Hotels sold out to stranded commuters and residents without power at home in a matter of hours during Wednesday evening’s snowstorm, providing an unexpected boon for businesses during a typically slow month. “We went from 60 percent occupancy to 100 percent occupancy in about 45 minutes to an hour,” said Jim Fowler, general manager of the Hampton Inn in Fairfax, an 86-room hotel. “And after that we had people sleeping in the lobby.”

All over the region, managers reported similar stories. Hotels in and near the District accommodated the brunt of commuters who gave up trying to get home after spending hours inching along on jammed roads.