BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — There is just about five weeks to go until we see history in the skies over Western New York.
The region sits in the “path of totality” for the total solar eclipse set to take place on April 8.
More than one million people are expected to visit this area to watch.
Amid the “solar craze”, comes the question: Where are all the tourists going to stay?
According to AirBnB, the Empire State is the “most booked” for the 2024 solar eclipse.
Here is a list of the most popular cities along the path of totality via AirBnB:
- Austin and Hill Country, TX
- Mazatlán, Mexico
- Indianapolis, IN
- Montreal, Canada
- Cleveland, OH
- Dallas, TX
- Niagara Region, Canada
- Buffalo, NY
- Stowe, VT
- Little Rock, AR
The vacation rental property company said there is nearly a 900% surge in searches on the platform for New York during the solar eclipse weekend.
However, as of Friday, more than 20% of listings on the path of totality are still available to book in the state.
7News’ Pheben Kassahun spoke with an AirBnB representative about this once-in-a-lifetime event and a woman from Milwaukee who is making the trek to Buffalo but is using other accommodations amid the frenzy.
A celestial trend has taken over AirBnB this spring.
Searches for accommodations that will guarantee you a good look at history.
“New York is among the most booked states, if not the most booked state, across all of North America on AirBnB for the solar eclipse,” AirBnB North America communications manager Haven Thorn said.
The platform is seeing guests from all over the world flock to Buffalo for the solar weekend, according to Thorn, some “superhosts” are sweetening the deal for their visitors.
“A lot of hosts are offering solar eclipse viewing glasses for their guests,” he explained.
According to AirBnB, 25% of listings are still available to book in Buffalo, more than 40% of listings are still available to book in Rochester and 70% of listings are still available to book in Syracuse.
Thorn said the path of the solar eclipse AirBnB listings outnumber hotels for the eclipse by more than 15 to 1.
“There’s plenty of inventory for guests to still book for any viewers who might be wondering, ‘Hey, I haven’t booked anything for the solar eclipse yet. I want to go somewhere fun and unique. There’s plenty of availability,” Thorn said.
Beyond the solar eclipse weekend, travelers are also taking advantage of what else Western New York has to offer.
“In fact, what we’re seeing is a surge in searches for outdoor category listings, stays that offer things like an air stream, a camper van or an A-frame,” the AirBnB rep added.
Hotels are booking up fast despite how expensive they might be in Western New York.
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While AirBnB is one way to go, a retired woman from Milwaukee making the trek to Buffalo has found another option: staying in a hostel.
“At a hostile, all my experiences have been, I’ve been in London, I’ve been in Paris, in Florence in hostiles, Madison, Wisconsin in hostiles too, is that people go out for the day, they go exploring and then they come back. There’s always a common area that everybody sits down. They talk about their experiences that day and they swap ideas,” Milwaukee resident Sandra Wicker explained to Kassahun over Zoom.
This will be Wicker’s first trip to Buffalo.
She shared she is also a volunteer at Visit Milwaukee, so she knows first-hand what a tourist can expect when visiting a new city.
The self-proclaimed wanderer tells me her trip to Buffalo all start with her sister making plans to go to Texas for the eclipse.
She wanted more out of the trip and chose a more-northern destination.
Wicker said, “I took a look at a map and I thought, ‘Where is it going to be going?’ I saw Buffalo. ‘Wait, isn’t that where the Darwin Martin House is?’ I’ve always wanted to see that house. I’ve always been a fan of the art glass windows. I had a t-shirt for the longest time of one of the windows there. And I thought, ‘I’d be able to see it in person.'”
She is also a big Frank Lloyd Wright fan.
The popular American architect who happens to be a Wisconsin native, has designed more than 1,000 structures; seven of which reside in Buffalo, including the Martin House.
She explained, “So, the Darwin Martin, that’s going to be important to see. The great eclipse; that’s going to be important to see but then there have been so many other little gems that I’ve been finding about that are in Buffalo. Some of them are not too far from me. Some of them are walking distance. I’m going to be learning how to ride the bus there.”
It is a trip that has expanded on its own, planting one seed and then another.
One thing this wanderer hopes to discover in Buffalo are the good neighbors that are so widely talked about across the world.
The total solar eclipse “a once in a lifetime experience” because while it occurs ever year or two, it only happens once in the same place every 400 years, according to NASA.
