The solar eclipse, which will cast a visible shadow across the United States on Monday, is already leaving its mark on hotel prices.
The Super 8 hotel chain is considered a budget option for travelers and has over 1,400 American locations. About 300 of them are on the path to totality, and 100 of them were sold out on Sunday or Monday, according to the Super 8 website.
About 45 percent of the Super 8 hotels within 25 miles of the aggregate center that still had rooms available were offering rooms for at least double their usual rate. A Super 8 in Grayville, Illinois, advertised $949 per night for a Sunday-Tuesday stay. The normal advertised nightly rate is $95.
A representative from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Super 8’s parent company, said each Super 8 is an individually operated franchise that sets its own rates, although all franchise owners have access to revenue management software which they could determine their pricing strategy.
More expensive hotels in major cities are also seeing an increase. The Ritz-Carlton in Dallas is currently offering a two-night stay for $7,600 for Sunday through Tuesday. A week later, the price for a two-night stay is $1,329.
The data for the map was created by comparing the lowest non-member rate for a stay April 7-9 with the same Sunday-Tuesday period one week before and one week after.
Even Super 8 hotels in Glendale, Arizona, site of Monday’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament final, don’t exceed Eclipse rates. Several Super 8 locations near Augusta, Georgia, where the Masters golf tournament takes place starting next week, are either sold out or have prices well above average – which explains the card points near the Augusta area.
Thelma Diller, who works at the Super 8 in Malvern, Arkansas, said she will be at the hotel Monday and “hopefully” watch the eclipse. She said the hotel sold out almost a year ago. “I’ve worked here for almost 20 years,” she said. “This is extremely rare.”
Source link
2024-04-09 09:46:26
www.nytimes.com
