Area Hotels Sell Out As Del. Valley Residential Power Outages Persist
By Brad Segall
WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (CBS) -- Hotels have become a home-away-from-home for many area residents who decided not to brave the cold weather at home without electricity.
When it became clear that it was going to take a while to restore power to most customers, many Delaware Valley residents started making reservations at area hotels. They say it made more sense to shell out a few bucks for a room rather than hunker down with layers of clothing in a cold house.
At the Hampton Inn, just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Ken Mazen of Lower Moreland, Pa. got the last room before the hotel sold out.
"(We) may stay one more night," he said this morning, "or we may stay at my mom's -- we're not sure. She has power."
Over a warm breakfast inside the hotel's lobby, customer Harry Quirk says the power went out in his Warrington home early yesterday morning.
"As of this morning the power was still not restored, so actually we're going to look into maybe booking a second night here -- just to stay warm," he told KYW Newsradio this morning.
He adds that he slept like a baby last night.
The front desk at the Hampton Inn says rooms were going quickly and as long as the power stays out for a majority of area residents, they expect the hotel to be sold out.