One Buffalo home is asking nearly $6,000 for two nights at its Airbnb rental in April, which it bills as a “Solar Eclipse Destination Experience.”
The Westin Buffalo hotel on Delaware Avenue is charging $715 for a room on the day of the total solar eclipse – roughly 2½ times what it normally charges on a Monday.
And the Motel 6 on Maple Road in Amherst is charging $405 for a room on the day before the eclipse and $210 the day of the eclipse. The same room goes for just $60 later in the month.
Western New York will be in prime viewing territory for the total solar eclipse taking place April 8, and visitors are paying high – yes, even astronomical – prices for lodging in the region.
The total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and so is the demand hotels are seeing because of it.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Sara Harvey, a spokesperson for tourism bureau Destination Niagara USA. “People have been planning for years.”
Hotels opened their April reservation books early to accommodate eclipse seekers, and some have had rooms booked a year in advance. Many hotels are booked solid while others have just a few rooms remaining.
It’s a welcome chunk of business during tourism’s slow season.
“Anything that brings people to the area, especially at a time when it’s normally a little slower, it’s something to celebrate,” Harvey said.
In some cases, demand has hotels, motels and Airbnbs charging more than five times their usual rates for the event.
“It’s a huge boon for the economy locally with people spending nights at hotels, especially at these high rates,” she said.
The eclipse is set to reach totality after 3 p.m. April 8, which is a Monday. Many travelers are checking in the day or weekend before the eclipse, and some hotels have required a multiple-night stay in order to book during the eclipse.
The Sheraton on Third Street in Niagara Falls, which typically charges about $80 to $100…
Read the full article here