Just up the block, the Old Ebbitt Grill was completely closed.
Widdicombe said: “The W Hotel at 15th and Pennsylvania had security people in it. Report noted that hotels, on the other hand, are now hosting National Guard units instead of inaugural ballgoers - meaning close to normal capacity, perhaps, albeit at a lower government rate. holiday weekend, these restaurants might take in revenues of about $8 million instead they made zero Dollar. More than two-thirds of D.C.’s downtown destination restaurants were forced to shut their doors for the duration. Given the context of the pandemic, getting an exact figure for the economic impact of the security measures is tricky, since there’s never been an inauguration quite like this one in the history of the US. leaders and activists, Airbnb cancelled all reservations in the capital region.ĭowntown stores and eateries, which paid thousands to board up their shops to prepare for the possibility of violent protests, shuttered completely as the inauguration arrived. A week before the inauguration, answering calls from D.C. With the pandemic still raging, there was little chance that the Biden inauguration was going to draw the same size crowds as his predecessors, from President Barack Obama’s record-high 1.8 million attendee gathering in 2009 to President Donald Trump’s controversial-but-average crowds of 300,000 to 600,000 in 2017.īut as the date neared, security precautions threatened to overshadow the event itself. “Not security, but other types of local spending that tend to happen directly associated with the inauguration.” Not all of that spending winds up in the pockets of local businesses or residents, according to report.Ĭhapman stated: “I would guess that we’re going to lose an additional $20 million to $50 million from the galas, the catering, the construction. Mayor Muriel Bowser has complained that the city has not yet been reimbursed for its costs for the last presidential blowout.) (Local government foots part of that bill, too, and D.C. The US Federal Government typically spends in the neighborhood of $150–200 million on inaugural activities, she says, with at least half going to security and the rest spent on production. Fuller Institute at George Mason University, says that this estimate is much harder to pin down. Jeannette Chapman, Director of the Stephen S.
Then there’s the cost of the event itself: security, construction, catering and entertainment. BID puts the hospitality bump estimate at $107 million. Hotel occupancy during an inauguration versus a typical week in January jumps from 55% to 89%, while rates spike from an average of $170 to $600–700.Īll told, the Downtown D.C.
WASHINGTON DC LOCKDOWN FULL
There’s the bonus hospitality revenue from out-of-region visitors: Hotels and restaurants operate at near full capacity for the week of inauguration. The economic impact of a normal presidential inauguration falls into two categories. BID, said: “From the pandemic point of view, the city is out $100 million-ish from the normal inaugural bump.” Gerry Widdicombe, Director of Economic Development for the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District is estimating a nine-figure loss. How big was the economic blow that the city received due to fears of a January 6 reprisal? While it will take some time to come up with a final tally, the Downtown D.C. With plans to keep a reserve force of some 5,000 National Guard troops in the city through mid-March, even the low bar for pandemic-era normal seems like ways off for downtown D.C., Bloomberg report said. Security measures implemented in the wake of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and maintained through the inauguration came at a cost to downtown businesses, who bore the full brunt of a near-total lockdown. However, the inauguration of President Joe Biden was different, of course, marked by a military presence reminiscent of a Civil War scene up till Wednesday, January 20, 2021. Galas and parades, to say nothing of the big event itself, bring a crush of reservations for hotels and restaurants downtown, with economic benefits spilling over to neighborhoods across the city. The Capitol riot ignited by ex-United States (US) President Donald Trump’s supporters and other ‘lawless extremists’ Wednesday, January 6, and subsequent inauguration lockdown seem to have gone, but not without leaving some socio-economic implications in their wake.ĬonsumerConnect learnt after most presidential elections in the country, the inauguration is usually a bonanza for Washington, D.C.’s businesses and organisations. *Local business leaders relate that with galas cancelled and watertight security, Washington’s big quadrennial blowout was an economic washout, particularly between January 6 insurrection at the Capitol Hill and lockdown ahead of the Joe Biden inauguration
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