I would try booking.com and AirB&B, if available (in France they often have poor coverage; in the USA I have no idea). I say this because everybody and their dog puts their spare broom cupboard on (especially) AirB&B just for a laugh to see which sucker buys it, and sometimes you can find an apartment whose owner is not aware of the local time-critical tourism attractions. So you can get totally unexpected bargains. I got one at LDLO 2 weeks ago… on booking.com too. Also a lot of people put apartments up on google and nowhere else.
The hotels today play games with online booking sites, allowing e.g. only one room at a time to be available online.
Get a FAST mobile home, and ride with the eclipse to make it last longer!
Aviathor wrote:
Get a mobile home!
I would, if we traveled alone. But in our group there are some pensioners who don’t like the idea of sleeping in a camper and cooking your own breakfast…
I’d try to find a place 100 miles away, if possible. I had the same thing happen to me a couple of times during the Farnborough Airshow. Up to a certain price level i understand that it’s “a free market”. Beyond that it’s pure greed.
On that site, they recommend:
Another piece of advice is to remain flexible in your plan for eclipse day. August is a perfect time of year for camping, so consider bringing a tent or recreational vehicle in case a weather system forces you to relocate several hundred miles. Even if you reserve a hotel room in a prime location, don’t stay fixed to a location if the short-term weather forecast is not favorable.
But I heard Wyoming is full of snakes, so I’m not sure I’d be very inclined to go camping around there. 
Even though the probability would be higher to get struck by lightning than to be bitten by a snake.
To get this in line with the website topics: Do you think it would be possible/a good idea to go flying to see the eclipse? Already, the idea of extending the period in which you see the shadow seems unrealistic; I quickly calculated that it will be moving along the earth at around 1400 kts. And maybe they will put up some TFRs or the like?
Consider renting a RV? Looks like there are many more amateur astronomers wanting to see the eclipse than you anticipated :-)
OK, I see that was suggested and rejected, fair enough. I guess I’d second Flyer59’s suggestion of getting a place within acceptable driving distance…
what_next wrote:
This is not the Cote d’Azur
Exactly. In a place like Casper, there’s going to be very limited HOTAC available. Supply and demand….
Just to check it out, I just looked on booking.com (and yes, you can book that far ahead). Not a single room available in Casper on your dates. These things (eclipses) are popular….. Btw, I doubt an RV would be a good idea. In many places you are not allowed to park just anywhere (although I have no clue if that’s applicable to Wyoming) and prob99 all the available spots in RV parks are already taken. Sounds like you got to bite the bullet……
PS: given you are taking the family, this most likely won’t work for you, but I often don’t reserve anything at all at places that are booked solid (e.g. FFM book fair, Cannes festival) but just rock up. There are always cancellations and I’ve never had to sleep rough!
Anyway, although you most likely know this already, here is a map of the eclipse path showing all the towns and villages in its path.
PS: as the eclipse covers several states, perhaps you are in more luck somewhere with more HOTAC infrastructure. Places like Bend (craft beer capital of the USA!!) come to mind.
172driver wrote:
PS: as the eclipse covers several states, perhaps you are in more luck somewhere with more HOTAC infrastructure. Places like Bend (craft beer capital of the USA!!) come to mind.
Or go to Buenos Aires on 2/7/2019.
what_next wrote:
I would, if we traveled alone. But in our group there are some pensioners who don’t like the idea of sleeping in a camper and cooking your own breakfast…
Could you possibly be underestimating US motorhomes? 
We are not talking about the Dutch foldable camper here!, but of a house on wheels, with expandable sides and all comfort.
Flyer59 wrote:
Beyond that it’s pure greed.
I guess there’s an argument for that, however if I put myself in the position of being a hotelier I struggle to see the logic in letting my rooms go for 10-20% of the price people WILL pay. Say 10 rooms that could have sold for $600 that I let go for $60, that’s $5400 revenue lost with $600 taken, would you really let that go?
Equally, and possibly stronger, is the argument that it is not greed but simply market price, otherwise the rooms would not be selling for those prices.
