Galway B&B has rates as pricey as Paris
Consumer body says hotel sector is ‘price gouging’
IRELAND already has some of the most expensive hotel rooms in Europe – and now our B&B prices appear to be soaring above those of luxury hotels in European capitals.
As Galway gets ready for race week, an investigation by the Irish Mail on Sunday found a single room in one suburban B&B advertised for €120, with a double room priced at €260. And breakfast at the Amber Heights Guesthouse, which is located 40 minutes’ walk from Eyre Square, is an extra €10.
The purpose-built B&B can also charge up to €275 for a double on busy evenings. Elsewhere in the city, a double room at the four-star Radisson Blu costs €360 next week and a double in the three-star Connacht costs €300.
The Consumers Association of Ireland described the figures charged in hotels across Ireland this summer as ‘price gouging’.
And, as the MoS has found, €120 will go a lot further in other European destinations. In Berlin it will buy you a room for two adults and two children with breakfast in a four-star downtown Novotel this summer, a double room with breakfast near the Vatican in Rome or a double doom at a hotel in Paris.
But Anthony Hourigan, owner of Amber Heights, argued that his business is seasonal and denied he is ripping people off: ‘At this time of year, yes, prices are high. But the winters are long and we have to make money when we can. The single room that costs €120 now would cost €25 in winter and we’re losing money on that,’ he said.
Rory Fitzpatrick of the Galway branch of the Irish Hotel Federation denied his members were ripping people off. ‘People can find still find value for money in Galway if they book well in advance,’ he said.
However, Dermott Jewell of the Consumers Association disagreed.
‘An increasing number of hoteliers have been setting “the max” at rates that are entirely unacceptable in terms of value for money. The policy of hiking prices whenever there is a major event taking place is best described for what it is: price gouging. If it continues... consumers will take their business elsewhere.’
Mr Fitzpatrick said his members offered a good product in a safe environment: ‘You can talk about Paris, but if you’re looking to go there, you’re going to a city that has been wracked by terrorism and, yes, they’ll offer their beds cheap, everybody knows that.’
‘People can find value if they book in advance’