The Pope’s proposed visit to the US is still several months away but already Catholics from out-of-town hoping to stay in Philadelphia for the papal visit are finding there is no room at the inn.
As many as two million Catholics are expected to converge on Philadelphia to see Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families and papal mass, but the city’s 11,500 hotel rooms are selling out fast.
The Associated Press reported all hotels within 10 miles of downtown Philadelphia sold out earlier this week.
Ed Grose of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association said people should be prepared to stay far outside the city, with struggling Atlantic City likely to reap the benefit.
"There have been some hotels that have been contacted by the news media, and some organizations that have been trying to book whole hotels," he said.
CBS reported that hotel inventory for the entire Philadelphia region and Atlantic City combined adds up to around 70,000, yet even this is likely to fall way short of expected demand.
Executive director Donna Farrell of organizer World Meeting of Families has urged visitors to seek out host families on its homestay program to stay with.
"Without that, we cannot accommodate all of our visitors coming from all over the world," she told CBS.
Jack Ferguson of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the papal visit will generate in excess of $400 million for the city of brotherly love.
