Mitt Romney may be rethinking the over $700,000 in hotel expenses he accrued over the course of his campaign now that he has dropped out of the running. Same could said for Rudy Giuliani‘s approximate $509,352 in campaign lodging costs or John Edwards $238, 514. Holiday Inn Express recently set up a web page showing the estimated costs of hotels/lodging for each candidate and what they could have saved by staying at a Holiday Inn Express. In some instances, the savings were staggering, but as my colleague Dick Evans pointed out, when on the campaign trail, candidates must seriously consider hotel security as a deciding factor when choosing accommodations. And for the front runners still in the election, who is the most modest and who has spared no expense? Democratic candidate Barack Obama is far ahead of his cohorts – coming in just under a million – with approximately $833, 247 spent on hotels. Republican candidate Mike Huckabee has only spent a meager $41,617 throughout the entire campaign! And nestled in the middle, Hillary Clinton with $502,932 and John McCain with $360, 784. Wonder where the candidates are staying? Well, we at GT know that Ms. Clinton stayed at one of our favorite haunts (and GT Tested award winner) The Hotel Bel-Air in the same suite as our publisher and CEO Fran Gallagher! With expenses such as these, the election should be a wonderful boost for the travel economy, between hotel stays, flights and events. In addition, it is an excellent boost for the advertising industry as well. Travel and hospitality are sure to be experiencing an upward swing from the election. -Kimberly Krol, circulation and public relations executive