In January, the State Department signed contracts for an estimated $1,690,000 million for hotels for President Obama’s trip to India. Two of the contracts were for the New Delhi stay, and another two were for Agra, the location of the Taj Mahal. That latter leg of the trip was cancelled when President Obama decided to leave early to pay his respects to the recently deceased king of Saudi Arabia. The president stayed in New Delhi for two nights. He did not stay in Agra, but since his visit there was to be a day trip, the hotels reserved in that city were never intended for him in the first place.
The New Delhi hotels cost about $1.1 million: $800,000 for the ITC Maurya, and $300,000 for the Taj Palace Hotel. A maximum of 4,000 room nights were booked between the two.
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The Agra hotels included the Jaypee Palace Hotel for $350,000 and the ITC Mughal for $240,000; a maximum of 2,500 room nights were booked.
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Even though the Obamas departed India before the planned Taj Majal visit, Mr. Obama and his wife were only scheduled to travel to Agra on Tuesday to visit the legendary palace before departing the country for home anyway. White House guidance (via the Chicago Sun-Times) of the original itinerary reads as follows:
The hotels booked in Agra were apparently solely for the advance team and security personnel necessary to prepare for the Taj Majal visit. Local media in India reported that over 100 security personnel left Agra the day before the president arrived in India after the Agra leg was cancelled.
