Taylor Swift fan Kelly Hall was elated when she beat the odds and was allocated three coveted tickets for The Eras Tour in Vancouver.

Then she started looking for a hotel.

Hall, who lives in Oshawa, Ont., planned to fly to Vancouver with her husband and a friend for the weekend of the Dec. 8 show, but the cheapest room was about $1,200 a night.

B次元官网网址淲e decided that if this weekend alone B次元官网网址� just three nights B次元官网网址� is going to cost us three to five grand in accommodation, it just wasnB次元官网网址檛 worth it for us,B次元官网网址� said Hall, who is a financial adviser.

So, they did the once-unthinkable: B次元官网网址淲e decided to sell the tickets.B次元官网网址�

The situation facing out-of-town Swift fans now may be even worse, with some hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Toronto and Vancouver on show weekends costing 10 times more than other weekends.

Some fans, like Hall, are cutting potential losses and selling their tickets, while others are coming up with creative solutions, including bartering spare tickets for accommodation.

The British Columbia Hotel Association declined requests for an interview about price fluctuations, and the Greater Toronto Hotel Association did not immediately respond to an interview request.

Swift begins the Canadian leg of her record-breaking tour this month with six dates in Toronto between Nov. 14 and Nov. 23.

Hotel rooms near the venue during those dates, including the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel, attached to the Rogers Centre, are being advertised for around $2,000 per night. That same hotel is offering rooms for $240 in early November.

In Vancouver, where Swift is closing the world tour with three concerts from Dec. 6 to 8, hotel prices have ballooned. On the previous weekend, downtown hotel rooms can be found for around $300 a night. The same rooms are priced around $3,000 a night while the singer is in town.

Airbnb and VRBO rental costs have also exploded. One Vancouver apartment listed on VRBO as sleeping six and being within walking distance of the BC Place show venue was being advertised for $7,500 a night during the shows, which would amount to more than $10,000 after service and host fees.

The same False Creek apartment, though not listed every week, is available for rent next August at $820 per night.

The rental host did not immediately reply to interview requests.

While fans have taken to online forums to grumble about the prices, economist Thomas Davidoff said he B次元官网网址渄oesnB次元官网网址檛 really see a problem with surge pricing on Airbnb or hotels.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檒l be a ton of hotel demand and a ton of Airbnb demand, and you know prices will reflect that demand, and thatB次元官网网址檚 appropriate. If you didnB次元官网网址檛 have high prices, youB次元官网网址檇 have more random rationing of units,B次元官网网址� said Davidoff, an associate professor at the University of British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 Sauder School of Business.

He said a main problem in B.C. is lack of availability due to regulation of short-term rentals.

In May, B.C. restricted short-term rentals to within a hostB次元官网网址檚 home, or a basement suite or the laneway home on the property where they live B次元官网网址� although a search of rental sites suggests rule-breaking is not uncommon.

Davidoff said the move B次元官网网址減robably had some benefit to (long-term) renters,B次元官网网址� but it has caused B次元官网网址渋n moments like this, a very serious shortage of short-term accommodation.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢ost economists are not so sad about dynamic pricing B次元官网网址� and if you want to prevent the problem of B次元官网网址榥ot enough,B次元官网网址� then deregulate hotels or Airbnb,B次元官网网址� Davidoff said.

B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Tourism Ministry said in a statement that short-term rentals were still allowed in B.C. and that Vancouver B次元官网网址渁lready had a primary-residence requirementB次元官网网址� for short-term rentals before the provincial rules were changed.

Ken Whitehurst, executive director of the Consumer Council of Canada, said the claim that prices should reflect demand is oversimplified and B次元官网网址渄etached from reality.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he idea that prices (for) something thatB次元官网网址檚 ordinarily affordable to people can fluctuate by large amounts flies in the face of the notions we have in our society about equity,B次元官网网址� he said.

Whitehurst said that while it may not be illegal, it may result in other consequences for suppliers, such as losing future business.

Swiftie Facebook forums are now filled with people trying to trade Toronto and Vancouver tickets because of high accommodation costs, as well as requests for local advice on hotel locations and transit options to avoid high rates near the concert venues.

American Heather Cox is travelling to Vancouver from Atlanta, Ga., for the Dec. 7 show after securing six tickets. After one of her party couldnB次元官网网址檛 make the show, she agreed to swap the spare ticket for fournights at a fellow SwiftieB次元官网网址檚 penthouse apartment in the cityB次元官网网址檚 West End.

B次元官网网址淗otel prices were out of control,B次元官网网址� Cox said. B次元官网网址淚 then started an Airbnb hunt and, again, the prices were out of control.B次元官网网址�

Cox said they signed a B次元官网网址渓egal barter agreementB次元官网网址� as well as a liability form and intend to make the ticket trade in person. The apartmentB次元官网网址檚 resident will stay with a friend.

Both parties felt it was fair, since the resale price of a ticket and that of accommodation near the stadium were similar, Cox said. Ticket resale site StubHub lists single tickets to the show from about $3,000.

B次元官网网址淭he unique thing, I think, about Taylor Swift fans is they really appreciate other Taylor Swift fans,B次元官网网址� Cox said, noting she has seen others strike similar deals. B次元官网网址淲e all want everybody to be able to enjoy it.B次元官网网址�

She said it was B次元官网网址渄isappointingB次元官网网址� to see exorbitant accommodation prices.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 such a shame that itB次元官网网址檚 just about money,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 mean, come on, you could still raise them more than their usual rate, but not to the degree where you are pricing people out of being able to just attend it all.B次元官网网址�

Whitehurst, with the Consumer Council of Canada, said dynamic pricing is often B次元官网网址渁pplied pretty aggressivelyB次元官网网址� within the travel industry, including by airlines and hotels.

He said a main reason is that provisions about what constitutes price gouging are not well defined.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 probably nothing in consumer protection law thatB次元官网网址檚 going to regulate that federally (and) the Competition Bureau probably would not take a look at it unless there was an indication of collusion in setting the pricing or misrepresentation of prices,B次元官网网址� he said.

Kristina Prasad from Maple Ridge, B.C., is trying to help a fellow Swift fan experience a show in Vancouver.

Prasad B次元官网网址� who has spent more than $10,000 to buy tickets to all three shows B次元官网网址� said she connected with another fan on Instagram and they met in person during the Eras Tour show in Seattle in July 2023.

Their friendship is centred around mutual adoration of SwiftB次元官网网址檚 music, and Prasad has agreed to allow the woman stay at her home during the Vancouver shows, even though she hasnB次元官网网址檛 secured tickets yet.

B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 asked me if she could stay at my house to basically (spend) as much funds as she can towards the tickets, because hotel prices are about $1,200 a night,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think I would let just anybody stay at my house. I think outside of the fandom it might seem a little bit weird.B次元官网网址�

Alexander Cohen, a spokesman for the Tourism Ministry, said the federal government is B次元官网网址渃oncerned by reports of high prices for hotels in Toronto and Vancouver.B次元官网网址�

However, he added that B次元官网网址渃onsumer legislation remains a provincial responsibility.B次元官网网址�

OntarioB次元官网网址檚 Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement said businesses are B次元官网网址渘ot allowed to engage in unfair practicesB次元官网网址� under the Consumer Protection Act.

That, it said, includes charging a price that grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods or services are readily available to consumers. It did not respond directly to the example of hotel costs during SwiftB次元官网网址檚 concert dates.

Despite giving up on the Vancouver show, Swift fan Hall hasnB次元官网网址檛 given up on seeing an Eras Tour show closer to home. She will be looking for last-minute tickets outside Rogers Stadium in Toronto.

But she says sheB次元官网网址檚 frustrated that B次元官网网址渁verage peopleB次元官网网址� are being priced out of concerts by accommodation and ticket costs.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 definitely been frustrating. Taylor Swift isnB次元官网网址檛 the only one, but itB次元官网网址檚 definitely the most prominent one that IB次元官网网址檝e seen thus far,B次元官网网址� Hall said. B次元官网网址淒efinitely, as an avid concertgoer, itB次元官网网址檚 becoming a little bit disheartening.B次元官网网址�