If you're planning to attend Comic-Con International next year, you might need a hotel room for some or all of it. The two main ways to secure lodging — not that there aren't others — are through two sales that the convention arranges. One is the Early Bird hotel sale which offers mainly hotels that are situated some distance from the convention center and may involve some walking or Ubering, and some of them have shuttle service. They're also generally cheaper. Later on comes the General Sale which covers hotels near the action.
The Early Bird Sale should occur soon and I would expect an announcement of its date in the next week or so. Watch the con website in case I don't notice when they post it. The General Sale usually occurs in or around April. The format of the General Sale is changing so (same link:) consult the con website.
This article about the change thinks it'll be a fiasco. I'm not sure of that but if you do try to snag a room that way, make sure you use a credit card that's not close to its expiration date.
As I've said before here, I think the secret to having a great time at Comic-Con is to plan ahead. You should also plan ahead, plan ahead and it's a real good idea to plan ahead. Don't start wondering a few weeks in advance how you're going to get there, where you're going to say and especially how you're going to get a badge if you don't already have one. And when the programming schedule becomes available and all the specials and signings are announced, figure out which ones interest you. Oh — and did I mention you should plan ahead?
Years ago, I knew a guy — a low-level exec at one of the Big Three TV Networks back when there were Three Big TV Networks. He was a nice-enough fellow even when strutting around, acting way more important than he was. This was on Saturday and he decided then and there to stay over. He asked me where would be a good place to get a room. I told him to try Ensenada, Mexico.
He laughed a bit and refused to accept that the hotels of San Diego were sold out. He had that "the rules don't apply to me" bravado and he announced okay, they might have been sold out for others…but not for him. I'm not sure if it was his imaginary important stature at his network or his "If you act like you're important, people will treat you like you're important" attitude. Either way, he refused to believe he couldn't get a room for the night…and off he went to catch a panel he wanted to see.
An hour or three later, I was in the lobby of the Manchester Grand Hyatt when I ran into him. "Find a room yet?" I asked him — to which he replied he was just about to get one. I watched as he swaggered up to the desk, put his wallet and his elbow on it and told the clerk, "Room for tonight." The hotel employee told him, ever so politely, "I'm sorry, sir. There are no rooms available."
He chuckled and said, "No rooms for most people but you can find one for me." He handed the guy a business card that showed he was with his network. It displayed his title with the company which I recall as being one notch above "Viewer." The hotel guy was oddly unimpressed.
"I'm sorry, sir. We're full up. In fact, we've been full up for months." At that point, a piece of U.S. currency was thrust across the counter at the clerk who thrust it back and said, "I'm sorry, not at any price."
At this point, I edged away. I thought not getting a hotel room would be less embarrassing for the network guy if he didn't not get it in front of me. He stayed there arguing for five or ten minutes. A higher-ranked Hyatt employee came by and confirmed the unavailability of anything. Finally, the guy came over to me and said, "Well, Evanier. Looks like I'm bunking with you tonight." I told him that was not going to happen because, among other reasons, the lady who was bunking with me just might mind. There was a brief argument and he walked off, telling me he was going to find a place to stay that night…
…and he did. The next day when I ran into him, he told me where it was: His home back in Burbank, California, roughly a three-hour drive each way. Ensenada would actually have been closer.