Bologna Hotels-Too Early or Extremely Expensive?

We had that same problem in 2022

There is a huge ceramics convention at that time
We changed our itinerary to work around it

Ferrara is also an option

I don't know if this is the problem but there's a big trade show in town from Sept, 22 - 26th, with expected attendance of 100,000+ from all over the world. Last year's show drew over 95,000.

https://10times.com/cersaie#:~:text=BolognaFiere%20S.p.A.%20expects%20about%20111000%20people%20to%20attend%20the%20tradeshow%20CERSAIE%20Bologna.

Editing to add....Christine, we were thinking the same thing! :O)

YIKES! I think we may need to avoid Bologna, definitely don't want to compete with that many people for dining and lodging. So, follow up question, head to Modena, or Parma, or {insert suggestion here}? (I will check out Ferrara, not familiar with it)
Our original plan was:

Venice
Bologna
Florence
Cinque Terre
Lake Como
Fly out of Milan

If you choose Ferrara (which we really enjoyed) check out Hotel Annunziata, a small boutique family-run hotel in a great location across a little piazza from the castle. ONe of our favorite hotels in Italy.

https://www.annunziata.it/en/

Ferrara is a stop on the the direct train line from Venezia to Bologna, luring the fast Frecciarossa trains. Either Parma or Modena would be a detour, with a change of trains at Bologna Centrale (not for the faint of heart unless it is from one Frecciarossa train to another).

If you planned to visit Ravenna from Bologna you might consider a stay there
We thouroghly enjoyed our 2 nights there and the mosaics are fabulous

You can visit Bologna from Florence on a day trip. It’s close. Or you can see if you can visit it on the way back to Milan, by doing the reverse itinerary, if that works, assuming the dates work better to avoid the exhibit.

I stayed in Bologna before going to Lake Como and then flying out of Milan. That worked well for train travel and might help with hotels in Bologna. If you are at all open to B&Bs (not air bnb but regular old style bed and breakfast) you might try this site which when I was looking last year had many options in Bologna that were not in Booking.com.

We ran into the same problem in Padua. We ended up in a well priced air bnb in city center that would allow us to leave luggage early. Like you, we were staying only 2 nights and would have preferred a hotel but not at the price we were seeing.

Is due too the CERSAIE Trade fair. Several hotels are booked one year in advance and the others are ridiculous expensive.
Usually hotel prices in the nearby cities are affected too, like Modena, Ferrara and even Ravenna.
Parma hotel instead should be at the normale rate, so I usually suggest that city during that period.