Luxury hotel rooms are hot tickets for Summerfest
3 new hotels have opened near fest
Summerfest-goers who want to stay overnight with luxury accommodations nearby have more options than ever this year.
Three Milwaukee hotels that opened over the past year put guests within walking distance or a short drive away from the world’s largest music festival.
The Kimpton Journeyman and the Westin Hotel are a few minutes walk from the festival grounds, and Kinn Guesthouse is only about a 10-minute drive from the event.
“I think they like the location, first and foremost, of being able to leave their car and not have to deal with parking,” said Patrick Gaskin, the general manager of the Journeyman, which opened in June 2016. “Everyone knows how much of a nightmare and a hassle that can be when you have 100,000 people a day out at the festival.” The Kinn Guesthouse opened in March, and the Westin opened this month.
The Milwaukee-area hotel industry receives an annual big boost from Summerfest, with $200 million in consumer spending flowing into the city through the duration of the festival, said Claire Koenig, spokeswoman for Visit Milwaukee.
“People come from all over
to attend Summerfest, and they need a place to say,” Koenig said. “Luckily, Milwaukee has a great selection of places to stay.”
Hotels such as the Journeyman in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward are completely booked for the first week of Summerfest, and hotels near the area can charge more for rooms — sometimes twice their daily rate.
According to the Kimpton’s website, rooms over the next week range from $299 to $459 per night.
New York residents Kerri Brusca and Latane Hughes, who are working at Summerfest, are willing to pay the more expensive fares to be close to the festival.
While he is attending the festival for work, Hughes said he likes Summerfest because it brings people together and exposes them to a range of musical artists, some of which they may not have heard of.
“It’s a huge, huge draw,” Charles Bailey, who owns the Kinn Guesthouse in nearby Bay View with his wife, Connie, said about the festival. “I can’t imagine anyone in the industry who would have a problem with it.”
Kinn Guesthouse offers a unique experience for its patrons. The inn has only eight rooms that are housed within a historic building, featuring cream city brick and some of its original wood.
It is not as close to the festival as the Journeyman or the Westin, but it gives guests a break from the crowds in downtown and an experience that differs from the typical chain hotel, Bailey said.
The Kinn’s seven rooms on the second floor are connected by a common area, and visitors can book the rooms individually or all the rooms together.
The festival benefits by having multiple hotel options in close proximity, Summerfest President Don Smiley said.
“For five decades the hotels have played an important role in hosting fans, sponsors, artists and are integral to our success,” Smiley in a statement. “We rely on our partners in the hospitality industry for their support of Summerfest and their efforts to take care of our fans who come from all over the country and the world to enjoy the festival.”