DC Hotels Made $95 Million In Inauguration Room Revenue

WASHINGTON (AP) -- D.C.'s official tourism agency, Destination DC, says hotels in the Washington region collected nearly $95 million in room revenue from Jan. 17 through Jan. 20, the days leading up to and including President Barack Obama's inauguration.

More than half of that revenue came from the 110 hotels within the District.

With hotel rooms in big demand, visitors paid an average $605 for a room on the night of the inauguration. That's more than three times the average room rate from January 2008.

Destination DC says the numbers come from Smith Travel Research, a Tennessee company that tracks hotel occupancy and revenue nationwide.

D.C.'s chief financial officer, Natwar Gandhi, sales a report on sales tax receipts for the inauguration weekend should be ready by Feb. 20.