President Obama spent two days in Ethiopia on his recent four-day trip to Africa. To house the president and his entourage during their stay, the government required four hotels costing over $1.3 million.
Initially, only a single hotel contract totaling $412,390 was reported, but two others were posted as well, adding another $425,000 to the total. The fourth contract, for the Sheraton in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, totaled an estimated $488,141 for 1,236 sleeping room nights:
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A Florida-based businessman who was in Addis Ababa during the president’s visit told THE WEEKLY STANDARD, “The U.S. locals I was working with told me that the U.S. Government had bought out the entire Sheraton while Obama was in Addis.” A Medium post by White House photographer confirmed that the president stayed in the Sheraton. That same hotel also hosted two meetings during the president’s visit.
The other hotels secured for the visit were the Elilly Hotel for $246,877:
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The Capital Hotel and Spa for $178,433:
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And the Hilton for $412,390:
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The grand total for the four hotel contracts is $1,325,841.
Kenya was the other stop on President Obama’s Africa trip. He spent two days in that country as well, but contracts for lodging covering that leg of the trip have yet to be posted.
