Room Lottery

Entrants will be chosen at random through an automated process. Each entrant will be able to rank their range of preferred to acceptable dates (ie. You would prefer to arrive on Thursday, but if it means not getting a room, you will accept a Friday arrival), acceptable room type, and hotel. For example: If somebody selects dates as being more important than hotel and all of their preferred dates can be accommodated at their third property choice, then they will be placed there, rather than have a shorter stay at their first choice of property. Alternatively, if they select room type as being more important than hotel and a Double Bedroom is only available at their 5th choice of hotel, then they will be placed there.

The room lottery is part of our registration system which is linked at the top of this page. Additionally, registered attendees will receive an email with instructions to enter the lottery. As there is no benefit to entering right away, do not feel you must rush and be one of the first people to enter.

We anticipate that, at least initially, all rooms will be booked as a result of the lottery. However, at the conclusion of the lottery all room blocks will revert to traditional "open booking" through the central booking site published on our website. Any cancellations or changes which result in rooms becoming available will immediately be available for booking through the central booking site. Please note partner hotels are unable to accept MFF reservations through hotel-specific booking sites or reservation phone numbers while our room block is open.

The attendee room lottery opening will be announced on social media and at the top of this page. It will remain open until 11:59 pm CST on September 3. There is absolutely no benefit to entering immediately, though don’t wait until the last second! Get your room group together and enter at your convenience.

All entrants will be notified of their entry status by email within 9 calendar days of the lottery closing, with reservation details and booking links to follow shortly thereafter. Successful group leaders will receive additional information regarding their room assignment and booking confirmation; additional guests part of a successful group will simply be notified that a room was awarded—speak to your group leader for details. Group leaders must update payment information in their booking according to instructions provided with notification, otherwise the reservation is subject to cancellation.

Yes, convention registration is required to enter the room lottery, and you will need to provide your convention registration confirmation number as part of your lottery entry. Lottery participation is open only to members of the convention, in the spirit of "one person, one entry."

Only one lottery in a single round is run, including Hyatt Regency O'Hare suites. Any inventory remaining or that becomes available after the lottery will be made available through the central booking site as published on our webpage.

The lottery will auto-fill your name from your convention registration. If this does not match your legal ID, use the first and last name as shown on your ID.

Our prior experience with lotteries that traditionally used individual entries with no groups has shown a remarkably high occurrence of multiple awards to a group of people that intended to room together in the first place. This results in people immediately canceling or passing on their room award. Providing a means for people to enter as a group significantly reduces the short term churn in rooms, and provides rooms to more attendees overall.

Room groups of three or four are given a small increase in probability to encourage forming groups, with the added advantage that more attendees are able to stay in partner hotels. Some have expressed dismay that couples seeking a king are apparently at a disadvantage. However, double rooms are far more in demand than king rooms. Because there is less competition for kings, the group weighting becomes less important for couples seeking a king room.

One person (the "group leader") in the group completes their lottery entry and will receive a confirmation code when their entry is completed. When the remaining members of the room group enter the lottery, they will choose the "I am in a room group" option on the General Information page. A room group may consist of up to four people, including the group leader.

Yes, you are just a group of one. You may provide your confirmation number and email address to others to form a group of two to four after entering should you change your mind (additional roommates must enter the lottery while it is open for them to be considered in weighting your entry).

Yes. Instructions for doing so are included in the lottery confirmation email sent after entering.

Prior to the lottery closing, attendees may edit their entry and indicate they wish to withdraw. No charge will be made. If a group leader withdraws, be certain everyone in the room group is aware, as the convention does not manage room groups, and will not notify group members that their group leader withdrew. If a group leader withdraws, group members may edit their entry to associate with a different group or form their own group. Any individual entry without a valid group leader confirmation will be disregarded.

Once the lottery closes and a reservation booking link is provided to group leaders, standard room reservations may be canceled. Room deposits are not required for standard rooms, however booking fees are non-refundable. Hotel specific cancellation policies also apply, which may incur a one night charge if canceled too close to the convention. Refer to reservation and hotel information regarding hotel cancellation policies. Suite cancellation policies are more restrictive; please refer to the suite rules for additional information. Chargebacks will result in loss of the room and disqualification for future year lotteries.

Room groups are tied together by the lottery confirmation number and email address of the group leader. If the group leader withdraws and no other changes are made, the remaining individual entries will be voided. However, reforming your group under a new leader is straight forward. Select one person in your group to assume group leadership, update their lottery entry to "group leader" status and select dates, hotels, and room types. Also, the new group leader will also need to validate their entry with a credit card at that time. Finally, the remainder of the group should update their entries with the confirmation number and email address of the new group leader.

For additional information, please see the Hotel FAQ and review the “I am the primary guest on a reservation and cannot attend. May I transfer my room to one of my roommates?” FAQ.

There is no option for "just give me whatever I can get" (though one can choose all options to achieve the same effect). Also, no person will be assigned a hotel, room, date or roommate they did not explicitly ask for.

Form a room group with the people you intend to stay with, as doing so moderately increases the "weight" of your entry. Additionally, you can improve your odds of receiving a room in the lottery by being as flexible as possible with your choices of hotels, room types, and arrival and departure dates.

Yes, all standard room entries must include at least a two night stay. Suites require a three night stay. Both types of rooms also require either a Friday or Saturday night stay.

No payment is required to enter the lottery.

All successful entries will be provided a booking link to their reservation. A form of payment (credit card) must be added to the reservation within seven days of notification, otherwise the reservation is subject to cancellation.

Hotel room rates on the lottery site are inclusive of a nominal $4/night booking fee. The booking fee is assessed after providing payment guarantee information in a reservation, and is non-refundable in case of cancellation.

Hotels will confirm you wish to use the payment guarantee card at check-in, or you may provide an alternate payment card at that time. You will be charged commensurate with each hotel's policies, which is typically a hold at check-in, and final charge at check-out. You may arrange to split the remainder of your hotel stay with roommates directly with the hotel. Debit cards are not recommended for check-in or the remainder of your stay due to hold policies.

If you would like to request an ADA-compliant room, enter the room lottery and select “ADA/Accessibility Accommodation”.

• Please note, choosing “ADA/Accessibility Accommodation” does not add weight to or prioritize your lottery entry.

• If awarded a room, our team will reach out to discuss available configurations (see above). Please be aware that we receive more requests for ADA-compliant rooms than are available, though we will work to accommodate you to the best of our ability. If an ADA compliant room request is made but the available inventory cannot accommodate your needs, the reservation may be canceled without penalty.

If you do not require an ADA-compliant room, but would like to request an accommodation, enter the room lottery and select “Standard Room”.

• Common accommodations include quiet floor placement, low floor placement, and proximity to elevators/stairways/convention center.

• If awarded a room, please reach out to our accessibility team at Accessibility@furfest.org to discuss available options. If we are unable to accommodate your request, the reservation may be canceled without penalty.

In previous years, the lottery included a section for “Mobility Rooms.” These were king rooms reserved for those with mobility concerns, but did not need ADA compliant rooms. Though they are not a separate part of the lottery this year, the rooms are still available. If you are awarded a room at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare and are interested in a king room closest to the event spaces, please reach out to our accessibility team at accessibility@furfest.org to discuss available options.

When entering the lottery, you can choose the Hyatt Regency O’Hare as your only choice for hotel, but this will decrease your odds of getting a hotel room for Midwest FurFest by limiting the choices available.

We understand that the hotel lottery may not provide everyone with their desired room. We also recognize that large cons pose inherent challenges, especially for disabled attendees. Although the Hyatt Regency has historically been the preferred lodging choice, placement at this hotel in and of itself is not a reasonable accommodation. Convention programming now spans across two very large venues over a sizable distance, which can be mentally and physically taxing. Our Accessibility team has a broad array of services available to help make the weekend more comfortable. Please visit their page (furfest.org/accessibility) for additional information.

The Hyatt Regency has both king and double rooms that are wheelchair accessible. They have a wider entryway, accessible-level room controls, and lower bed heights. All rooms are equipped with hearing-accessible features. Bathrooms have modified fixtures, safety bars, and contain either a roll-in shower, stall shower, or tub with handrails. We recommend calling the hotel directly at 1 (847) 696-1234 if you require additional information regarding characteristics of accessible guest rooms.

The Crowne Plaza only has single king rooms that are wheelchair accessible. They have a wider entryway with lowered door locks. All rooms are equipped with hearing-accessible features. Bathrooms have modified fixtures, safety bars, and contain either a roll-shower or tub with handrails. We recommend calling the hotel directly at 1 (847) 671-6350 if you require additional information regarding characteristics of accessible guest rooms.

The Spark by Hilton only has single king rooms that are wheelchair accessible. Some rooms are equipped with hearing-accessible features. Bathrooms have modified fixtures, safety bars, and accessible tubs with handrails. We recommend calling the hotel directly at 1 (847) 635-1300 if you require additional information regarding characteristics of accessible guest rooms.

The Aloft has both single king and double queen rooms that are wheelchair accessible. Some rooms are also equipped with hearing-accessible features. Bathrooms have modified fixtures, safety bars, and roll-in showers. We recommend calling the hotel directly at 1 (847) 671-4444 if you require additional information regarding characteristics of accessible guest rooms.

All partner hotels are 100% non-smoking.

Unfortunately, due to the size of the event, room location or amenity requests cannot be accommodated through the convention. Attendees are welcome to add requests in their reservation, though do be aware such requests are not guaranteed and accommodated by the hotels on a "best effort" basis.

You certainly may, and we will be happy to help, though do consider the numerous housing choices beyond the room lottery before deciding you are unable to attend; there are many other hotels within walking distance of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center besides those represented in the lottery. Refund dates are listed on the registration page.

Several options are available:

• Though most partner hotels initially book near or at capacity, room blocks are continually reevaluated and expanded if possible. Do keep checking the booking site.

• Several excellent Rosemont area hotels, some of which are directly connected via pedway to the convention center and Hyatt, are available in addition to our partner hotels. We suggest that you check out your favorite travel sites or the hotel websites directly, to book these rooms.

• Finally, rooms at our partner hotels do become available as people’s plans change. As rooms are canceled, they are moved back into the pool of available rooms in the room block. Because this is an ongoing process no announcements will be made, so keep checking back! Should a large number of rooms come available, though, we will send out word through our social media outlets.

All reservations resulting from the lottery are as if the primary guest had made the reservation through traditional means. Please refer to the general MFF Hotel FAQ for questions on hotel and reservation topics not directly related to the room lottery itself, including hotel cancellation policies. Be aware the nominal booking fee is non-refundable.