With Sundance Film Festival, Boulder works to balance high rental prices with affordable lodging options

As Boulder prepares to host the Sundance Film Festival for the first time, city leaders and festival organizers are working to make sure one of Colorado's most expensive housing markets remains accessible.

A review of short-term rental listings shows some properties advertised for as much as $60,000 for a 10-night stay during the festival, which is more than four times the rate recommended by Visit Boulder. The listings have raised concerns about whether visitors will be priced out when the festival arrives in January.

Festival organizers and local leaders believe more housing will come on the market soon, hopeful that visitors will have a range of affordable options by the time Sundance begins.

"People had heard rumors about what they might be able to get from Park City, and so some of the early listings were priced really high," said Jill Grano, Sundance's statewide director of housing for the relocation effort. "Thankfully, I think we're starting to see a lot of those come down."

Some of the highest-priced listings are concentrated around downtown Boulder and Pearl Street. Some of the lowest rates posted for short-term rentals right now are around $400 per night.

"We have almost 47,000 housing units in the city. The key has been to sort of unlock them," Grano said.

Since festival license options were passed in April, Boulder has approved nearly 1,000 festival or general short-term rental licenses as homeowners prepare for thousands of people to come to town.

"The numbers we're seeing now about the uptick in short-term rental applications make me confident that we'll have enough," Grano said. "The question is around, are they going to be priced where people want to stay in them?"

While Boulder will serve as the center of the festival, surrounding communities are also preparing for the crowds. Cities, including Louisville, have launched or expanded their own short-term rental licensing programs in hopes of attracting visitors and capturing some of the economic benefits associated with the festival, which is expected to draw roughly 85,000 attendees.

Still, organizers say they would prefer visitors spend as much time as possible in Boulder.

"For everybody that chooses to stay in Louisville or Lafayette or Longmont, that's a Boulder coffee shop they're not waking up and having their coffee at, it's a Boulder restaurant they're not having their nightcap at," Grano said.

Hotels are also preparing for increased demand. Organizers say Boulder hotels have agreed to keep roughly 70% of their rooms available at affordable rates during the festival, but the further details of that affordability were not immediately shared.

At Basecamp Boulder, a hotel downtown, they are already seeing a waitlist before online bookings open.

"We are really excited here at Base Camp. This is a big event for us," said Lauren Kempf.

Kempf says the hotel plans to open reservations to the public in July and has already begun discussions with groups interested in booking rooms.

"When I was working here over, like, CU graduation, I saw that the prices were pretty similar," Kempf said, "The lower end is starting at 299 for the standard king room, and then all the way up to for our family suite is looking at $409."

As planning continues, organizers say Boulder residents still have an opportunity to influence how the festival integrates into the community. Right now, local leaders are hoping rental prices come down before festival goers get pushed elsewhere.

"This is our opportunity to create the festival that we want, and there's a way to do it that is good for our economy, and our small businesses, and our homeowners, and our tenants, and there's a way to do it that pushes people out," Grano said. "But it's all up to us."

Organizers are also developing a filmmaker host program that would allow some filmmakers to stay in Boulder free of charge. Shuttle buses are expected to connect Boulder with Denver and surrounding communities, giving visitors additional lodging options outside the city while maintaining access to festival events.