Barack Obama nixing his epic 60th birthday bash at the last minute is creating a potential nightmare for many out-of-town guests ... who might lose out on major dough.
We did some digging around Martha's Vineyard -- where the shindig was supposed to go down -- and as it turns out, a bunch of hotels in the area are not issuing refunds for ObamaFest guests who had rooms booked this weekend.
The reason, we've learned, is many of these hotels have strict cancelation policies -- especially at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort -- where you had to have canceled by February 1st to get any money back!!! 😩
A few of these places -- like The Charlotte Inn and the Vineyard Square Hotel have a 30-day cancelation rule ... so those guests are outta luck too.
Ditto for a hotel called Hob Knob (which can run $800/night), but they'll credit you for a future stay if you cancel within 72 hours. Now, a few ... like the Harbor View ($1,300/night) will let you off clean without fees within a 72-hour cancelation window.
The problem is some of Obama's party crew were arriving Thursday ... so the Wednesday morning change of plans -- due to the Delta variant COVID-19 surge -- left them out in the cold.
Not everyone's screwed though -- we did find a small number of lenient/reasonable hotels that allow cancelations within 48, or even 24 hours.
We know what you're thinking ... why wouldn't these places all be reasonable, considering the circumstances? It's all about timing -- our MV sources reminded us this is the busiest time of year there, so hoteliers don't tend to give up summer revenue.
Hotels aside, ObamaFest is also causing a bit of a worker shortage! The event -- originally planned for roughly 500 guests, and the talk of MV since late May -- was reportedly going to employ upwards of 200 locals.
People in the know on the island say that left other MV businesses short-handed. Also, we're told cab/rental car companies have been slammed and completely booked in anticipation of the party.
Like we told you ... Obama's reps say the celebration is now going to be a more intimate affair for close friends and family. We're guessing they can all stay on the 29-acre estate ... which has 7 bedrooms spread out over nearly 7,000 square feet!