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When hundreds of thousands of people descend upon DC next weekend for the inauguration, a record number of guests will stay in DC-area residences through Airbnb.
The company says more than 15,000 people are already booked for the weekend, occupying more than 5,000 residences in the area. This is 10 times more than the 2013 inauguration — when Airbnb was a low-profit startup, rather than the headache for hospitality providers it is today — with plenty more likely to come in the final week.
The company estimates those hosting guests through Airbnb will earn more than $5.9M during the weekend, with a median rate of $129/night. Roughly a quarter of the hosts are using the service for the first time.
Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, the H Street corridor and Adams Morgan are the top neighborhoods for bookings. The company predicts Airbnb guests will spend $4.7M at local restaurants. The top cities where guests are visiting from are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Portland, Philadelphia and Oakland.
Although the inauguration is the main event in the weekend, by some metrics, the Women's March on Washington the following day might be the bigger draw. According to the Washington Post, six times more buses have filed for parking permits for the march than for the inauguration.
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