You can forget about hotels in Washington - unless, perhaps, you are willing to line the pockets of someone trying to pass along his hotel room via eBay - and Maryland is quickly running out of spots too. Montgomery County hotels are sold out, Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County are almost there, and even Harford and Cecil counties are getting in on the action.
La Quinta in Aberdeen sold out rooms for the days around the inauguration the morning after the election. The Comfort Inn in North East, in Cecil County, still has a few of its 91 rooms available that week but does not expect to for long, said Rachel Clendaniel, the front desk manager, who has taken reservations from Montana, Texas and Idaho. The hotel has raised its rates from $99 to $229.99.
"We're hoping the inauguration becomes an annual event," joked Tom Noonan, president and CEO of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, listing hotel after hotel that has no vacancies. "We thought we'd get some pickup, but we were surprised by how much we saw and how quickly we saw it.
"So many people have a desire to say, 'I was on the parade route. I was part of this amazing moment in history.' "
The visitors bureau is planning to put up a Web page to guide visitors during their stay, with Amtrak deals to get to the celebration in Washington and ideas for things to do while in Charm City, playing up its African-American tourism sites.
With demand so high, many people are turning to private homes, and they're finding folks who live near Washington, the Metro or the train and are hoping to make a quick buck. Or a thousand bucks. Or more.
Lindsay Phillips posted an ad on Craigslist offering to rent her two-bedroom, two-bath Rockville condominium from Jan. 17 to 24 for $8,000. "You Voted Change, Watch It Happen!" she wrote.
"One of my neighbors brought it up to me that I should rent it out because I'm planning a ski trip that week," said Phillips, 20, who will be at Deep Creek Lake, where her family has a home. She made a plug for her place: She can see the Metro station from her window, she has a flat-screen television and wireless, the Metro ride to the National Mall is 30 minutes.
Obama was Phillips' candidate, and part of her would like to be around for the hubbub, but on the other hand, she could do without the hustle and bustle.
"It's going to be so crowded," she said.
