Need lodging for eclipse day? Odds of finding hotel rooms in Greater Akron astronomical

An unknown but potentially gargantuan number of people will visit Northeast Ohio to witness Monday’s historical celestial phenomenon. Many of them will need a place to rest their heads the nights leading into and out of April 8, the date colloquially becoming known as “eclipse day.”

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“Hotel room and overnight accommodations are at a premium,” Gregg Mervis, president and CEO of the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Thursday afternoon. “They are fortunately experiencing high occupancy levels. There are still some rooms available, as well as some Airbnbs and some space at some of the traditional bed and breakfasts.”

Mervis said it seemed that hotels, bed and breakfasts and rentals in the northern parts of Summit County saw more of the early demand, and the county’s southern portions saw more recent demand for Sunday and Monday night stays.

“But at the same time, it’s been a little bit all over the place based on what people want to do with their time outside of that time of the actual eclipse because there’s so much to do before and after here in the community,” he said.

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Visitors searching for Sunday and Monday rentals through Airbnb and Vrbo still have some options.

Some local Airbnb hosts have advertised their units specifically as destinations for the eclipse, using names like “Eclipse Refuge” and “Eclipse Hideaway.”

An Airbnb search around 11:30 a.m. Friday showed roughly a dozen Summit County properties available for two adults to rent Sunday night and about two dozen rentals available for two adults for Monday night.

A search on Vrbo at that same time revealed only 2% of Summit County properties are available for two adults to rent Sunday night, while 7% of Summit County Vrbo properties were available for two adults to rent for Monday night.

One property that appeared in search results among a handful of Medina County rentals on both sites was a 12,700-square-foot mansion on 18 acres — complete with a tennis court — north of Medina, priced at more than $2,000 for a night. It is still available for Monday night as of 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Searches for other dates showed roughly 100 available units on Airbnb and dozens on Vrbo in and right outside of Summit County.

When did most Akron-area hotels book up for the eclipse?

Aside from roughly 20 minutes last month, Sunday and Monday night stays at Berrodin Bed & Breakfast at 814 Bloomfield Ave. in Akron have been booked since April 2023, said owner Louie Berrodin.

“It’s not normal that people book a year in advance,” said Berrodin, who founded the Highland Square business in 2017.

One party that booked a stay in one of the bed and breakfast’s three rooms in February 2023 canceled their reservation in March 2024, and it took less than half an hour for someone to fill that spot, he said.

Berrodin said visitors who booked stays at his bed and breakfast for the two nights are all out-of-staters from Delaware, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

RDA Hotel Management Company’s Northeast Ohio hotels — the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn, Holiday Inn Express in Fairlawn, Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls and St. Paul Hotel in Wooster — are all either sold out or almost sold out for Sunday and Monday, RDA Vice President Jeff Lynch said.

Cancelations were quickly replaced with new reservations, Lynch said.

“That’s a standard thing that happens, regardless, in our business — you always have cancelations and then pick up more rooms,” he said.

The company started to see demand around eclipse day leap about four to six months ago, Lynch said.

Hotels in the path of totality “have been sought after for quite some time,” Mervis said.

‘Stepping stone’ festival at Cuyahoga Falls Sheraton

Management at the Sheraton at 1989 Front St. in Cuyahoga Falls came up with an idea to accommodate guests.

“We wanted to have something for our hotel guests to do besides just sleep here,” said Lynch, who is also the Sheraton's vice president and general manager.

So, the hotel is hosting a free Solar Eclipse Viewing Party at a tent on its south green space from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday.

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The event will offer a link between Cuyahoga Falls' EclipseFest and the SO-FRO Block Party being hosted by several local businesses to the south, Lynch said.

“We thought, 'Well, why not create kind of a stepping stone into the events?'” Lynch said.

The Sheraton will serve Thirsty Dog Brewing Company’s limited-release Solar Eclipse Vienna lager on draft and in cans, Lapis Luna’s sauvignon blanc and red blend, and brats, turkey wraps and hot pretzels from the Sheraton kitchen, Lynch said.

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Eclipse-themed music will also be on rotation, Lynch said.

“I’ve been trying to think of all the fun songs — 'Dark Side of the Moon,' the Pink Floyd stuff — how many songs we can come up with,” Lynch said. “So, it’s going to be fun. We do pay all of the music fees and things like that, so we can do that.”

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Parking in the Sheraton lot will be open to hotel guests only. The 209-room hotel is sold out for both Sunday and Monday nights, Lynch said.

He also pointed out that downtown Cuyahoga Falls is what the state of Ohio calls a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA), meaning people can explore downtown if they use approved DORA cups.

“Exciting times, huh?” Lynch said, perhaps unintentionally — perhaps not — referencing another art rock-esque jam: “Once in a lifetime!”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Most hotels, bed and breakfasts filled for nights surrounding eclipse