Obama’s One Night Brisbane, Australia Hotel Bill: $1.7M

 

 

 

” President Obama stayed only one night in Australia for the G-20 summit, but the entire presidential delegation required over 4,000 rooms costing in excess of $1.7 million for the entire stay. Rooms at three different hotels were reserved for the U.S. delegation, and due to the large number of countries involved in the summit, the Australian government parceled out available hotels to each nation’s delegation. The majority of the U.S. delegation stayed at the Brisbane Marriott, with the remainder staying at two other Brisbane hotels, the Urban and the Adina. 

  Presidential visits, such as for the G-20 summit, require advance teams for security and logistics, and may also include arrangements for officials conducting discussions and negotiations before and after the president himself is in the host country.

  Often for such contracts, full and open competition is not possible because time constraints and related security concerns preclude a bidding process. However, in this case, the Australian government required countries to use designated hotels which placed additional limits on alternatives. In any case, the estimated total cost for the three hotels was about $1,732,000; based on an estimated 4,096 room nights, the per room cost comes to $423 per night. The Justification documents for the three contracts state that the cost is “fair and reasonable based on the pricing available across the city of Brisbane at the time of the visit.” “

 

Weekly Standard has the details

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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