Book downtown Grand Rapids, not Allendale. Grand Valley State holds every commencement ceremony at VAN ANDEL ARENA in downtown Grand Rapids, about 20 minutes from its actual campus. The next one is SATURDAY 12 DECEMBER 2026 AT 4 P.M. The Winter 2027 round follows on Friday 30 April at 7 p.m. and Saturday 1 May at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. There is no scarcity story to tell here: Grand Rapids availability was measured across matched control windows for both rounds and neither one moves the market. Tickets are not required, though GVSU asks graduates to keep guests to around ten.
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The ceremony is not on campus
This is the one thing to get right, and it catches people out every year.
Grand Valley State’s campus is in Allendale. Its commencement ceremonies are at Van Andel Arena, 130 W. Fulton, in downtown Grand Rapids, about twenty minutes away.
Allendale is a village. It has essentially no hotel base, which is exactly why the university holds its ceremonies in the city instead. If you book “near campus” you will have booked near nothing, and then driven into downtown anyway.
Book downtown. Van Andel Arena sits in the middle of it, and a good share of the city’s hotels are within walking distance of the doors.
The dates
| Round | Date | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | Saturday 12 December 2026 | 4 p.m. | Van Andel Arena |
| Winter 2027 | Friday 30 April 2027 | 7 p.m. | Van Andel Arena |
| Winter 2027 | Saturday 1 May 2027 | 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. | Van Andel Arena |
GVSU calls the spring round “Winter 2027”, which is its own semester naming rather than a mistake.
The December ceremony is four and a half months nearer than the spring round, and for anyone graduating this autumn it is the only date that matters.
You do not need to rush, and here is the evidence
Most pages on this site are telling you a room is about to vanish. This one is not.
We ran identical searches across five matched windows in one session on 12 August 2026. Around the December ceremony:
| Window | Bookable properties |
|---|---|
| 20 to 22 November 2026 | 64 |
| 4 to 6 December 2026 | 64 |
| 11 to 13 December 2026 (commencement) | 65 |
| 18 to 20 December 2026 | 63 |
| 8 to 10 January 2027 | 63 |
And around the April round, on three-night windows: 62, 61, 59, 60, 61.
Neither ceremony window is distinguishable from its own controls. Downtown Grand Rapids is a proper city hotel market, and one university’s commencement does not shift it, even across three sessions.
Book at a sensible time for the rate you want. Do not book in a panic, because there is nothing here to panic about.
The ring, and two towns we will not put numbers on
| Where | Drive | Bookable properties |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids (downtown) | epicenter | about 64 |
| Allendale, MI | 20 min | not separately measurable |
| Holland, MI | 35 min | 19 to 29 |
| Muskegon, MI | 45 min | 24 to 28 |
Holland is a genuinely pleasant alternative if downtown rates spike for an unrelated event, a real lakeshore town rather than an overflow motel strip. Muskegon is further and cheaper.
Allendale is published without a figure on purpose. Searching it returns more properties than downtown Grand Rapids, which is impossible for a village of a few thousand people. The search is quietly returning the surrounding metro rather than the village itself, so we are leaving the cell empty and saying why, rather than printing a number that would tell you Allendale has more hotels than the city it borrows them from.
What is not established
Which colleges walk in which April session had not been assigned when we checked; GVSU listed them as to be announced.
No named property’s commencement sellout has been confirmed, and given the measurements above we would be surprised by one.
All the figures above are measured rather than estimated.
Verified hotel rules
| Hotel | Min. stay | Prepayment | Cancellation / forfeit | Typical rate | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotels near Van Andel Arena, downtown Grand Rapidssource | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Online, hotel’s own site |
- Hotels near Van Andel Arena, downtown Grand Rapids: No single named property's commencement-specific sellout or policy was independently confirmed this session. Downtown Grand Rapids has a real hotel market including properties like the Amway Grand Plaza and JW Marriott within walking distance of the arena.
Opens live availability around campus via our partner Stay22. Several of the properties above take graduation bookings only by phone, mail-in form, or lottery, so treat this as a price check against the rules in the table, not a replacement for them. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The ring
| Town | Drive time | Typical availability | Rate vs. epicenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allendale, MICheck rooms in Allendale, MI → | 20 min | Not separately measurable, and published without a number. Allendale is a village of a few thousand people with essentially no hotel base of its own, and a search for it returns the surrounding Grand Rapids metro rather than the village. See the ring footnote. | Not established. |
| Holland, MICheck rooms in Holland, MI → | 35 min | Roughly 19 to 29 bookable properties for the 11 to 13 December 2026 window, measured 12 August 2026. | Broad chain tier, generally below downtown Grand Rapids. |
| Muskegon, MICheck rooms in Muskegon, MI → | 45 min | Roughly 24 to 28 bookable properties for the same window, measured 12 August 2026. | Budget and mid-tier, the cheapest option in the ring. |
Counts are bookable properties for identical searches run against a single booking engine in one session on 12 August 2026. Allendale and Grandville are published without figures on purpose: both returned more properties than downtown Grand Rapids itself, which is impossible for a village and a suburb, so the search is returning the surrounding metro rather than the named place. A number we cannot stand behind is worse than an acknowledged gap.
“Check rooms” are partner links (Stay22), and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Live availability near campus
Map and booking links are provided by our partner Stay22. We may earn a commission on bookings made through this map at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
When is GVSU's next commencement?
Saturday 12 December 2026 at 4 p.m. at Van Andel Arena. After that the Winter 2027 round runs Friday 30 April at 7 p.m. and Saturday 1 May at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., all at the same venue.
Should I book near the Allendale campus?
No. The ceremony is not held there. Allendale is GVSU's home campus but it is a village with essentially no hotel base, which is precisely why the university moved commencement to Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids. Book downtown and you will be walking distance from the venue.
Is it hard to get a room?
No, and we checked rather than assumed. Grand Rapids returned 64, 64, 65, 63 and 63 properties across five matched windows around the December ceremony, and 62, 61, 59, 60 and 61 around the April round. Both ceremony windows sit inside their own controls.
Why doesn't commencement move the market?
Because downtown Grand Rapids is a real mid-sized city hotel market, not a college town's handful of motels. One university's commencement, even across three sessions, is not enough to shift it. That is a genuinely different situation from most campuses on this site.
Do guests need tickets?
GVSU states that "Tickets are not required, but we kindly ask that graduates limit their guests to 10 people to ensure adequate seating for all." So it is a request rather than a rule, and seating is general admission.
Where should I look if downtown is full?
Holland is about 35 minutes away with roughly 19 to 29 properties and its own Lake Michigan character, and Muskegon is about 45 minutes up the lakeshore with 24 to 28. Given how steady downtown is, most families will not need either.
How we verified this
Last verified:
- Grand Valley State University, Future Commencement Dates ("Saturday, December 12, 2026" at "4 p.m."; Winter 2027 "Friday, April 30, 2027" and "Saturday, May 1, 2027"; all at "Van Andel Arena - 130 W. Fulton, Grand Rapids, MI")
- Grand Valley State University Commencement ("Tickets are not required, but we kindly ask that graduates limit their guests to 10 people to ensure adequate seating for all.")
This page is verified in two stages. Every fact is checked against the primary sources listed above, then the page is reviewed and signed off by our editor, A. Hassan. Corrections and enquiries: hello@graduationstay.com