Stay to Play tournaments in youth hockey have become a controversial topic among parents. These tournaments require participants to book accommodations at specific hotels.
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While ostensibly designed to boost local economies and provide convenient housing for players and families, many parents have raised concerns about the potential for financial exploitation.
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Ignore. Pretend you missed the cutoff.
Ignore. Pretend you missed the cutoff.
Recently Can/Am had a tourn in Vegas. They set up tournament where you had to log in sign waiver & then add # of guest per room & a required Credit Card for a $100 down pay. Then when they had all teams signed up your credit card would be charged $364 for first 2 persons in room $70 for next 2 - for 2 nights required. Then they would disclose hotel & # of beds. You could end up with 2 on couch bed.
I spoke with CanAm directly & told him I have a camper I drive to Vegas in & didn’t need hotel but wanted to play in tourn. They refused. Too bad. So ultimately only 4 teams showed. 2 were same Vegas team. Everyone else bailed on tourn.
Can Am changed their tune for Seattle. No STP. It is a huge money make for tourn. Do the math: how many teams in the tournament. x that by average of 12 per team. (Ex: 14u/16u/18u = 36 players from our team) They cash out $40 a night per kid for two nights. You can lowball it and at a large tournament they could be making well over 150k.
I won’t go into what I discovered in Dallas. Our room was collecting points for some guy in tournament!!! Our entire teams rooms were on his points. Scam. (Sorry for rant. We even spoke to USA Hock & asked they make a rule to not require it - after all hockey is supposed to affordable & for everyone right??? It’s stated on their page! They said no - tournament can do what they want. USA gets a cut from tournament too for their sanction. 🤬
Fundrainsers for the host team
Fundrainsers for the host team
They are fundraisers for the host team. It’s no secret. Some of the referees might be brothers, fathers or uncles that are associated with the team working for free too. Love when after all that they add admission to the games too.
Money Grab
Money Grab
It’s absolutely ridiculous and a complete money grab.
The OPT-OUT FEE
The OPT-OUT FEE
Some of the tournaments we’ve been to have an opt out fee that can be paid allowing the team to book more reasonable accommodations. While it is still a money grab, often times the fee, when spread over an entire roster, is a great way to cut travel costs, because it allows the team to book slightly further out from venues, or lets families book Vrbo or Airbnb type accommodations. Definitely worth looking in to.
ADDing INSULT TO INJURY
ADDing INSULT TO INJURY
Let’s also talk about how often the chosen hotels aren’t close by (we’ve had to drive an hour from our hotel to get to our venues, when there were hotels near by), in terrible locations and have not been vetted. Example: We had a tournament where there were clear health issues with the hotel rooms (black mold, fly infestations, blood on walls, etc.) and another team actually had a shooting happen right outside of their hotel because it was in a very bad part of town. Stay to play is the most frustrating thing I’ve come across. Came to find out we could actually just pay off the hotel booking company $500, and book our own rooms.
MILITARY FAMILY
MILITARY FAMILY
This!! We are military and get significantly cheaper rooms than the stay to play. I tell our team manager every year; I’m not paying that price if my military rate is cheaper. I’ll book under my military, and if you don’t like it… I’d love for you to challenge us as my husband has served our country for many years and my family has made sacrifices for your freedoms. Usually they don't budge. I’ve even called the stay to plays before and they’ve been fine with it. My kiddo and family would love to stay elsewhere than the teams because we are a chill family and like our peace and quiet.
OMNIPRESENT
OMNIPRESENT
This is every sport. It’s the entire youth sport industry. Everything about it is for the company’s to make money.
TEAM MANAGER'S POV
TEAM MANAGER'S POV
Agree!! And as a former team manager it was a pain in the ass!!
OUT OF CONTROL
OUT OF CONTROL
It really is out of control! Complete money grab! Puts a bad taste in our mouths. Can’t even travel as a family of four. It’s sad.
WE'RE GROWN UPS
WE'RE GROWN UPS
Yeah like are we not capable of booking our own rooms that this “service” is bundled for us!?
NEW TO THIS
NEW TO THIS
Never had this as a kid growing up playing and a few in Montana area do that I’d rather give extra money so another kid in town that couldn’t play would be able to play then to give extra money to a hotel.
By Invite only
By Invite only
The only good stay to play tournaments we have participated in have been invite only. The rest are a money grab, putting us in overpriced, crappy hotels with paid parking and no included breakfast. I've had to fight for refunds over mold-infested (we're talking water running down the interior walls) rooms, been charged $30/night more than the posted room rate, $50/night parking, $30/person for breakfast, etc. I'm sure a lot of people have the same tales.
Big Bear, Black Bear, they're all the same - money grabs who do a really bad job of matching teams up competitively. When you go to a tournament and win every game 7 or 8 to nothing, it's not a good feeling to walk away with a B level championship because some tournament director thought that's where your team belonged. My kid doesn't need anymore crummy bag tags, or plastic "medals" or even a team banner. Just give us a weekend of actual competitive hockey and let us stay where we want to.
MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN
This! Currently at a stay to play in Michigan paying $175 a night when without the stay to play the rate is $119 a night. It’s a trashy hotel too.
Alberta, CANADA 🍁
Alberta, CANADA 🍁
Indifferent - they’re uncommon here (Alberta, Canada) so when you come across one it’s like 🤷🏻♀️
CALIFORNIA
CALIFORNIA
Agreed 100% and I’m in CA where ALL WE HAVE are stay to play tourneys.
PAID DOUBLE
PAID DOUBLE
💯 agree! We paid double what we would have if we could have booked it ourselves.
pick your poison
pick your poison
Would you rather pay higher tournament fees or slightly higher hotel fees? The team fees usually cover all the expenses of a tournament and the profits kick in from all the room nights.
Three in hockey
Three in hockey
I have three boys in travel hockey and I have to agree. I can’t afford the inflated price that the tournament is forcing me to book. We are usually the family that drives back and forth unless it’s just too far and we have to stay. But we book last minute and get a cheaper rate or stay elsewhere. Team manager is never happy when we do this, but we gotta do what we gotta do!
BITE THE BULLET
BITE THE BULLET
Not ideal, but I also don't want to put more stress on the team manager by complaining. We usually just suck it up and do it. One big problem is when the only rooms they offer are two doubles or one king - it makes it hard for a family to all be there comfortably.
TEAM BONDING IS IMPORTANT
TEAM BONDING IS IMPORTANT
Other than team bonding, we always stay at the same hotel because the kids love to be able to play with each other during downtimes. But we have gone to stay and plays with hotels that give us lists of rules and close the pools so kids can’t play. It’s ridiculous!! This year our team has refused to do any tournament that is a stay and play. We won’t support it.
A complete racket
A complete racket
They are a complete racket. We have to deal with them for two kids in travel hockey and one kid in travel baseball. I am a lifetime platinum member at one hotel brand, and I am a premium member at several others. I am also a veteran and federal employee, so I get rates that are sometimes $75-$150 cheaper than the stay to play rate. Even a regular rate at most hotel brands is cheaper than the stay to play. Then, the hotel has "rules" for the teams that limit their enjoyment of common areas on top of their exorbitant rate. I had never encountered this scam until we started traveling a lot for sports about three years ago. Every year, it seems more and more tournaments are stay to play. I much prefer the tournaments that have a few "suggested" hotels that the local organization trusts and I have no problem working within the list.
USING HOTEL POINTS
USING HOTEL POINTS
Not on the minority at all. We have Hotel points and can’t use them because we have to stay at partner hotels. On top of that, if the hotel is in our point brand, we can’t use them for the “special event rate.”
USING YOUR CORPORATE DISCOUNT
USING YOUR CORPORATE DISCOUNT
Prices are always more expensive at the “team hotel.” I always book spectate with my corporate discount code at the same hotel as the team. I once got in an argument with a spring hockey promoter because I didn’t stay at the hotel they wanted us to stay at. I had a home in the city we were travelling to I wasn’t staying in a hotel.
CRAPPY HOTELS
CRAPPY HOTELS
THE STAY PART SUCKS! Why do we have to choose crappy hotels. It should be optional. This is an expensive sport and we all like to get our own points and such! Let those who want to book their own stay book their own stay
Just Unsafe
Just Unsafe
Stay to Play is ridiculous and unnecessary. Especially when the hotels chosen are far from the venue(s). If there is nothing available within a 20 minute drive, stay to play should be negated, and teams can book individual rooms close by, and not be penalized. Making people drive an additional 45 mins to an hour is just unsafe.
Usually rude
Usually rude
Bad - cost families excessive money and offer nothing more than a regular hotel night. They are usually rude to the hockey players and I feel bad for “regular” guests.
Fine
Fine
Fine with them for a good tournament and if a decent hotel.
Worst Luck
Worst Luck
Not a fan! Our hotels are more expensive and not as nice as other options. We also always end up having the worst luck- our schedule puts us as the rink farthest from the hotel.
coach comps
coach comps
Hate them! I don’t like pressuring the parents to book to ensure we have enough so our coach’s room gets comped and the team doesn’t get penalized.
We pay enough
We pay enough
Bad, it is always way more expensive than other hotels. We pay enough for this sport.
First Experience
First Experience
This is our first experience with them.
1) because the tournament picks the hotel, it could be out of the price point for some families and even teams.
2) we have over 500,000 Hilton points that we have earned through our travel in our jobs that is difficult for us to use for these events. The hotel of the tournament we are going to is $190/night. It’s 35k points and we could have stayed for free, but weren’t allowed to!
Could do better
Could do better
Just the way it is, but it sucks. Total money grab but there are so many ways that tournaments could do better
sucks for big families
sucks for big families
While I like the idea of the entire team staying at one hotel, I don’t like stay and play for a couple of different reasons. First reason is the cost- usually the hotel rates are significantly increased or the hotels chosen aren’t great for what you have to pay for them. Second is if you sign up later than others to the tournament, some tournaments send the hotel info out early and you end up getting stuck with a lower end hotel because that’s the only option left with enough rooms to accommodate your team. Third, I know plenty of larger families who can’t fit in normal hotel rooms, which is usually the selection option available. It would be easier for some to be able to take their RV or book at a hotel where suites are available.
Invite only and memories
Invite only and memories
avoid them at all costs unless they're invite-only tournaments. Our best experiences have been with the CCM tourneys, which are stay and play; I don't even mind paying more for the room for those if the hotel is decent and the competition is good.
I'm not a mom who is going to pack supper for the weekend or skip team dinners - we participate in all of the things, but if it's a good weekend for my kids I don't mind paying for it. I guess my only hack is to bring laundry pods to wash dryfit stuff? I also try to wash gear right before we leave town (and dry it), and then bring an equipment dryer so i can dry out gear between games and keep the smell in the room down.
Don't Play Silly Games
Don't Play Silly Games
More bad than good. I love that the team stays together and that the mystery of researching hotels is eliminated. HOWEVER, the negative is the extremely elevated price - compared to what’s published online. And when host hotels close facilities (pool) and police the halls, especially when we’re guests paying more than the average hotel guest. Need to make more $$ on the tournament? Charge more up front and don’t play silly stay to play games.
Can/AM isn't too bad
Can/AM isn't too bad
Depends on the tournament. Like the level and hotel selection of Can/Am since there is a good selection of price and the hotels have been good. Others have charged way too much for not so great hotels many of which are not close to the rink(s) which is very frustrating.
Appreciate the memories
Appreciate the memories
We only do 1-2 a season so the negatives are outweighed by how much fun the kids have. I do like that it forces the whole team to stay in the same hotel. All the silly memories wouldn't be made if people stayed where ever they wanted separately. But ya the hotels are shitty and over priced and often far from the rinks!
A Nightmare
A Nightmare
I’m a team manager and they are a nightmare. Not just because of the price and absolute ridiculousness of the whole concept, but dealing with the “travel” companies. Being forced to use a third-party to book and having to wait for approval for more rooms or for rooms to be taken away is such a waste of time. And it seems like every party involved never knows what the other party is doing. We had two teams go to a CCM tournament and the third-party stay to play company completely screwed up the reservations between the two teams. Half of our team ended up without rooms because they accidentally mixed both of our teams. It was a nightmare to sort out and they took no responsibility, it was just on us to figure out and pay the fees. Some tournaments are better with the companies they use for stay to play, but for the most part, they’re all tedious and unnecessary.
Miss the points
Miss the points
A necessary evil. They don't really bother me all that much. It's generally close in expense to selecting a hotel of our choice but I do hate that we can't get points on our usual hotel chain.
Can/AM isn't too bad
Can/AM isn't too bad
Depends on the tournament. Like the level and hotel selection of Can/Am since there is a good selection of price and the hotels have been good. Others have charged way too much for not so great hotels many of which are not close to the rink(s) which is very frustrating.
condemned
condemned
Dislike them. Hotels this year have been disgusting at the two we did. Like they should have been condemned. Yet we were charged to stay there.
Just charge a higher fee
Just charge a higher fee
Only in this sport 3 years. I don't have ant hacks. I pay more for zero accountability on the team, hotel, or organization. Up the entry fee by $100 and call it a day. Let me stay where ever I want. Our last hotel had no hot water.
the Hacks👌
the Hacks👌
How we work (within) the system
CHOOSE THE Buyout OPTION
CHOOSE THE Buyout OPTION
In the past our team has split the cost of the buyout for a stay and play. We then stayed at a cheaper hotel even with paying the buyout cost.
Pick hotel asap
Pick hotel asap
Manager needs to pick hotel asap
GET EVerything in writing
GET EVerything in writing
Get everything in writing. If a phone call is made where they promise you something, make sure they send a follow up email.
Pay off THE BOOKING CO.
Pay off THE BOOKING CO.
Thoroughly look over the room. Take photos, look in the AC unit, corners of mattresses, bathrooms etc. document the room. If anything seems gross, weird, unsafe, get out. Bring it up to the tournament director, because they probably don’t know the rooms are bad, and will tell you to get out.
If you can, as a team, pay off the booking company. They don’t know anything, have not vetted hotels, and it’s usually more to stay at their rate than booking your own room.
Stay the minimum
Stay the minimum
Crock pot dinners, staying only the bare minimum nights and bonus points if kids are young enough to share a room with another parent you can get along with.
CONSOLIDATE
CONSOLIDATE
If you have 2 kids on 2 different teams just tell each team you are staying under the other child's team.
LOOK FOR Value ADDs
LOOK FOR Value ADDs
If forced to stay to play options we look for value adds. Meals provided, activities included as part of cost, schedule perks, etc.
Cancel last minute
Cancel last minute
Call the booking company last minute and cancel then get your own hotel
Make the best of it
Make the best of it
Choose a kid friendly hotel that gives you a conference room for team meals and mini sticks. Pack a toaster so you can make breakfast in the room eg waffles, toast, bagels so you don’t have to get up extra early to eat the hotel breakfast (if you have one)
Boot dryer from Canadian tire to dry gloves, skates and gear between games.
VACATION OPPORTUNITY
VACATION OPPORTUNITY
Just roll the extra tourney fees into the cost of the tourney. I can find much better deals, use points or find a VRBO and share costs. We also use the trips as vacations so sometimes we like to stay at someplace unique or in a certain area. I've had the stay to play agency not actually book a room and find out late at night at arrival and the hotel is sold out. We've had soccer tournaments canceled and since the hotel was full of teams they refused to refund the money. At best the stays have been uneventful but they always cost more than what I can find on my own.
second hotel
second hotel
Most have a two-night minimum. If you're willing to switch hotels and need a third night due to scheduling, book somewhere cheaper and closer to the rink, use points on that hotel if possible.
travel credit card
travel credit card
Choose a good travel card that gets you extra points on hotel stays. If you're stuck paying more, might as well get extra points for it.
have a food plan
have a food plan
Run to the grocery store once you arrive and stock up on between game snacks and simple meals.
Come Prepared
Come Prepared
Bring a gear drying rack and a fan! Also bring lots of snacks and bottled water so you are only spending money on meals. Plan team meals before you go so everyone knows the plan and can participate.
Family Time
Family Time
Unfortunately, our family can’t afford it. When we have the stay to play tournaments, I tell our team manager that I can’t afford it. And I literally book somewhere else nearby that’s within our budget. And that’s that. Also, we don’t eat out restaurants during tournaments, and we buy cold cuts from local grocery stores, and hard rolls, and snacks and chips, etc., and eat together as a family (in the car, or a park - depending on the weather). We watch hockey film from NHL, or other youth hockey tips, such as from I train hockey, and while we eat our lunch, our brains are focusing on hockey. We’re not running around in a hotel room getting exhausted like some other players may be, nor are we eating greasy fried foods or fatty foods that could affect our performance on the ice.
Make the swap
Make the swap
Book under Team name but regular pricing for the hotel stay.
Use the Laundry
Use the Laundry
Ask to stay on the floor that has a washer and dryer.
Book Bigger
Book Bigger
Book a room for 4 or more, and then when they run out of rooms that are large enough for your family, stay at a different hotel because they couldn't accommodate your family's needs within the stay to play framework.
Move fast and ask around
Move fast and ask around
Team managers that are quick to respond when the hotel options are made available! If not you can get stuck at the least desirable location.
Contacting other teams in your organization to ask about previous experience with certain tournaments/hotels
Mitigate
Mitigate
Keep everything you can in vehicle. Check for bed bugs, check yelp reviews beforehand and try to mitigate whatever problems there seem to be ahead of time.
Bunk together
Bunk together
Bunking teammates together. If a family can’t afford it we lost the player in another family’s room. It’s a good hack.
We're stronger together. Share your point of view, experience, and life hacks and we'll add to this resource.
Many thanks from the For the Love of Hockey Team ❤️
OUR MISSION
OUR MISSION
DELIVER A FIRt-CLASS INTEGRATED EXPERINECE for HOCKEY FAMILIES IN THE US AND WORLDWIDE.
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Our objective is not to fit in, but to stand out. Whatever we do, our goal is not to be good but to excel.
Our objective is not to fit in, but to stand out. Whatever we do, our goal is not to be good but to excel.
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