Anger over high cost of hotels for Stones gig
FANS of The Rolling Stones have been left shocked at the prices hotels are charging when the rock band perform in Cardiff this summer.
One couple, who are travelling from Devon for the concert at the Principality Stadium on Friday, June 15, say prices for hotels in the city centre ranged from £300 to almost £900 for the night of the gig.
Ian Wasson will travel to the Welsh capital with his wife Jenny for the concert.
He said: “Our plan was to arrive early Friday, explore the city, have a good lunch and do some serious shopping. We would attend the concert, stay overnight and then further explore the city on Sunday.
“We have visited Booking.com to arrange some hotel accommodation, and we are horrified how much local hotels are planning to charge for a night’s accommodation – surprisingly, while the Stones concert is on.”
Ian said when they looked at a single night’s stay in Cardiff hotels for Friday, June 15, Jurys Inn on Park Place was priced at £599, Holiday Inn Cardiff North (M4, junction 32) was priced at £350, The Marriott had a price of £624, and The Principal St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay was charging £878.
The couple, both aged 65, have since changed their plans.
“Needless to say we are now planning to arrive just before the concert, see the Stones and drive back to Devon,” Ian said.
“It is disgraceful how such an advantage is being taken by hotels that are there to best serve your city – so we will not be contributing to your economy.”
According to Trivago, on Monday, the cheapest hotel room in Cardiff for June 15 is Travelodge Cardiff M4, priced at £199.
The cheapest on Booking.com was Citrus Hotel Cardiff by Compass Hospitality (formerly The Big Sleep Hotel Cardiff) at £480.
A number of apartments and homes were also listed on Booking.com, with some costing more than £1,000 for one night. Elsewhere, a number of Airbnb hosts in Cardiff were offering rooms with prices ranging from £17 per night to upwards of £170.
A spokesman for The Principal St David’s Hotel said: “Hotels and airlines offer non-tangible products with predetermined availability and employ dynamic pricing models, which are endemic in the travel industry.
“These pricing models work off algorithms based on supply and demand, the length of the stay, how far in advance the booking is made and the availability of rooms, suites or flights, so you see price fluctuations across the market from B&Bs to five-star hotels.
“It’s a little bit like when you pay more to go on a beach holiday in peak summer months than you do for the same place in winter.”
The spokesman added: “Today’s travellers are very sophisticated and understand that with careful planning they can get amazing deals and when it is really busy it is going to be more expensive. This is why direct and third party websites are so popular today.”
A Travelodge spokesman said: “Our mission is to always offer the most competitive price within the marketplace. We do this by daily checking all UK hotel room prices and competitively pricing our rates to ensure we are offering the best value to consumers. This policy includes our seven hotels in Cardiff.
“We do operate in a demandled industry and we are confident that we are offering consumers the best-value prices for a branded hotel chain within the area.”
Jurys Inn was invited to comment.