President Obama's Second $1.5M Brussels Hotel Bill in Less Than Three Months

    In late March of this year, President Obama stayed in Brussels, Belgium for about 24 hours on a weeklong trip through Europe.  Lodging at The Hotel in Brussels cost $1.5 million, as we reported in April, including rooms for the president and his entourage, as well as for the advance team in the weeks preceding the visit.
    Less than two and a half months later, President Obama returned to Brussels again for about 24 hours for a G-7 meeting in early June, once again stayed at The Hotel, and again incurred a cost of $1.5 million.  This time, the documents cited a need for "399 Lodging Rooms, office rooms, and conference rooms from 5/22/2014 – 6/6/2014":

    For the same trip, a contract for over $1 million for rental vehicles was posted as well.  The contract covered an "[e]stimated 141 Rental Vehicles from 5/20/2014 – 6/7/2014."

    The rental vehicles are in addition to the vehicles that accompany the president on all his trips, including The Beast, the president's armored limousine.


Note: A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

$1.5M Hotel Contract for President's One-Day Visit to Brussels

    In late March, President Obama took a week-long trip through Europe which included a stop of less than 24 hours in Brussels, Belgium for meetings with the European Union and NATO.  The president stayed at The Hotel, a twenty-seven story hotel in the center of the city.  The estimated cost for the president's stay, including about two weeks for an advance team, was $1,522,646.36.

    Despite reports that the president travelled with an entourage of 900, the Justification and Approval documents only indicate a need for "283 Lodging Rooms."  However, sometimes more than one hotel is used during VIP trips.  For instance, when the president travelled to South Africa for Nelson Mandela's funeral, five different hotels were used.

    Contracts for lodging have not yet been posted for the president's other stops during his European trip which included the Netherlands and Rome, Italy.


Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.