College graduation: 3 tips for parents to dodge expensive hotel rates [Video]

• College towns often struggle with accommodating visitors during events like graduation day, leading to a shortage of hotel rooms and inflated prices.
• Parents of college kids frequently endure inflated prices, not only during graduation season, but also during events like family weekends or homecomings.
• Tips for avoiding graduation day nightmares include booking early, exploring alternatives like Airbnb and checking secondary markets for hotel room availability.

If you think getting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert or the World Series is tough, try booking a hotel room in an American college town for Graduation Day.

Toni Milbourne faced this before her daughter’s graduation from West Virginia University in May. Hotel room rates in Morgantown doubled before the local event. In a nearby town, prices more than tripled to $350 a night.

“It absolutely feels like price gouging,” said Milbourne, managing editor for a West Virginia newspaper. “People need to be aware that companies are taking advantage …