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Fans face hotel penalty prices
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-11 06:16
Looking for a cheap room in Germany during the soccer World Cup? Think again.
Organizers of the month-long
tournament and the German tourist industry had promised reasonable rates but
fans looking for affordable accommodation now are likely to be disappointed.
Costa Rican supporters wanting to watch their side open the tournament
against hosts Germany in Munich on June 9 are among the most unlucky.
Staying at one of the city's top hotels would set you back 1,294 euros
(US$1,565) per night over the weekend from June 9. The same double room costs
just 167 euros next month.
Even a more modest four-star establishment is charging an overnight rate of
281 euros compared with 59 euros for the room in mid-February or mid-August.
Despite the price hikes, many hotels are already full.
Germany is expecting some one million foreigners to flood in while the
football lasts. England is likely to send the largest contingent, with 100,000
people expected to head to Germany.
Its Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) is already concerned about "price
gouging" and has met officials from Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Cologne, where
England play their opening matches, to discuss campsite availability and
emergency accommodation.
Higher levels
Kevin Miles, FSF's international coordinator, said a lot of hotels appeared
to have raised overnight rates to the higher levels they charge when a trade
fair is in town. The increase can be as much as five-fold.
"Sadly, there's a certain inevitability," he said. "The Germans have a word
for it, 'Kapitalismus'. Other countries do it too. It's a factor of supply and
demand."
World Cup organizers argue that they have reached deals with large chains and
privately-run hotels to charge only the standard, not the trade-fair, rate.
More than 500 hotels have signed up, offering 50,000 rooms.
"These are great rates, not for example what you'd be paying in Munich during
the Oktoberfest or an international fair," a spokeswoman said.
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