Got a Room? Inauguration Is a Windfall

More precisely, how much is it worth to someone who is coming to town for President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration in January and needs a place to stay? One three-bedroom house in suburban Virginia is said to have gone for $57,000 for inauguration week. A week at a four-bedroom in suburban Maryland was listed at $60,000, though that, like other offerings, may be wishful  hinking.As Washington gears up for the historic inauguration of the first African-American president, more than one million people are expected to descend on the capital. The five-county metro area has 95,000 hotel rooms.You do the math. The demand for hotels outstripped the supply more than two months before the Jan. 20 inauguration, not just in Washington and environs but as far away as Pennsylvania and West Virginia; even campsites are filling up. Some people are renting RVs; others are offering apartment swaps.At this relatively late date, the chance of finding a warm place to spend a cold January night (or two) within range of the swearing-in may be largely a matter of luck — and the ability and willingness to pay. But despair for would-be visitors has become an entrepreneurial opportunity for locals. While many people who own, rent or otherwise control sleeping space are packing in family and friends without charge, many others smell profits and are auctioning off their homes, rooms, sofas and even spots on the basement floor. All of this enterprise has prompted complaints that some in the area are exploiting the historic moment by price-gouging. Such high prices are “barring earnest people who want to witness and participate in something remarkable, positive, and promising” from coming to the capital, wrote one poster on Craigslist, who had let out his or her home for “a very modest sum” and urged others to do the same. “Let’s act like we really do want it to be a democracy,” the poster wrote. But another poster responded that it costs money to rent out your house. Besides, this poster added: “Do I deserve to avail myself to a little windfall profit from the smart investment I made and sacrifice for to live so centrally? Darn right I do. So get over it.” One of the highest prices obtained so far appears to be $57,000 for a week in a three-bedroom home near Chantilly, Va., about 24 miles from Washington. Or at least that is what Keith Bell, a lawyer for the federal government, said he was told by the lawyer who reviewed the contract between the homeowner and the renter, who is coming from overseas. SOURCE:NYT.COM