Ladies’ Day could prove to be a particularly pricey day out.
There’s less than a fortnight to go until the Galway Races return to Ballybrit and thousands of people descend on the City of the Tribes for a bit of racing and a bit of craic.
Festival goers looking for accommodation on the week of the races should be warned, however; much like a particularly unfortunate day at the track, it won’t come cheap.
According to the trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI) prepared each month by hotel search site trivago.ie, the average hotel price in Galway has risen by 16% for the Galway Races (July 27 – August 2), with prices peaking at an average of €221 for Ladies’ Day (Thursday, July 30).
The average price of a hotel room in Galway for the month of July is €137 and will rise to €171 for the week of the races themselves, one of the busiest weeks of the year in Galway and a highlight of the racing calendar in Ireland.
Overall, the average price of a hotel room in Ireland has risen 15% since July 2014, with customers now having to fork out an average of €124 for a room this month compared to €108 in the same month last year.
The largest increases are to be found in Dublin (€168, up 21% from €139 in July 2014), Killarney (€156, up 21% from €129 in July 2014) and Kenmare (€146, up 19% from €123 in July 2014), something to bear in mind if you’re planning a few days’ break down the country.
As for Galway, if you are going, fingers crossed you have some luck on the track because otherwise, the fear when checking the bank account will be particularly strong afterwards.
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