Looking to book a room in Charleston, South Carolina for the August 21st total solar eclipse? Turn around bright eyes.
The city’s hotel inventory is nearly gone—and Airbnb’s not much better.
“We’ve been sold out for the event for two months now,” Chris Harvey, general manager for the Harbor View Inn in Charleston told WCIV-TV. “So, we essentially sold out three and a half months before that date.”
A spot check of Airbnb shows that only 4% of the service’s listings in the city are currently available between the dates of Aug. 18 and 22. In Columbia, the state capital, only 13% of Airbnb listings are still available.
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South Carolina is ground zero for East Coast eclipse chasers and the state is expecting up to 2 million tourists to come to town for the event. The Palmetto state is in the direct path of the 70-mile wide area that will experience a total eclipse. Parts of the state will experience near-total darkness for more than two-and-a-half minutes at roughly 2:45pm on August 21st.
It’s the most accessible state for the majority of the Eastern seaboard—and the nearest spot within the area that will be cast into total darkness for nearly 100 million Americans, according to GreatAmericanEclipse.com.
Unable to get a room this time? You might want to get a jump on the next celestial event. The next total eclipse is expected to cross North America on April 8, 2024.