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.

香蕉视频直播淲e decided that if this weekend alone 香蕉视频直播� just three nights 香蕉视频直播� is going to cost us three to five grand in accommodation, it just wasn香蕉视频直播檛 worth it for us,香蕉视频直播� said Hall, who is a financial adviser.

So, they did the once-unthinkable: 香蕉视频直播淲e decided to sell the tickets.香蕉视频直播�

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 香蕉视频直播渄oesn香蕉视频直播檛 really see a problem with surge pricing on Airbnb or hotels.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檒l be a ton of hotel demand and a ton of Airbnb demand, and you know prices will reflect that demand, and that香蕉视频直播檚 appropriate. If you didn香蕉视频直播檛 have high prices, you香蕉视频直播檇 have more random rationing of units,香蕉视频直播� said Davidoff, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia香蕉视频直播檚 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 host香蕉视频直播檚 home, or a basement suite or the laneway home on the property where they live 香蕉视频直播� although a search of rental sites suggests rule-breaking is not uncommon.

Davidoff said the move 香蕉视频直播減robably had some benefit to (long-term) renters,香蕉视频直播� but it has caused 香蕉视频直播渋n moments like this, a very serious shortage of short-term accommodation.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淢ost economists are not so sad about dynamic pricing 香蕉视频直播� and if you want to prevent the problem of 香蕉视频直播榥ot enough,香蕉视频直播� then deregulate hotels or Airbnb,香蕉视频直播� Davidoff said.

B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 Tourism Ministry said in a statement that short-term rentals were still allowed in B.C. and that Vancouver 香蕉视频直播渁lready had a primary-residence requirement香蕉视频直播� 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 香蕉视频直播渄etached from reality.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淭he idea that prices (for) something that香蕉视频直播檚 ordinarily affordable to people can fluctuate by large amounts flies in the face of the notions we have in our society about equity,香蕉视频直播� 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 couldn香蕉视频直播檛 make the show, she agreed to swap the spare ticket for fournights at a fellow Swiftie香蕉视频直播檚 penthouse apartment in the city香蕉视频直播檚 West End.

香蕉视频直播淗otel prices were out of control,香蕉视频直播� Cox said. 香蕉视频直播淚 then started an Airbnb hunt and, again, the prices were out of control.香蕉视频直播�

Cox said they signed a 香蕉视频直播渓egal barter agreement香蕉视频直播� as well as a liability form and intend to make the ticket trade in person. The apartment香蕉视频直播檚 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.

香蕉视频直播淭he unique thing, I think, about Taylor Swift fans is they really appreciate other Taylor Swift fans,香蕉视频直播� Cox said, noting she has seen others strike similar deals. 香蕉视频直播淲e all want everybody to be able to enjoy it.香蕉视频直播�

She said it was 香蕉视频直播渄isappointing香蕉视频直播� to see exorbitant accommodation prices.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 such a shame that it香蕉视频直播檚 just about money,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 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.香蕉视频直播�

Whitehurst, with the Consumer Council of Canada, said dynamic pricing is often 香蕉视频直播渁pplied pretty aggressively香蕉视频直播� 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.

香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 probably nothing in consumer protection law that香蕉视频直播檚 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,香蕉视频直播� he said.

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

Prasad 香蕉视频直播� who has spent more than $10,000 to buy tickets to all three shows 香蕉视频直播� 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 Swift香蕉视频直播檚 music, and Prasad has agreed to allow the woman stay at her home during the Vancouver shows, even though she hasn香蕉视频直播檛 secured tickets yet.

香蕉视频直播淪he香蕉视频直播檚 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,香蕉视频直播� she said.

香蕉视频直播淚 don香蕉视频直播檛 think I would let just anybody stay at my house. I think outside of the fandom it might seem a little bit weird.香蕉视频直播�

Alexander Cohen, a spokesman for the Tourism Ministry, said the federal government is 香蕉视频直播渃oncerned by reports of high prices for hotels in Toronto and Vancouver.香蕉视频直播�

However, he added that 香蕉视频直播渃onsumer legislation remains a provincial responsibility.香蕉视频直播�

Ontario香蕉视频直播檚 Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement said businesses are 香蕉视频直播渘ot allowed to engage in unfair practices香蕉视频直播� 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 Swift香蕉视频直播檚 concert dates.

Despite giving up on the Vancouver show, Swift fan Hall hasn香蕉视频直播檛 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 she香蕉视频直播檚 frustrated that 香蕉视频直播渁verage people香蕉视频直播� are being priced out of concerts by accommodation and ticket costs.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 definitely been frustrating. Taylor Swift isn香蕉视频直播檛 the only one, but it香蕉视频直播檚 definitely the most prominent one that I香蕉视频直播檝e seen thus far,香蕉视频直播� Hall said. 香蕉视频直播淒efinitely, as an avid concertgoer, it香蕉视频直播檚 becoming a little bit disheartening.香蕉视频直播�