Hotel rates in states in the path of Monday’s solar eclipse have soared to astronomical prices, with some eclipse watchers traveling from across the country to find their reservations canceled and sold for several times the original price.
Millions of Americans are expected to travel to witness one of the most spectacular celestial events in recent memory, with the moon’s path of totality set to sweep across 15 states, along with parts of Mexico and Canada, bring along with it more than a billion dollars for local economies.
Those wishing to book accommodation in the middle aisle of the “great american blackout” sent fares skyrocketing and hotels selling out, with analysis from the New York Times show one hotel in Grayville, Illinois, advertises rooms for nearly 10 times their regular nightly rate.
In Buffalo, New York, where as many as a million visitors are expected to flock for a prime viewing spot during the eclipse, hotel and flight bookings were up four times from a similar period last year, According to analysis by Chase Travel.
Amid the clamor for lodging, one travel agency said it was forced to rearrange accommodations for more than 150 people after reservations made two years earlier at two Buffalo hotels were canceled. Rooms that cost $129 to $159 were canceled and resold for $450 or more, according to Chris Donnelly, owner of Sugar Tours, who said it was “total price gouging.”
“Obviously it was all about the profits,” Donnelly said. “I feel like they never even entered our rooms into the system and just sold them and waited until 30 days before to let us know. Thirty years in the business, this has never happened.”
Manga Hotel Group, which owns the Aloft Buffalo Airport and Hampton Inn & Suites Buffalo Airport, said the room cancellations were due to an overbooking error. No canceled rooms were resold as new bookings, it said.
The region’s tourism bureau, Visit Buffalo Niagara (VBN), said it was working with the individuals who received cancellation notices and that it “does not condone this business practice of canceling room reservations.”
“We find it shameful that long-term customers and new visitors are treated this way,” said Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of VBN. “Putting greed before the visitor’s experience and the destination’s reputation is unacceptable.”
