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BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A total solar eclipse coming to this region in early April is expected to bring tens of thousands of visitors. And those travelers still looking for lodging should be prepared to pay premium prices.
When the total solar eclipse happened in 2017, places along the path of totality, like the Pacific Northwest, were flooded with skygazing tourists looking to see the skies go dark as the Moon passed between the Sun and Earth.
In the afternoon of April 8, 2024, it’ll be Vermont’s turn for some mud season fun.
“We’re seeing a huge surge in demand in vacation rentals for the eclipse during a time of year where normally we would see very close to zero occupancies,” said Julie Marks with the Vermont Short-Term Rental Alliance. She says they’d normally see 10 to 20% occupancy on average for early April. “Right now it’s already creeping up past 60 towards 70% occupancy — 32% at least in the Chittenden County region.”
And it isn’t just short-term rentals being snapped up. “It took two days and it sold out,” said Hans van Wees with Hotel Vermont in Burlington. For a weekday in April, he says they would normally be about half booked. But just a couple of days after they opened up bookings, all of their 125 rooms were claimed. And he says many other hotels in Burlington are booked up, too. “Same story — as soon as they opened up their reservations, sold out within a few days.”
We wanted to see what lodging we could find if we went online. There are plenty of hotels in the Burlington area that are just flat-out booked. We did find a couple of rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn starting from $860 a night. The Comfort Inn & Suites in South Burlington is offering rooms that start at $475 a night. And the La Quinta Inn & Suites is showing $624. Likewise, the Best Western Plus says they have theirs at $475. VRBO and Airbnb are also showing elevated prices.
Van Wees says don’t wait to book because room rates won’t go down. “Our experience is historically with hotels, the closer to the date, the prices will be higher,” he said.
But Marks is more optimistic about short-term rental pricing. She thinks more options will open up as people who wouldn’t normally rent out their rooms realize there’s money to be made. “That might be a little bit moderated as we get closer and more people decide to open up their doors just for the special event,” she said.
Marks recommends anyone considering renting out space on their property do your homework first to make sure they know what you’re getting into. And for travelers, she says you can often save money by booking a room in a home rather than your own space.
As for hotels, van Wees says you can get on a waitlist if there’s a particular hotel you really want to stay at.
How will all those extra visitors impact traffic and other services? Cat Vigleienzoni will have more on that in the second half of her report next week.
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Burlington braces for eclipse-watchers and strategizes on how to keep them coming back
Vt., NY solar eclipse fans gear up for moment in the shade
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Gregory Daniels is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, he explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture. Gregory enjoys staying ahead of the curve and sharing emerging trends with his readers.
