Obama room in boutique hotel in Mexico City rents for $20

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When Barack Obama visits Mexico City in a few weeks, he probably will stay in the presidential suite at one of the big chain hotels such as the Four Seasons or the Sheraton (next to the U.S. Embassy), or in one of the towers in the upscale Polanco area.

Obama room in Mexico City's Hippodrome hotel

But in the hip Condesa neighborhood on a side street surrounded by parks, Obama already has a room with his name on it in a luxury boutique hotel. It carries the economic-crisis-adjusted rate of about $20 per night, taxes and fees included. It's the brainchild of hotel Hippodrome co-owner Tom Shortt and his partners, who set the base rate at $13.

Shortt, an American expatriate, came up with "the small help for our world, Obama special" long before the U.S. president announced his Mexico trip for mid-April to discuss the drug war, along with trade and immigration issues.

The hotel special covers only one room, booked online at Expedia.com, and lasts for the remainder of the year. There is a two-day maximum stay.

The Hippodrome hotel

"We wanted to have as many people stay as possible, so that's why we put the two-day maximum, so that someone doesn't rent it for a month," Shortt said.

Obama isn't just a marketing tool, but a real inspiration, he added.

"I think we started right on Inauguration Day," said Shortt, whose cozy rooms in a 1931 art deco building usually go for $150 or more a night. "We were all excited. We were all pumped up and we were saying, 'What can we do?' And so we did the special."

After its Internet posting, Room 103 in the 15-room hotel was quickly snapped up and is now almost fully booked for the next three months.

For Shortt and his partners, it's their contribution to easing the economic downturn that has left many travelers unable to afford to stay in a one-of-a-kind property in the heart of the capital's coolest colonia.

Texans from Austin and Dallas, along with residents of Los Angeles and Miami, are among those who have taken advantage of the two-day maximum for the room that looks out onto Avenida Mexico and a large park nearby.

"We wanted to do it because of the whole world crisis," Shortt said. "I know it's a big issue and we're just a small, boutique hotel in Mexico City, but I think that's how we're all going to change around the system, and we wanted to give our two cents' worth."

Considering the price cut of more than 90 percent, many online consumers have commented on message boards that it must be a lucky mistake – and one that has to be honored. Only on arrival do they realize that it's the real deal.

The promotion has generated such travel anomalies as the man from Wisconsin who booked a similarly cheap airfare and spent two days in luxury for less than $50. Or the Austin man who wrote on a Web forum that this is the "best deal in the world, seriously."

The promotion has also been good business and good fun, with people staying a third and fourth night at regular rates and dining in the bistro downstairs.

"Every two days, we have someone new coming in and enjoying a great special," Shortt said. "I think there's a lot of bad press in Mexico City right now. It's really a beautiful city and [the Condesa neighborhood] is safe."