There's still hotel space in Phila. for pope's visit

Should you need a place to stay for the pope's visit, there is definitely room at the inn.

Hotel rooms are still available for Pope Week - just be prepared for higher prices.

A Center City hotel room ranges from $345 to $1,035 a night (including taxes) for a three-night weekend stay Sept. 25 through Sept. 27. That includes the Saturday and Sunday of Pope Francis' epic visit here.

That compares with $175 a night for a three-night stay in August, according to a search Thursday of the World Meeting of Families website, through which visitors can book rooms.

Still, there are vacancies, says Kathy Baumer, head of logistics for the World Meeting of Families Congress. For attendees staying the week, the group has contracted 40 percent to 50 percent of room inventory at 24 Center City hotels. That totals about 26,000 room nights for the entire week, she says.

About 60 percent of those contracted rooms are already booked, and 14,000 people have already registered for the congress.

If you're banking on staying one night in a Center City hotel, you're out of luck.

"There is a required minimum length of stay for many hotels," Baumer says. "Play with the reservation systems to get a room for two nights in Center City and you'll find availability."

There are 11,000 hotel rooms in Center City, and 3,000 more across the city, says Edward R. Grose, the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association's executive director.

The Democratic National Committee will host its convention here in 2016, and each hotel had to commit 80 percent of rooms to seal the deal. That includes every one of Center City's 44 hotels, Grose says.

Hoteliers, of course, recommend staying three nights for Pope Francis' visit - checking in Friday and checking out Monday - to avoid the rush.

On Sunday, Sept. 27, Pope Francis will say a public Mass at 4 p.m. on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and a crowd of 1.5 million is expected.

"While it sounds self-serving, it's better people stay until Monday," Grose said. "It will be worth every penny."

Hotel general managers say Saturday arrivals will be logistically a nightmare, given the security perimeter around Center City.

"The perception out there seems there's nothing left in Center City. That's not true at all," says Hotel Palomar manager Mark Hayes. "But it comes down to 'no Saturday arrivals' for guests. You really have to book at least two nights."

Kimpton's Hotel Palomar and Hotel Monaco have rooms available for the weekend in the "mid-$300s" range, he said.

To book on the WorldMeeting2015.org site, hover over the tab "Plan Your Visit" and search for "Places to Stay."

Then click on the link "Housing for the weekend of Saturday September 26th is now open!"

Groups of 10 or more can call the World Meeting of Families directly to request bookings, Baumer says.

All reservations require a one night's deposit payable at the time of booking, and most hotels have a minimum night stay requirement.

The deadline to book a room through the Meeting of Families is Aug. 16 at 11:59 p.m. Philadelphia time.

Hotel rooms within city limits are also subject to a 15.5 percent hotel/occupancy tax.

Some visitors are turning to AirBnB.com, VRBO.com, campgrounds, or private apartments such as Steve Patterson's Ur Home in Philly, which rents out housing in Center City (www.urhomeinphilly.com), starting at $1,000 a night.

"You can stay in and cook and not have to go out to restaurants every night," Patterson says. "Plus, you can do your own laundry with a washer and dryer."

The pope's visit will cap off a banner year for Philadelphia's tourism industry.

In June, overall hotel occupancy peaked at 89.4 percent, or 97,208 room nights, the highest monthly occupancy on record for the city since 1993.

The average daily rate for hotel rooms in Center City also broke records at $212.95, the highest since October 2014, due to demand from commercial visitors and convention business.

For all of 2014, Philadelphia hotels enjoyed their highest annual occupancy rate since 1949, and Center City occupancy is already pacing ahead of last year, according to the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Hotels are now in high tourist season - July through September, which is generally when international visitors take vacations to the United States. So domestic faithful will be competing for rooms not just with one another but with visitors from around the globe.

Baumer, a resident of Paoli, still needs to book a room. "My first goal is to make sure all our guests have housing."

215-854-2808@erinarvedlund