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09/13/2011 07:11 PM

Austin area hotels fill up fast with wildfire victims, ACL goers

By: Bonnie Gonzalez

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It’s usually pretty difficult to snag a hotel during the Austin City Limits Festival, rooms tend to fill up months before the first act performs. But now, with thousands of Central Texans displaced by area wildfires, finding a place to stay in Austin may be near impossible.

The Austin Motel and Hyatt Regency Austin both say they are full for the weekend.

"We're totally booked up," Austin Motel Assistant Manger Luke Cullins said. "We do reservations three months in advance so we're totally full. We sold out within an hour like we do every year."

For more information:

Check out YNN's exclusive interactive of the ACL fest by clicking here.

Cullins said the Austin Motel has accommodated some people that were displaced by the Labor Day weekend fire at Steiner Ranch.

The Hyatt also helped people displaced by the Bastrop County Complex fire.

"Mostly from our sister property in Lost Pines,” Hyatt Manager Lance Stumpf said. “We've had a lot of associates from their property that have lost homes."

While some fire evacuees have checked out, others will need a place to stay for awhile. Luckily, some of them can stay closer to home.

"The good news is we were able to place the wildfire victims with in hotels surrounding the Bastrop area and within the small towns in that area,” Texas Hotel and Lodging Association CEO Scott Joslove said. “So we didn't have a lot of utilization in terms of emergency housing in the Austin hotels."

The Texas Hotel and Lodging Association has compiled some availability information. Click here to check it out.