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