POSTED: March 20th 2011
NewsUpdate
Boris Johnson warns London hotels to think again about plans for 2012 price hike
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
LONDON, Mar 20: The fast-escalating cost of hotel accommodation in London during Olympic-time next year could mar reaction to the 2012 Games and damage the capital's reputation as one of the world's greatest tourist attractions.
Both the Financial Times and The Sunday Times have pointed up reports of price-jacking in the same week as the organising operation launched ticket sales in a massive publicity exercise featuring British hopefuls and Olympic greats such as Nadia Comaneci and Carl Lewis.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "Hiking up prices and taking advantage of London's guests in 2012 is just wrong. I urge all right-thinking hoteliers to distance themselves from these sharks and get in line now to sign up to Visit Britain's fair price charter."
Thomas Cook has come in for heavy criticism and also LOCOG for awarding the tour operator exclusive rights to sell packages of tickets and rooms. Package prices were quoted as ranging between £198 and £13,998 depending on the class of hotel and the perceived value of the event-tickets included.
Games officials made available 6.6m Olympic tickets to the public last Tuesday though the ballot balance is uneven. For example, the ticket guarantees to sponsors and corporate operators have led to speculation that only 35,000 tickets for Olympic Stadium events will be available for the public ballot.
The European Tour Operators Association said that United States and Japanese tour operators had been “finding it impossible to secure hotel space at viable rates and terms.”
LOCOG chairman Lord Coe responded by warning hotels that over-pricing would backfire because 'Games tourists' would be able to find themselves more economical accommodation.
Keywords · London 2012 · hotels · accommodation · Johnson · Coe
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