduation, special session collide
Reporting by TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
