How We Research
Transparency matters. Here is how we research, verify, and keep our Oktoberfest guides accurate and up to date.
Our Team
Discover Oktoberfest is not a faceless content operation. There are real people behind every guide, every price update, and every recommendation on this site. Here is who we are.
Florian Müller — Founder & Lead Editor
Born and raised in Munich's Sendling district. Has attended every Oktoberfest since 2005 — first dragged there by his grandfather, now going voluntarily. Former tour guide at the Theresienwiese for three seasons (2012–2014), which is where the idea for this site started. Speaks German, English, and Italian. Personally responsible for the beer tent reviews, the first-timer guide, and arguing with the rest of the team about whether Augustiner really is the best tent (it is).
Editorial Team
Four Munich-based contributors, each covering a different angle of the Oktoberfest experience. One handles food and restaurant reviews — she has eaten at every Wirtschaft within a kilometre of the Theresienwiese and has strong opinions about Schweinshaxe. Another covers nightlife and the Afterwiesn scene. The third focuses on hotels and accommodation, booking test stays every season to verify what we recommend. The fourth covers family experiences and accessibility, attending with her two kids every year to test what actually works for families versus what just sounds family-friendly in a brochure.
“We don't write about Oktoberfest from behind a desk. Every fact, every recommendation, every insider tip comes from boots on the ground at the Theresienwiese.”
How We Gather Information
Our research process has four layers. No single source is enough on its own — we cross-reference everything before it goes on the site.
On-Site Visits
We visit every beer tent, walk every hotel route, and eat at the restaurants we recommend. Our beer price data comes from reading the actual price boards at each tent during the festival — not from press releases or third-party aggregators. When we say a tent closes at 11:30 PM, it is because we were there at 11:30 PM. When we say the walk from Goetheplatz to the Augustiner tent takes 7 minutes, we timed it. Multiple times, on different days, at different crowd levels.
Official Sources
We work with data from München Tourismus, the Stadt München Wirtschaftsreferat (the city's economic department, which oversees the festival), DEHOGA Bayern (the Bavarian hospitality industry association), individual tent operator websites, and Munich public transport (MVV). Official sources are particularly important for dates, regulations, and capacity numbers — things we cannot verify by just showing up.
Community Feedback
We collect tips from Munich locals, Oktoberfest regulars, and our readers. Our Ask Sepp AI assistant processes thousands of visitor questions each season, which helps us identify what people actually need to know versus what we think they need to know. For example, we added a detailed section on restroom locations after noticing that “where are the toilets” was one of the top 10 questions Ask Sepp received in 2025. We also run an annual survey of returning visitors to find out what surprised them, what they wish they had known, and what we got wrong.
Historical Data
Our beer price database goes back to 1810, sourced from the Stadtarchiv München (Munich City Archive) and published festival records. This is not just trivia — historical price trends help us make reasonable estimates for upcoming years before official prices are announced. When we publish estimated 2026 prices in March, those estimates are based on actual inflation patterns and historical year-over-year increases, not guesswork.
Our Fact-Checking Process
Getting things wrong about Oktoberfest is not just embarrassing — it can ruin someone's trip. A wrong opening time, an outdated beer price, a tent that no longer accepts walk-ins: these mistakes have real consequences. So we take accuracy seriously.
- Every price, date, and capacity number is cross-referenced against at least two independent sources. If we can only find one source, we mark the information as unconfirmed.
- Beer tent details are verified against official tent operator websites each spring when new season information is published. Most tent operators update their sites between February and April — we check weekly during this window.
- Hotel prices are checked against booking platforms (Booking.com, HRS, the hotels' own websites) in both off-season and Oktoberfest season. The price difference is often 3–5x, and we report both ranges so visitors can plan realistically.
- All content is reviewed by at least one Munich-based team member before publication. For major guides (first-timer guide, beer tent reviews), two team members review independently.
Correction Policy
We make mistakes. Not often, but it happens — a tent changes its opening hours mid-season, a price goes up after we published, or we just get something wrong. Here is how we handle it.
- If we get something wrong, we fix it immediately and note the correction at the bottom of the affected page. We do not silently edit and pretend the error never happened.
- Readers can report errors through our Ask Sepp chat (available on every page) or by emailing us directly. We respond to correction reports within 24 hours.
- We update all content annually before the festival season, typically between March and April. This is a full review, not just changing the year in the title. Every price, every date, every recommendation is re-checked.
What We Don't Do
Transparency is not just about showing our process. It also means being clear about what we will not do.
- We don't accept payment for recommendations. No tent, hotel, or restaurant can pay to be featured or ranked higher in our guides. If we recommend a place, it is because we genuinely think it is worth your time.
- We don't use affiliate links that influence our rankings. Where we link to booking platforms, those links do not affect which hotels or options we recommend first. Our rankings are based on value, location, and visitor feedback.
- We don't copy content from other guides. All descriptions are based on our own experiences and research. There are dozens of Oktoberfest guides online, and many of them copy from each other. We write from scratch every time.
- We clearly mark estimated vs. confirmed prices. 2026 beer prices on this site are estimates until the festival announces official pricing (usually in August or September). We label estimated prices clearly so you know what is confirmed and what is a projection based on historical data.
Sources We Trust
These are the primary sources we rely on for facts, figures, and official information. We link to them throughout our guides so you can verify anything yourself.
oktoberfest.de
Official Oktoberfest website by München Tourismus. Our primary source for dates, rules, tent lists, and official announcements. Updated annually.
muenchen.de
City of Munich events portal. Used for transport schedules, safety guidelines, and municipal event information.
stadt.muenchen.de
Municipal government Oktoberfest information page. Source for permits, regulations, historical data, and official statistics.
Individual tent websites
Each of the 14 large beer tents has its own website with reservation details, menus, and pricing. We link to these from each tent detail page on our site.
MVV München
Munich public transport authority. Source for U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and bus schedules, especially the extended Oktoberfest timetables.
DEHOGA Bayern
Bavarian hospitality industry association. Useful for industry-level data on accommodation pricing, food service standards, and tourism statistics.
Regular Updates
Oktoberfest changes every year — new prices, updated rules, tent renovations, and transport changes. We do not publish once and forget. Our content follows a strict update cycle.
March to August: all guides are fully reviewed. Every price, date, and recommendation is re-checked against current sources. Estimated prices are published with clear labels.
September to October: real-time updates for last-minute changes. We are on the grounds daily, verifying prices against actual boards, checking crowd levels, and updating transport info.
November to February: comprehensive review incorporating what we learned, reader corrections, and visitor survey results. This feeds into the next pre-season update cycle.