Amsterdam Sept 13-14

That's when the International Broadcasting convention will be in town. It's one of the largest conventions in the world, and as you discovered prices are sky-high:(

I contacted a small B&B for next year around that time and they are already booked over a year in advance. I would look at tripadvisor.com under B&B. that's where I find my hotels or B&B's.

Even Trivago tells you right away about IBC. The good thing about the Netherlands, though, is their size combined with their efficient rail system. You can stay outside of town and still train into the city centre for very little money. E.g. from Schiphol airport to the Centraal Station it's only €2.50 one-way if you pre-book online.

That's a great plan in theory:) But the convention is so popular that the demand for hotels spills over to other cities like The Hague, and Rotterdam. Rooms are available, you're just going to have to pay big bucks for them. ....there is also an Asian version of the convention held in Hong Kong. About 10 years ago during one of those bird-flu scares the one in HK had to be canceled, so it was merged into the one held in Amsterdam. Hotels were not only sold-out in Holland, there was a spill-over into Brussels, Paris, and even London with attendees having to commute to the show via the aircraft everyday!

Have you tried hotels in Rotterdam? By high-speed train, it takes only 43 min to go to Amsterdam.

Bryan, I found out the hard way that somethings going on there in Sept. i was lucky on my trip into AMS to find a place i stayed at before. But on my trip back out, i booked @ the CitizenM near Amsterdam (city). Dont know if they have any rooms left, but i wanted to try them since the concept of the CItizenM sounded really cool. good luck happy trails.

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I did find lodging outside the city. Will post a new thread with a related question.