While the imminent solar eclipse will sweep through Oregon and roll to the southeast corners of the country, business has started rippling into Washington.
Vancouver hotels and tourism authorities say rooms are booked solid for Sunday as hotels in the prime viewing areas are filled to capacity and would-be eclipse hunters search for nearby rooms to reserve.
“Nobody expected it would impact all the way up here, but I think it’s a compression from all the areas that it is impacting,” said Carla Rise, general manager of the Residence Inn by Marriot, at 8005 N.E. Parkway Drive. “I think it’s people looking to get as close as they can so they can drive there the next day.”
The Aug. 21 event is the first solar eclipse over the continental United States since 1979. Officials project 1 million visitors will descend on Oregon to claim a spot in the “path of totality” — where the moon will block the sun.
August is typically a peak month for Portland and Vancouver hotels, said Kari Jonassen, general manager of the Homewood Suites by Hilton. Sundays are usually a slower day, but that won’t be the case this weekend.
“It is absolutely crazy,” she said. “We didn’t expect to get anything from this. We really didn’t have it on our radar.”
The event has made a phenomenon out of room rates, as well. Hotels with vacancies on Friday in the Vancouver-Portland metro area easily crossed into $200 and $300 per night, according to a check of price and availability made last week. The Best Western Inn at the Meadows offered rooms for $638 per night.
“If you try to go book a hotel, you won’t find anything” in Vancouver, said Rosemary Cooke, of the tourism group Visit Vancouver USA.
Rise compared the activity to a big convention being in town, but those nights are usually spread out. In her 12 years in the industry, jumps in reservations like this aren’t common, she said.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen anything with a large spike like this,” she said.
Still, both hotels said they are ready to handle the influx. The only complication is that both are extended stay hotels, meaning they have business travelers whose trips might be squeezed.
“I’ve got a long wait list going on,” Jonassen said, referring to people trying to schedule trips around the eclipse.
Bart Treece of the Washington State Department of Transportation said they can’t pinpoint how many people will arrive in Vancouver, but the booked hotels are a good indicator the city will be congested.
“With the hotel occupancy, we can kind of surmise the Monday morning commute will be a lot more difficult not just for people going to Portland for work, but also for people trying to go south for the eclipse,” he said.
