The Big Game Travel Report 2022

Air Travel

• Among U.S. travelers, Los Angeles, CA is the 5th most booked domestic destination on Hopper for The Big Game.

• Across the U.S. over the past month, we’ve seen a 13% net higher increase in flight searches for flights to LAX on the weekend of The Big Game compared to other domestic destinations that same weekend. 

• Whose fans are betting on their team making it to The Big Game? Tennessee Titans (#1) fans may be the most excited to book tickets for the game, with flight searches from Nashville to LAX for The Big Game 213% higher than the national average (for flights from all domestic origins to LAX). The Tennessee Titans were the surprise No. 1 seed in the AFC. Tampa Bay (#2) fans aren’t far behind, with flight searches from Tampa to Los Angeles seeing a 196% net increase above the national average over the past month. Cincinnati (#3) was the next highest, at a net 118% increase over the national average. However flight searches from both Kansas City and Buffalo remain at or under the national average, perhaps suggesting fans are waiting to see what happens on Sunday in Kansas City. 

• Airfare: Nationally, flights to LAX for the weekend are going for an average of $183/round-trip currently. We break down round-trip flight costs by the individual playoff teams’ hometowns below.

Hotels

• Inglewood, CA: Compared to usual hotel prices at the end of January averaging $130/night, hotels in the second week of February will reach as high as $360/night. The most expensive day to check-in is Wednesday, February 9th at $360/night, whereas Friday, February 11th is a bit cheaper at $326/night. Hotel prices jump above $200/night beginning Thursday, February 3rd and remain elevated until Sunday. 

• Los Angeles, CA (Overall): LA more broadly is a bit cheaper for those willing to stay further from Sofi Stadium. Prices top out closer to $300/night the week prior and decrease to $270-$290 for check-in dates on the big weekend itself. 

The Big Game this year will be held in Inglewood, CA at SoFi Stadium, just outside of LAX on Sunday, February 13th, 2022. Our Air Travel analysis focuses on flights to LAX specifically rather than other Los Angeles metro airports (such as Burbank, Orange County, or Long Beach). 

Air Travel Part 1 | Nationwide Flight Searches and Bookings

Among U.S. travelers, Los Angeles, CA is the 5th most booked domestic destination on Hopper for the weekend if The Big Game.

As we approach a specific date of travel, we are likely to see rapidly increasing flight searches for those dates. Hence we focus on “net increases” over a comparable average.

Across the U.S. over the past month, we’ve seen a 13% net higher increase in flight searches for flights to LAX on the weekend of The Big Game compared to other domestic destinations that same weekend. 

Air Travel Part 2 | Who’s betting on their team making it to LA?

We took a look at flight searches over the last month from the cities of the 8 remaining playoff teams (except for the Los Angeles Rams) to Los Angeles for The Big Game. Tennessee Titans (#1) fans may be the most excited to book tickets for the game, with flight searches from Nashville to LAX for the big weekend 213% higher than the national average (for flights from all domestic origins to LAX). The Tennessee Titans were the surprise No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Tampa Bay (#2) fans aren’t far behind, with flight searches from Tampa to Los Angeles seeing a 196% net increase above the national average over the past month. Cincinnati (#3) was the next highest, at a net 118% increase over the national average.

If the 49ers were to make the The Big Game, fans may be considering just driving down for the game. Flight searches from San Francisco to LAX for the weekend of The Big Game remained below the national average compared to other domestic origins over the past month. Flight searches from Buffalo started trending up more measurably following the Bills’ win against the Pats last Saturday. 

However flight searches from both Kansas City and Buffalo remain at or under the national average, perhaps suggesting fans are waiting to see what happens on Sunday in Kansas City. 

Air Travel Part 3 | Airfare

Nationally, flights to LAX for The Big Game are going for an average of $183/round-trip currently. Flights from most of the playoff teams’ hometown airports are above the national average, with flights from Green Bay being the most expensive at $341/round-trip. Packers fans will find flights out of Milwaukee to be significantly cheaper at $211/round-trip. 

For the game, here’s what flights to LAX currently cost from the teams’ hometowns:

• San Francisco, CA (49ers): $75/round-trip

• Nashville, TN (Titans): $200/round-trip

• Tampa, FL (Buccaneers): $201/round-trip

• Kansas City, MO (Chiefs): $215/round-trip

• Buffalo, NY (Bills): $217/round-trip

• Cincinnati, OH (Bengals): $318/round-trip

• Green Bay, WI (Packers): $341/round-trip

Hotels | Los Angeles 

We’re seeing higher hotel prices in Inglewood near SoFi Stadium beginning January 31st and continuing through the end of the big weekend. Compared to usual hotel prices at the end of January averaging $130/night, hotels in the second week of February will reach as high as $360/night. The most expensive day to check-in is Wednesday, February 9th at $360/night, whereas Friday, February 11th is a bit cheaper at $326/night. Hotel prices jump above $200/night beginning Thursday, February 3rd and remain elevated until the big Sunday.

Compared to Inglewood specifically, Los Angeles overall is a bit cheaper for those willing to stay further from SoFi Stadium. Prices top out closer to $300/night the week prior and decrease to $270-$290 for check-in dates on the weekend of The Big Game itself.