Oregon Attorney General warns of hotel price gouging ahead of solar eclipse

Whitney Woodworth
Statesman Journal
Dramatic apocalyptic background - full solar eclipse in dark red sky, end of world, judgment day coming. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

With just over a month until a solar eclipse plunges parts of Oregon into darkness and fills the state with hundreds of thousands of visitors, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is urging eclipse chasers to confirm their hotel reservations to avoid unexpected cancellations and price gouging. 

The Oregon Department of Justice reported an increase in consumer complaints from people who've had hotel reservations canceled or their room rates doubled or tripled.

An estimated one million visitors are expected to travel to the eclipse's path of totality, which passes over several Oregon cities including Lincoln City, Salem and Madras, on Aug. 21. 

“Travelers need to be able to trust that hotels will keep their reservation and honor the original price,” Rosenblum said. “While most hotels play by the rules, we are concerned that some could try to make money off of this unique event, and increase the price of the hotel room without telling the customer."

In February, one Washington visitor and amateur astronomer canceled his reservation after he discovered his room rate at the Grand Hotel in downtown Salem had doubled from $200 to $400, even though he reserved rooms more than a year in advance. 

DOJ officials are working with 12 Oregon hotels to resolve consumer complaints involving price gouging or canceled reservations. Seven of the hotels agreed to honor the original room price. 

The Justice Department sent letters of warning to all hotels in the eclipse path and all hotels with complaints detailing the state's consumer protection laws.

The letter instructed hotel managers to either honor visitors' reservation with the originally booked price or give at least $500 to each consumer. 

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"We want to make sure travelers know that hotels must honor their advertised prices, regardless of whether the prices are advertised directly by the hotel, or with a third party," Rosenblum said. 

As many as 300,000 people are expected to flood into the 6,000-person city of Madras for the once-in-a-lifetime event. 

An official at the Inn at Cross Keys Station in Madras said all of the hotel's 72 rooms were booked in the days surrounding the eclipse. Many reservations began trickling in about five years ago, and now, motels and hotels in the area were booked solid.  

A night at the Inn runs about $300 for eclipse visitors. Officials said the price is set upon reservation. 

Canceling a reservation or increasing the room rate constitutes a deceptive practice under Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practice Act, which prohibits a business from making false or misleading representations concerning an offering price of goods or services. 

Those who encounter problems with canceled reservations or price gouging should contact the Oregon Department of Justice's consumer hotline at 877-877-9392 or justice.oregon.gov/complaints. 

For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth

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