NY hotel prices soar as tourists flock for solar eclipse

NEW YORK (PIX11) – New York is one of a few states within the total solar eclipse’s path of totality – and people from all over the world are booking trips to see the moments of midday darkness from upstate.

The allure of the eclipse has put New York among the most booked states in the country for vacation rentals – searches for Airbnb rentals across New York surged 900%, according to Airbnb. 

Buffalo, which will sit in darkness for over three minutes and 40 seconds, is the most popular city in the state for Airbnb and hotel bookings, even though the total eclipse will turn day to night across northern and western New York. Buffalo is the eighth most popular spot in the world to view the eclipse, according to Airbnb and corporate travel company Navan. 

“Buffalo is bracing for tens of thousands of sky watchers to converge on the area to view the eclipse, and we are doing everything we can to make this event as safe and as enjoyable as possible in neighborhoods citywide,” said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.'

Buffalo hotel and flight bookings for the eclipse were up four times from a similar time period last year, according to an analysis by Chase Travel. In Syracuse, bookings doubled for this year and in Rochester, there were 1.5 times as many, according to Chase Travel.

And, of course, prices have matched demand. 

Hotel reservations were nearly gone in Buffalo just over a week before the eclipse, which will take place on April 8, and the rooms that were still free had at least doubled in price, based on Hotels.com listings. 

In Niagara Falls, a hotel during the week of the eclipse is, on average, 249% more expensive than the week before – the largest spike of any city in the path of totality, according to Navan. Hotel prices in Rochester were up 140% compared to the week before, according to Chase Travel's analysis.

And while travelers head upstate, locals in New York City are on their way out. The city is home to the “highest number of eclipse-chasers'' booking trips in the path of totality, according to Airbnb.