Sponsored by IHG Hotels & Resorts
This is part of a series of youth sports articles sponsored by IHG Hotels & Resorts. With 21 hotel brands, more than one million rooms across over 7,000 hotels in over 100 countries, and amenities built for every type of traveler, IHG is making life easier for sports travel. Book your next tournament trip at IHG.com/youthsports.
The fall season is winding down, and if you have a basketball, volleyball, wrestling, hockey, cheer, or dance family, you already know what that means. The winter schedule is about to land in your inbox, and with it comes a fresh round of tournaments, showcases, and weekends spent in a gym two hours from home.
Right now, before your calendar fills up, is a great time to get ahead of the travel. Coaches and clubs are finalizing their winter calendars, which gives you a head start to book your rooms, sort out the logistics, and spread the season's costs out instead of facing them all at once.
Here's how to plan a winter sports season that feels handled instead of hectic.
Book Your Winter Weekends Early
Winter tournaments have a way of clustering around the exact dates everyone else wants to travel: holiday weekends, school breaks, and the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year's. When a regional tournament lands on a holiday weekend, a lot of families are planning at the same time, which is exactly why booking early makes the whole weekend easier.
The families who travel easiest are the ones who reserve early and choose refundable rates, so a change of plans rarely costs them anything. As soon as your club posts the winter calendar, add the tournament weekends to your family calendar and book your stay. With 21 brands and more than 7,000 hotels, IHG has options close to almost any arena, from suites big enough for the whole family to a budget-friendly stay just a few minutes away.
Winter Travel Is Its Own Animal
Spring and summer take you to fields and diamonds, but winter means gyms, mats, and rinks, often in weather that makes everyone want to stay inside. That changes what actually matters in a hotel.
After a long day in a cold arena, the wins are simple: a warm room, a good night's sleep, and somewhere for restless kids to burn off energy before bed. Brands like avid are built around restful sleep, with quality bedding and rooms designed to help the whole family wake up ready for game day. An indoor pool is a welcome bonus, since it gives the siblings who tagged along something to do while one kid is competing.
Room to Spread Out and Dry Out
Winter gear is bulky, and it gets wet. Between snow boots, warm-ups, and a hockey bag that needs its own zip code, all that gear takes up serious space, especially over a multi-day tournament with more than one kid competing.
This is where apartment-style stays earn their keep. Suite brands like Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites give you separate living space so the kids can wind down while you regroup, plus a full kitchen for fast breakfasts and reheated leftovers. The free guest laundry is the real hero of a winter weekend, letting you wash a sweaty jersey overnight so it is ready for the next morning instead of riding home in a plastic bag.
Make Your Travel Budget Go Further
Winter travel arrives right when the holidays are already stretching the family budget, so it pays to be smart about where the money goes. Getting to tournaments is now the single biggest line item in youth sports, with families spending around $260 per child, per sport, each year on travel alone, which is more than they spend on gear or registration. The good news is that a few smart hotel choices put real money back in your pocket.
A hotel with complimentary breakfast, like Holiday Inn Express, Garner, or a Holiday Inn where kids eat free, can save money and eliminate the morning headache of feeding a hungry team before warm-ups. Booking directly through IHG earns you member rates and IHG One Rewards points, so the nights you stack up over a busy winter can turn into a spring break trip or a summer getaway the whole family looks forward to.
Plan Now, Breathe Later
Nobody wants to spend their fall thinking about February hotel rooms. But the few minutes you spend booking ahead now will save you a stressful week later, once the season is in full swing. Add the weekends to the calendar, pick the stays that fit your family, and let winter be about the games instead of the logistics.
Your athlete is going to leave everything on the court, the mat, or the ice this season. A little planning makes sure the rest of the family enjoys the ride, too.
This is part of a series of youth sports articles sponsored by IHG Hotels & Resorts. With 21 hotel brands, more than one million rooms across over 7,000 hotels in over 100 countries, and amenities built for every type of traveler, IHG Hotels & Resorts is making life easier for sports travel. Book your next tournament trip at IHG.com/youthsports.
