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Hotel prices soar as tourists flock to see solar eclipse
Susan Hochman, who for seven years has been planning to travel to see the solar eclipse on April 8, will be shelling out hundreds of dollars for a one-night stay at a modest hotel room in Saranac Lake, New York, which is in the path of the so-called totality.
She’ll be spending $650 to spend one night at a Best Western hotel, where room rates are as low as $99 during less busy periods, according to hotel staff.
“I thought that was crazy,” the New York City resident said. “I almost died at the $650 rate the Best Western quoted, but at least I can just stay there the one night that I need.”
Hochman booked her accommodations in October of last year. Still, she wishes she had made reservations far earlier. “As much as I had given it forethought, I didn’t plan as much in advance as I should have,” she said. She called the inflated lodging prices “kooky crazy.”
Initially, Hochman had planned to stay at the nearby Saranac Waterfront Lodge, a luxury resort on the lake, with friends. But at $700 a night, with a two-night minimum, the hotel was out of her budget.
The cost for a room with two queen beds and a view of the lake? $2,400. The room rate drops to $1,100 on April 8 on the day of the eclipse, according to the hotel, which added that guests started booking rooms there a year ago.
By contrast, the following night, April 9, the same room costs $131, while on April 15 room rates drop to $111.
The Hampton Inn in Carbondale, Illinois, also situated in the solar eclipse’s path, doesn’t have any rooms available on either April 7 or 8.
“We’ve been sold out for months now,” the hotel said. A revenue management team sets the hotel’s rates, which a spokesperson said “are much higher than usual” for the April event.
$1 billion boost
Eclipse-related tourism could pump as much as $1 billion into local economies. All along the roughly 115-mile-wide stretch of land from Texas to Maine, from where the moon’s full blocking of the sun will be momentarily visible, towns are expecting a spike in business as hordes of sky-gazing tourists spend on everything from lodging and dining to souvenirs.
Other types of accommodations, like homes on Airbnb, are also in high demand. There has been a 1,000% increase in searches for stays along the path of totality, according to the home-sharing platform.
AirDNA
Vacasa, another vacation rental management company, told CBS MoneyWatch that tourists appear most eager to watch the eclipse from the state of Texas, based on searches for homes on its site. Vermont is the second most popular destination, followed by Maine.
Average daily rates for homes in Burlington, Vermont, are $506. In Dallas, they’re $375.
Airline ticket prices are up, too. The average flight price to Dallas-Fort Worth, landing on April 7, is $1,900, according to travel site Hopper.
For last-minute travelers eager to see the eclipse, Hopper lead economist Hayley Berg offered advice for saving money.
“Consider staying at hotels outside of the path of totality and driving into the path in the afternoon on Monday,” she told CBS News. “That way you’ll pay a lower rate but can still experience the eclipse.”
Kayak, another travel platform, has launched a tool that lets people search for the lowest-cost hotel destinations on the eclipse’s path of totality. According to Kayak, hotels are cheapest, on average, in Montreal, Canada, which is also a path city. The best rental car deals on average can also be found in Montreal.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.