CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As you might imagine, Texas hotels are pretty much full right now due to mass power outages and freezing temperatures -- and the Coastal Bend is no exception.
Those who are without power see a hotel room as a last resort in finding a warm place to stay, but right now you need some luck to find a vacancy.
"My wife and I a couple of times yesterday were charging our phones up and getting warm for a half hour in the cars before we decided to come check into a hotel," said Brett Oetting, President and CEO of the Visit Corpus Christi.
Oetting said it may be nearly impossible to find any rooms in the city.
"About mid-afternoon there started to be a very large entrance into hotels with especially locals trying to find hotel rooms, and a majority of the hotel rooms were sold out last night," Oetting said.
Oetting said there are about 10,000 hotel rooms in the city and because there are more than 50,000 residents without power, there aren't a lot of choices for those still trying to find a place to stay.
The problem is statewide, and in some of the bigger cities in Texas, price gouging has reportedly become a concern.
A quick check of hotels.com shows a Super 8 offering a room for $400 a night, and a Days Inn advertising one night for $900 per room. Oetting said to do some online research if you're looking for a room, but don't assume any online site is up to date.
"Going to a website like Expedia.com might be the quickest way but then definitely get that phone number and call the hotel directly," Oetting said.
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