BSidesFrankfurt
If you’re planning to attend BSidesFrankfurt 2026 (10-11 September) and you haven’t booked a hotel yet, do it this week. Frankfurt hotels are notoriously tight during conference week, and the reason has very little to do with us: the Rheingauer Weinmarkt takes over the city center at the same time.
What the Rheingauer Weinmarkt is
The Rheingauer Weinmarkt is Frankfurt’s largest wine festival and one of the biggest open-air wine events in Germany. For ten days at the end of August into early September, around 30 winemakers from the nearby Rheingau region set up stalls along the Fressgass (Große Bockenheimer Strasse) in the heart of the city. It’s been running annually since 1976, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, and is genuinely lovely if you like Riesling, Spätburgunder, and people-watching with a glass in hand.
It also empties out every available hotel room in central Frankfurt.
Why this matters for BSidesFrankfurt attendees
Hotels in central Frankfurt and around the Westend Campus get booked solid well before the festival opens. Prices in walk-in range typically double. If you wait until August to book, you will either pay a lot or sleep far from the venue.
We have no influence over either event, so the only practical move is to book early. Here is what we recommend.
Book now (yes, now)
Don’t wait. For BSidesFrankfurt 2025 we heard from a handful of attendees who left it to the last minute and ended up commuting in from Hanau or skipping the second day to drive home. Save yourself the headache.
A few practical pointers:
- Use price-comparison tools (Booking.com, HRS, Trivago) to scan the whole city at once. Don’t just check one hotel chain.
- Filter for “free cancellation” if you’re not 100% sure about your plans. The price difference is usually small and your flexibility is preserved.
- Avoid the Messe area for our conference. The venue is in the Westend (Goethe University), which is well-connected but not the same neighborhood as the trade fair.
If central Frankfurt is sold out
Frankfurt is unusually well-served by S-Bahn and regional trains, so you don’t need to sleep in the city center. Reasonable alternatives, all under 30 minutes from the Westend by public transport:
- Offenbach (S1, S2, S8, S9). Cheaper, plenty of mid-range hotels, 15-20 minutes to the city center.
- Eschborn / Bad Soden (S3, S4). Quiet, business-hotel territory, often available when central hotels aren’t.
- Mainz (RB / S8). 35 minutes door-to-venue, but Mainz is genuinely a nice city to stay in, and you’ll find rooms when Frankfurt has none.
- Wiesbaden (S1, S8, S9). Same story as Mainz. Spa-town vibe.
- Hanau (S8, S9, RB). Further out but consistently has availability.
A 9-Euro-style RMV day pass (currently around 12 Euro) covers the whole Rhine-Main region and pays for itself if you commute twice.
AirBnB and short-term rentals
These tend to be slightly more available than hotels during festival weeks, especially in residential neighborhoods (Bornheim, Sachsenhausen, Bockenheim). Check terms carefully: Frankfurt has some short-term rental regulations and the occasional listing turns out to be unavailable on arrival.
The silver lining
If you’re traveling in for the conference and have an evening free, the Weinmarkt is genuinely worth a visit. Walk down Fressgass after sessions wrap, grab a Schoppen (0.25 liter) of Rheingau Riesling, and you’ll find half the conference there anyway. Just book a room first.
See you in September.