Staying in Dublin for the big game on Paddy’s weekend? You’ll need to have deep pockets.
Analysis by global hotel search platform Trivago has revealed that the price of a hotel room in Dublin will increase by 92% on the night of Ireland’s potentially huge Six Nations clash with England in March.
Coming on the back of news of the price of tickets for this year’s tournament, it’s not exactly great news for thrifty rugby fans.
Reigning Grand Slam champions England are favourites to win this year’s tournament, but with Ireland on a crest of wave following a positive end to 2016 and some promising performances by Munster and Leinster in particular in Europe, Joe Schmidt’s side will fancy their chances of success.
With that mind, the stage is set for a potential winner-takes-all encounter between Ireland and the auld enemy at the Aviva Stadium on the day after St. Patrick’s Day and it would appear as if the hotel prices are already matching the magnitude of the encounter.
According to Trivago data, the average price for a hotel room in Dublin on the day of the match, March 18, is €302, compared to €157, the average price of a hotel room in the capital during February and March.
Just the 92% increase.
The fact that it’s a Saturday and that it’s St. Patrick’s weekend, as well as the fact that such a huge match is taking place, is obviously a contributing factor to the increase in price, but rugby fans should be warned that an overnight stay in Dublin isn’t going to come cheap.
The price of hotels in Dublin on the night is merely a reflection of hotel prices in all host cities throughout the tournament, with Trivago reporting a 345% price increase in Cardiff and 153% price increase in Edinburgh for a matchday stay.
Worryingly for Ireland fans heading to Cardiff to see Ireland v Wales on March 10, the average price of a hotel on the night is €450, compared to an average price of €126 during February and March (a 257% increase).
The most glaring price increase throughout the tournament is also in Cardiff, for the meeting of England and Wales on February 11. The average hotel price on the night is €561, compared to the February/March average of €126, an increase of 345%.
Average cost of hotel rooms for Ireland’s Six Nations games:
4 February – Scotland v Ireland, Edinburgh: €324 (February/March average: €139)
11 February – Italy v Ireland, Rome: €118 (February/March average: €117)
25 February – Ireland v France, Dublin: €260 (February/March average: €157)
10 March – Wales v Ireland, Cardiff: €450 (February/March average: €126)
18 March – Ireland v England, Dublin: €302 (February/March average: €157)
