World Athletics Championships Oregon22: Here’s how to book a hotel room, vacation house or RV spot

If you don’t yet have a place to stay during World Athletics Championships Oregon22 July 15-24 in Eugene, don’t give up before you cross the finish line, say area travel experts. Long-booked hotels most likely will have some last-minute cancellations, more residents are seeing the value of renting an underused part of their home, and there are spots to park an RV.

Just don’t fall for a rental scam.

“Be cautious of anything that sounds too good to be true,” said Andy Vobora of Travel Lane County tourism office, which has an up-to-date booking tool at eugenecascadescoast.org for visitors to search for accommodations.

The website steers tourists to hotels, motels, lodges, cabins, retreats, bed & breakfasts inns and hostels to see rates and availability in real time.

The booking tool also includes professionally managed homes available from Portland-based Vacasa as well as peer-hosted homes listed on Airbnb and Vrbo.

• What is this track event and why is it a big deal?
• How to get tickets to the World Athletics Championships

Unlike Craigslist and Facebook postings, these established short-term rental platforms manage the booking, collect the required taxes and offer assurances, Vobora said. Airbnb’s free AirCover protects from host cancellations and listing inaccuracies.

Natalia Sutin, Vacasa’s vice president of revenue management, said “while Craigslist might be great for buying a second-hand item, it tends to be a popular spot for scammers to list homes.”

Athletes competing at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field will stay in campus housing, but that still leaves about 50,000 visitors flowing in and out of the city during the championships, and many will need a place to stay, said Vobora.

The 4,400 hotel rooms in the Eugene-Springfield metro area were reserved last year or even earlier. And Vobora estimates there are about 1,100 vacation rentals being offered during the championship events.

Airbnb hired super hosts in the Eugene area to help owners new to homestays prepare a space to rent during the 10-day championships. Residents heard from the tourism office that this would be a good time to meet people from around the world.

Tickets have been sold in all 50 U.S. states and more than 34 other countries, Vobora said.

The Travel Lane County staff and the city have been running their own marathon of sorts.

The World Athletics Championships is a big deal, said Vobora, even for Eugene, known as TrackTown USA.

This is the first time the biennial athletics competition, which was postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, has been held in the United States.

Visitors are reserving places north to Portland, south to Roseburg, west to Florence and east toward Bend, Vobora said.

Drive times of an hour or more from faraway hotels in Salem are equivalent to what track fans endured in previous World Athletic Championships to reach a stadium in traffic-laden metros like London, Qatar’s Doha and Beijing, he added.

Shuttle services and other long-distance and intercity transportation options are listed at eugenecascadescoast.org.

Vacasa, which provides a premium clean program and keyless smart locks, offers these tips to find suitable lodging for a high-profile event:

• If your trip dates can be flexible, adjust dates and broaden your destination area to widens your lodging options, said Sutin.
• If you aren’t seeing what you need, continue to check back as new listings are added.
• Use the search filters to find a vacation rental right for you. Input the desired number of bedrooms and bathrooms, needed accessibility features and other specifics. Instead of a bedroom for the kids, a pullout sofa might work and increase your options.

Travel Lane County recommends signing up for its World Athletics Championships Oregon22 event newsletter and ordering a free visitor guide at eugenecascadescoast.org or call 541-484-5307.

If you’re looking for a cozy bedroom for two, an entire house for a large group or out-of-the ordinary experience like a farm stay or tiny house on wheels, here’s a sampling of accommodations offered during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.

Search Travel Lane County’s booking system at eugenecascadescoast.org to see rates and availability.

“It might say, ‘call the hotel for more information’ if the hotel is holding a room or had a cancelation,” said Vobora.

Vacation rental sites let you search by travel dates, location and type of lodging such as a house, apartment, hotel room. These examples might not continue to be available.

Hotels

TripAdvisor has traveler reviews of Oregon lodging, eateries and experiences. Travelocity offers a price match guarantee, free changes and cancellations, and 24/7 personal assistance. Priceline and Booking.com offer deals on lodging in the Pacific Northwest, and Hotels.com allows searchers to compare hotel offers and read unbiased reviews.

House rentals

Eight people could split the $4,903 cost for four nights in July for a three-story Eugene house with a large deck and views of the Willamette Valley and the Diamond Woods Golf Course.

Bedroom

The Suite Potato one-room suite is attached to the main house in a residential Eugene neighborhood. Rates are about $199 a night during the July competition. The suite has a private entrance, queen-size bed, inflatable mattress, refrigerator, Keurig coffee maker and microwave.

Tiny house

Stonepile Cottage in Eugene has a queen-size bed in the loft and and outside, a deck with a Traeger grill. The rate during the championships is $325 a night.

Farm stay

The 120-acre Two Rivers Farm in Springfield’s Mohawk Valley can accommodate 13 guests in a farmhouse with five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a powder room. The rate to stay on the property where the McKenzie River meets the Mohawk River is $504 a night during the championships.

See more Oregon farm stays on Airbnb

Recreational vehicles

Recreational vehicles are in Oregon’s DNA. Wally Byam, who founded Airstream in 1931, was born in Baker City. Holiday House modern travel trailers were dreamed up by Medford’s David Holmes of Harry & David fruit basket fame. The canned ham-shape Alohas started in — you guessed it — Aloha and Timberlines hailed from Sandy.

Find a space to park an RV during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at eugenecascadescoast.org.

Ride your own wheels or get a roomy RV, sleek Airstream or colorful camper van through a company like Portland-based Roamerica.com, which rents and sells fully equipped camper vans.

You can also rent an RV from a private owner through online marketplaces like Outdoorsy.

RV Share has a furnished 2022 Venture RV Sonic RV that sleeps four on a 27-foot-long travel trailer for rent in July at $125 a night.

Airbnb, Vrbo, TripAdvisor and other online travel platforms also rent RVs and campers.

— Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

[email protected] | @janeteastman