By:  Serach Nissim

On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico,  the United States, and Canada. It is slated to be the first total eclipse in the US since 2017. The total solar eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean, starting in Mexico.  It will enter the US in Texas at about 12:23 p.m. CDT, and travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse, before it moves on to Canada at about 4:40 pm EDT, per NASA.gov.  The whole cycle of the eclipse takes two and a half hours, but totality, when the moon actually passes between the Earth and the sun, turning day into night, lasts less than four minutes, per the Post.

Hotels in areas slated to have a view are working fast to make a profit on the eclipse.  As reported by the NY Post, hotel prices surge just in line with the eclipse, hoping to rake in on the unusual occurrence.  Some of the price jumps are about as shocking as an eclipse itself.  In Killeen, Texas, a Fairfield Inn by Marriott has raised its rates for rooms on April 8 to $809. One week later, the same rooms are offered for $103.   Killeen, the small city in Bell County, with a population of 400,000, is expected to host double its population for the eclipse.  As a result of the surge of tourists expected, one of the judges there, David Blackburn, has already issued a local disaster declaration. On April 8, the county’s schools will be closed, and residents in the area are already being asked to stock up with food and gasoline.

In Terre Haute, Indiana, the Holiday Inn Express is all booked for April 8. The hotel usually charges about $135 a night but is charging $459 for Monday.  Moving on to Cleveland, Ohio, almost every hotel is already sold out for Sunday night.  Per the Post, only Airbnbs are still available, and brace yourselves, a one bedroom apartment downtown is charging $3,500for the night.  In Burlington, Vermont, rooms at the South Side Inn normally go for about $120.  On and around Apr 8th, however, prices jump some 10 times to a whopping $1,585 per night.

Airfares are also up for the eclipse, The Post reported.  Flights from New York to Cleveland in time to see the eclipse are $946 with United airlines– compared to the same flights a week later at $520.  Also, Delta is charging $749 for a flight from Austin, TX, to Detroit, Michigan, that is designed for in-air eclipsing, though the airline has claimed no responsibility for visibility, weather or take-off delays.

“For flights likely to operate within the path of totality, we’re seeing fares [up to] four times higher than other parts of the day on April 8, in some cases,” Sean Cudahy, aviation reporter at the Points Guy, told The Post.

People may wonder if the inflated prices are justified, but serious eclipse watchers seem determined not to miss out.  “I have hotel reservations in Texas, Plattsburgh, Syracuse and Arkansas; plus we have relatives near Cincinnati,” Joe Rao, a former meteorologist on 1010 WINS radio, who has already witnessed 13 eclipses, told The Post.