While Washington, D.C. is preparing to welcome an influx of visitors for Inauguration Day this coming January, area hotels are off to a slow start following one of the most contentious and stunning presidential elections in American history.
According to the Washington Post, many hoteliers in the nation's capital had been anticipating a surge in calls and bookings in the wake of Donald Trump's victory. However as of Thursday, the St. Regis Washington, D.C. and others hadn't received any reservations for January's inauguration events, with some guests even calling to cancel previous reservations.
"Things are definitely slower on the uptake this year," Fairmont Washington, D.C. general manager Shane Krige told the Post. "It's not like eight years ago, when the entire hotel was sold out in a day."
Despite the unusual delay, Washington, D.C. hotels remain optimistic and still expect their rooms to sell out by the time January 20, 2017 rolls around.
[READMORE] READ MORE: Hotel Packages That Will Have You Looking Forward to Inauguration Day [/READMORE]
After all, the unexpected nature of Trump's win is likely a key factor in the slow start.
"I think a lot of people are trying to digest the outcome and figure out their plans," added Krige. "This has been a complicated election."
"No one expected the outcomes that we've got this morning," W Hotel Washington, D.C. general manager Meade Atkinson told the Washington Business Journal. "We've gotten a number of calls, but honestly I think it's going to take a while for people to digest what's happened and begin their travel plans."
Some hotels are already close to being sold out for the inauguration, the Post reports, but many of those rooms have been booked by buisness people, lobbyists and media members who planned to be in the capital for the inauguration regardless of who won Tuesday's election.
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