Sat, March 30th 2024 at 7:05 PMAustin is shaping up to be an eclipse hotspot ahead of the April 8th celestial event. Thousands of people are converging on areas all alongAirbnb provided us with a map showing all of the bookings across the country on April 7, the day before the eclipse – outlining what will be the path of totality. “The solar eclipse is defining spring travel trends this year,” said Haven Thorn, a communications manager for Airbnb in North America.
It is the same story at hotels too – last month the Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management put out a memo saying that while hotel occupancy in Austin in early April is typically around 70 percent – they expected it to be between 80 and 85 percent, roughly the occupancy rate during SXSW. A quick look at Expedia showed me there are rooms available – but they are not cheap, ranging from more than $400 a night downtown to $124 for a hotel near the airport.
Airbnb reports a one-thousand percent increase in searches for stays along the path of totality – and the company claims there are fifteen times more Airbnb listings along the path than hotels. Austin is in high demand. The event has inspired some people to sign up to become short-term rental hosts for the first time. “Over one thousand new hosts have opened up with homes, their first ever guests on a short-term rental platform like Airbnb,” Thorn told CBS Austin.
This is a good time to remind you to have proper eclipse glasses -- you can get them from the Austin Visitor Center for a dollar-99 each, or buy six get one free, as well as retail and online stores as well