Sundance Is Coming to Boulder: What Homeowners Should Know About Housing, Rentals, and Real Estate

After more than four decades in Boulder—from waiting tables at the Hotel Boulderado to owning The Video Station and now helping clients buy and sell homes throughout Boulder County—I've been fascinated to watch how the city is preparing for Sundance's arrival in 2027.

Ever since Sundance announced it would be moving to Boulder beginning in 2027, I've been paying close attention to the conversations surrounding the festival.

One topic keeps coming up:

Where is everyone going to stay?

Recent reports have highlighted concerns about lodging availability during the festival period. Whether hotels are truly sold out or simply holding large room blocks for festival participants, the underlying issue is clear: Boulder is preparing for a significant influx of visitors, and housing them will be one of the city's biggest challenges.

From a real estate perspective, that's where things get interesting.

Boulder has already responded by creating a Festival Lodging Rental License, which allows certain homeowners and property owners to rent their homes during approved festival periods. Rather than broadly loosening short-term rental restrictions, the city has chosen a more targeted approach designed to create additional lodging options while maintaining its existing housing policies.

As someone who has lived in Boulder for more than four decades, it has been fascinating to watch.

I arrived in Boulder in 1982 and started my Boulder life waiting tables in the Catacombs at the Hotel Boulderado. Back then, Boulder felt like a much smaller town, although even then there was something special about it that drew people in.

The film world didn't feel all that far away, either. Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Film Festival, had longstanding ties to Colorado, and through people connected to the hotel, I had the opportunity to briefly cross paths with him during those years. At the time, I never would have imagined that decades later the festival he created would be heading to Boulder. Looking back, it feels like an unexpected full-circle moment.

Years later, I became the owner of The Video Station, a local video store that housed one of the largest movie collections in the country. While we carried all the popular releases, we were especially known for our collection of independent and foreign films. Long before streaming services made virtually every movie available at the touch of a button, film lovers would come from all over to browse the shelves and discover something they couldn't find anywhere else.

There is probably a little irony in the fact that after spending years surrounded by independent films and the people who loved them, I'm now watching one of the most influential independent film festivals in the world make Boulder its new home.

Boulder Is Having a Moment

In many ways, Sundance feels like the latest chapter in a period of increased national attention for Boulder.

When Deion Sanders arrived at CU, Boulder suddenly found itself in the national spotlight. People who had never paid much attention to Boulder were suddenly talking about the university, the city, and the lifestyle that comes with living here.

Now Sundance is bringing a different audience.

Filmmakers. Industry professionals. Journalists. Artists. Film lovers from around the world.

While the festival itself only lasts a short time, the visibility it creates can have a longer-lasting impact.

What Does This Mean for Real Estate?

I don't expect Sundance to suddenly cause Boulder home values to spike.

Boulder already benefits from something many communities would love to have: strong demand, limited housing supply, a highly educated workforce, access to outdoor recreation, excellent schools, and a reputation that extends well beyond Colorado.

Those fundamentals aren't changing.

What Sundance may do is further elevate Boulder's visibility on a national and international stage.

For homeowners, the most immediate impact may be the opportunity to participate in the Festival Lodging Rental License program if their property qualifies.

For investors, it creates another factor worth watching, although I would caution against making investment decisions based solely on the festival.

For buyers, Sundance is unlikely to change the reasons people choose Boulder. Most buyers aren't moving here because of a film festival. They're moving here because they want the Boulder lifestyle.

What I'm Watching

The question I'm most interested in is whether Boulder has created enough lodging capacity to meet demand.

The city has already acknowledged that housing visitors will be one of the biggest challenges associated with hosting Sundance. If demand significantly exceeds available hotel rooms and licensed festival rentals, it wouldn't be surprising to see additional discussions around lodging options in future years.

At this point, Boulder seems to be taking a very Boulder approach: creating targeted solutions while trying to preserve the character of the community.

Whether that balance works will be something worth watching.

My Take

After living here since 1982 and helping clients buy and sell homes throughout Boulder County for the past decade, I've learned that Boulder has a way of reinventing itself while still remaining unmistakably Boulder.

Sundance won't change the fundamentals that make people want to live here. Those have existed for a long time.

What it will do is bring more attention to a community that has always had something special about it.

For homeowners, buyers, and investors, the biggest story may not be the festival itself. It may be how Boulder chooses to manage the opportunities and challenges that come with being in the spotlight.

I'll be watching closely as we get closer to the first festival in January 2027, and I'll continue sharing what I'm seeing from a real estate perspective.