Airfares and hotel room costs have sky-rocketed for the Jan. 20 inauguration of the nation’s first black president, Barack Obama. People interested in attending this historic event might want to consider the serious hit is will have on their bank account.
Rebecca Pawlowski, a communications director at Washington’s tourism organization Destination DC, said she has heard estimates of more than 1 million people coming into town for the inauguration.
The going rate for non-stop airfare to the nation’s capital from Sea-Tac is $2,491 round-trip if you take the red-eye flight to Washington the Sunday before the inauguration.
Travel guide Rick Seaney at Farecompare.com says his airfare research shows that there will be an “inauguration surcharge” for those going to Washington D.C. that week.
While a price for a ticket a week earlier would only cost you merely $659.
The chart shows the difference between inauguration week and the week before from major airports across the country
Seaney added the worst day surcharge is 278 percent from Seattle. Seaney also adds that you can still find decent bargain fares if you are able to handle inconvenience.
Hotel rooms and camp grounds around the region are expected to book up fast for this historic event. While camping in the middle of January might not be the most pleasant, it will be more affordable.
“We have some tenters coming in,” Judy Strahorn, a reservationist at Cherry Hill Campground in College Park, Md., told ABCNews.com. “They’ll sleep in their cars, though — they’re not fooling us.”
This campground has already booked 180 RVs, with space still available. The starting cost is $42 per night.
People should get a jump-start on their airfare and accommodations before everything is reserved.
