Some New Brunswick hotels seeing an eclipse boost - Action News
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New Brunswick

Some New Brunswick hotels seeing an eclipse boost

On April 8 parts of New Brunswick will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse and some hotels are filling up.

On April 8 parts of the province will have a unique opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse

White streamers emanate from a black disk.
A total solar eclipse when the moon entirely covers the sun creates an amazing visual experience, as seen here. The streamers are part of the sun's corona, the outermost part of the its atmosphere. (Alan Dyer/AmazingSky.com)

The Holiday Inn Express in Fredericton was not expecting a large increase in bookings for the upcoming solar eclipse. But with justover two weeks to go before the event,assistant manager Lois Whitlocksaid she is seeing a significant boost in reservations for the night of April 7.

"Usually Sunday night is pretty quiet for us but we've been fortunate to be able to rent out an additional 50 rooms that night."

As of Friday afternoon, the hotel only had37 of its 90 rooms available for that night. And only22 rooms were left for Monday, April 8. The hotel has slightly raised prices for the days surrounding eclipsedue to the increase in demand, Whitlock said.

The Delta Fredericton has also seen an increase in bookings, while the Crowne Plaza Beaverbrook and Hilton Garden Inn are both near capacity but the bookings are unrelated to the eclipse.

A Holiday Inn in Fredericton.
The Holiday Inn Express in Fredericton has seen an increase in bookings ahead of the eclipse. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

Lacy Kent is the front desk manager at the Travelodge in Miramichi where rooms arefilling up.

"We're about two-thirds full.We're being told that they are coming for this specifically and there's some people traveling from as far as the States."

The 62-room hotel hadabout 20 rooms remaining as of Friday but Kentsaid those are notavailable for reservations and have been put aside for companies which frequently book with the hotel.

The Ramada in Miramichi has also seen aneclipse boost, with all 58 rooms booked for the nights before and after the eclipse. The Days Inn in Miramichi saidthey have not had extra bookings so far.

A four story hotel surrounded by green grass and a parking lot.
The 75-room Amsterdam Inn in Florenceville-Bristol is near capacity for those dates. (Nigel Fearon Photography, submitted by Naith Baulkaran, Amsterdam Inn)

At the Amsterdam Inn in Florenceville-Bristol, bookings for the eclipse began a year ago, said Naith Baulkaran, the director of sales and revenue management at the hotel.

"In the last three months it's when we've seen a lot more picking up," he said.

Many guests have been booking from within the province but there have also been reservations from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Maine, Massachusettsand New Hampshire.

The 75-room hotel is near capacity on April 7 and 8. Baulkaran says they believe about 75 per cent of reservations are for the eclipse and he says this represents a 40 to 50 per cent increase compared to average bookings in early April. Additional staff will be at the hotel to accommodate the increase in guests.

"Given that this is a once in a lifetime event, we will have additional staff in the restaurant and in the hotel as well."

Like the Holiday Inn in Fredericton, the hotel has slightly increased prices for the event.