How much money have the candidates spent on hotels — and how much have they wasted?

Are the presidential candidates spending your campaign donations wisely? When it comes to their hotel bills, the answer is “no” according to a nifty new site from Holiday Inn Express.

The page calculates each candidate’s lodging bill for the 2008 campaign and how much they could have saved by staying at a budget hotel like Holiday Inn Express. It’s enlightening.

For example:

Hillary Clinton spent $502,932 — a waste of $136,105.

John McCain spent $360,784 — a waste of $138,230.

Barack Obama spent $833,247 — a waste of $364,952.

Mitt Romney spent $708,189 — a waste of $284,060.

The site doesn’t take itself that seriously. “We gotta admit, we’re not pollsters, political scientists or even economists,” it warns. “Heck, we’re not even very good at math.”

No matter. The point is taken — the candidates might consider spending our campaign donations more smartly.



  • Joe F

    The crazy thing it they probably spend very little time in the room – except when either calling donors and sleeping – ah well, its not tax money yet . . . .

  • Kevin

    And how much money did they save, by having meetings in their suites, avoiding the cost of a rented conference room?

    And how much more effective were they, because they were comfortable in their surroundings, thus allowing them to concentrate on the tasks at hand?

    I’m a small business owner, and I never stay in Holiday Inn Express. I won’t do it, because I can’t do business in my room, in my hotel bar or my hotel restaurant if I stay at a budget hotel. Furthermore, even if I’m not meeting with a client or partner at my hotel, I like being sure that my room will be clean, quiet, and conducive to getting a good night’s sleep.

    I’m sure this study will outrage some people, but I doubt those people have ever had a high-travel job, and that those people don’t know how badly hotels get you on conference rooms.

  • Amy

    When you’re traveling extensively, full-service hotels offer benefits that can’t be easily measured in dollars. I’m sure candidates need same-day laundry or dry cleaning services quite often, and budget hotels don’t usually offer these services. Also, having to leave the hotel and go searching for food is much less efficient than picking up the phone and calling room service. What about working out? What about needing a business center for packing and shipping needs? Or as Kevin mentioned, having room to spread out for work and meetings?

    I imagine that for the candidates, hotel rooms have now become their homes (but their homes probably don’t have tacky carpet and cheesy paintings hanging over the bed). Where would you rather live every single day? A Holiday Inn Express or a full-service hotel where you can meet most of your daily needs in one building, as opposed to running errands all over town? “Cheap and cheerful” properties are appropriate for certain trips, but not for life on the road. While five-star isn’t a necessity, full-service might just well be.

  • TommyR

    Hillary has special security considerations for her and that husband. I wonder who pays the Secret Service per diem etc for those two!

  • John

    Dudes–it’s a marketing site. It’s kind of like a joke.