Just noticed that the place is sold out from Jan 17 - Jan 24. Would have been cool to get a reservation in the Presidential Suite for at least Jan 19 - 21.
Sure hope you got a nice fat wallet.
You would have had to buy a candidate key. They were selling back when there were still four or five republican candidates, and a couple of dems.
You pay $250.00 and buy a “key” in the name of the candidate that you hoped would win the election. You had the option of selling/transferring your key (if your candidate was still in the running) to someone else for potential profit or loss.
Now, if your candidate wins - you would be guaranteed a shot at a reservation in the new hotel. Best believe that having a “key” would be the ONLY way to get a reservation. It did not guarantee the reservation - just the best chance to get one. The reservations for those dates may be blocked from being booked until after the election, as many of the Washington DC area hotels are.
So let us assume that Trump wins, and you had brought a Trump key. Say you are lucky enough to get a chance at a reservation ... but likely there is a four or five night reservation requirement, and additionally you may not have much of a choice of room type. Hotels in downtown DC are booking for two to four times the regular rates. Not to mention the parking fees.
A (usually) $550.00 per night room at inauguration week rates could run $1100.00 per night x four nights min stay = $4400.00 before the taxes (high in DC) and parking if you drive in.
I got lucky - although I will not be staying in the Trump property I do have two different reservations in Alexandria. One in Old Town, and decent enough one out on the edge of Alexandria - and I snagged both at the USUAL rack rate. Three nights, commencing on the 19th.
(since there was a horrific storm down there during that same time last year - I feel safe that it won’t repeat this time around.)