I could have made $2,100 cashing in on solar eclipse tourism—why I chose not to, from a U.S. retiree in Mazatlán, Mexico

The resort town of Mazatlán, Mexico — where I lived from 2006 until last month — is one of the best spots to witness the total solar eclipse on April 8. Hordes of people are traveling there to experience the event.

There was a 1,000% surge in searches for Airbnb listings in North American cities along the path of totality compared to the same period last year, according to a recent report from the rental marketplace. Mazatlán was the second most popular city among them, after Austin, Texas, and one of the top trending international destinations for U.S. travelers.

Tourism officials in the state of Sinaloa expect 120,000 visitors, according to local news, and Mazatlán's hundreds of hotels are almost fully booked for the event. I've seen Craigslist and local Facebook pages glutted with rooms, apartments, condos, and homes for rent. 

But I'll be far from Mazatlán during this celestial phenomenon, and I decided not to rent out my apartment for an astronomical amount of money. Here's why.

Rumors started circulating roughly three years ago about people renting their places for inflated prices during the eclipse week. I heard about bookings made and paid for in full, sight unseen, and rentals going for far above their normal prices.

One local friend's family charged up to four times the regular rates for their 10 vacation rental condos for the eclipse week. 

My friends Eric and Jenna Streit, who moved to Mazatlán from Los Angeles during Covid with their son, have two rental units on their property in Centro Historico that usually rent for $40 - $50 a night on Airbnb. They told me they were offered $400 a night for the eclipse week. But since they have family members coming for the event, Eric said, "we won't be cashing in." 

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