A few days ago, I checked with a half-dozen Washington-area hotels, ranging from the luxe Willard Intercontinental to the not-so-luxe Hampton Inn, and found that all had rooms available for this weekend’s Obama inauguration festivities.  That was a huge change from Obama’s first inauguration, in January 2009, when nearly all the area’s hotel rooms were sold out.

On Saturday, as Obama supporters arrived for the Monday ceremony, I checked with those hotels again.  I asked if they had a room available for arrival on Saturday, staying three nights and departing on Tuesday, January 22.  All still have rooms available.