Camper van anyone?
Irish fans travelling to the Rugby World Cup who have yet to book accommodation will be in for a nasty surprise when they see the prices being touted for hotel rooms in Cardiff on the weekend that Joe Schimdt’s side are likely to be involved in the quarter-finals.
Barring a disastrous experience similar to what happened in France in 2007, Ireland are likely to be involved in a quarter-final on the weekend 17-18 October.
Should they finish top of Pool D, they will face the runners-up in Pool C in Cardiff on Sunday, October 18, while if Ireland finish second in the pool, they will face the winners of Pool C (most likely New Zealand) in the Welsh capital on Saturday, 17 October.
As if we needed another reason to want to avoid the All-Blacks at all costs, the price of a hotel room in Cardiff on the Saturday night has provided it, with Trivago reporting that the average cost of a hotel is £1,018 (approximately €1,400) on the night.
That’s a whopping 1095% increase on the price of a hotel on the same date last year (£85) while there is currently only 2% availability on the night.
Hotel prices for the Sunday night are significantly cheaper but still really expensive, with the average room costing £630 (approximately €865), with availability currently at 10%.
You can check out the average prices for hotel rooms on the night of Ireland’s pool games below.
September 19: Ireland v Canada, Cardiff
Average price of hotel room: £521 (approximately €715)
Availability: 2%
September 27: Ireland v Romania, London
Average price of hotel room: £180 (approximately €247)
Availability: 41%
October 4: Ireland v Italy, London
Average price of hotel room: £181 (approximately €248)
Availability: 40%
October 11: Ireland v France, Cardiff
Average price of hotel room: £927 (approximately €1,274)
Availability: 1%
Commenting on the findings, Denise Bartlett from Trivago said: “The hotel price increases in Cardiff are the most extreme we have ever reported for an event in the UK. For the World Cup in Brazil last year hotel prices peaked at an average of £328, with a maximum increase of 243 per cent.
“The average in Cardiff for all match nights is £574, which is 140 per cent more expensive than a night in London during the Rugby World Cup (average of £240), despite London being the UK’s most expensive city for a hotel stay.”
