Republican National Convention in Cleveland leads to absurd price surge

RESIDENTS, acknowledging an overwhelming demand for accommodation, have taken to Airbnb to rent out their homes for astronomical prices.

The Republican convention has led to a huge surge in prices.

WITH the Republican National Convention in full swing in Cleveland, Ohio this week, the locals have been capitalising on their hometown’s place in the international spotlight, and are making a quick profit out of the surge of visitors who have descended upon the city.

Residents, acknowledging the overwhelming demand for accommodation during the four-day event, took to Airbnb to rent out their homes, apartments, and empty bedrooms to the 50,000 people who have flocked to Ohio’s second-largest city.

The popular short term rental site anticipated more than 1,400 guests would rent through its service for the GOP convention, which is a 400% increase compared to the weeks either side of the event, Salon reports.

Hotel rooms and apartments surrounding the Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland were booked out months in advance of the RNC, so convention-goers naturally turned to Airbnb for an alternate last-minute place to stay.

The average asking price for a rental in Cleveland this week was as high as $1,200 per night. Next week, prices drop to as low as $81 per night.

The skyline of downtown Cleveland, Ohio is reflected on the windows of the convention centre.

Some Airbnb users were seeking rates as high as $10,000 per night, particularly for apartments in the direct vicinity of the arena, where all the action is taking place. A quick search of Airbnb rentals produced a downtown two-bedroom apartment with sweeping views of the city, listed at $4,100 per night. A three-bedroom penthouse apartment, within walking distance to the RNC was posted on the site for an eye-watering $13,800 a night!

To provide some context, the 2014 American Community Survey estimated median housing costs for Cleveland renters at around $880 per month.

Similarly, hotels and even budget motels closer to the outskirts of the city have jacked up their prices for the convention, with a two-star motel in downtown Cleveland charging a whopping $1,330 per night with a continental breakfast thrown in, compared to their regular price of $120 per night.

In the bustling streets surrounding the arena, local merchants are selling everything from toys, T-shirts, hats and badges. Some of the crazier items available for purchase include Trump bobbleheads for $27 a pop, a deck of Trump cards for $13 each (featuring the Donald with friends like Howard Stern and Sarah Palin), single Trump, Clinton and Sanders condoms for $6.60 each and Trump air fresheners for $16 each.

One of the more creative ideas came from pair of university students who created election-themed cereal boxes — Trump Flakes and Clinton Crunch — and are selling the repackaged cereal boxes for an insane $53 each. On day one, before the evening’s proceedings had even commenced inside the arena, the blokes had sold over 400 boxes of the sugary novelty cereal and planned to stay until they sold all 1000 boxes.

Donald Trump bobbleheads are going for $27 a, erm, head.

Cer-iously?

The latest fashions in Cleveland.

“We think politics is so serious all of the time, we need people to laugh, have fun. It’s a good twist on humour,” they told news.com.au.

As the Trump Flakes box says, these “tasty bites of freedom really tell it like it is,” because “the only thing that should be sugar coated is your cereal.”

The GOP Convention is expected to give the city’s economy a $US400 million boost this week, as well as creating thousands of temporary jobs, including florists, caterers, bakers, electricians, television producers, transportation, social media, drivers and security.