Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
VOLGA CAPITALISM
Three Lions fans ripped off by Russia World Cup hotel hikes
WORLD Cup fans are being ripped off by hotels in Russia hiking prices to 35 times their usual levels during the tournament there this summer.
Three Lions fans going to Volgograd for the game against Tunisia on June 18 are being targeted by greedy bosses.
The Gallery Park Volgograd Hotel is £703 in June for a standard twin room that would cost just £20.30 now, investigators found.
The presidential suite at the same hotel is currently going for £76.70 a night – but soars to £1,654 when 10,000 England fans are due to arrive in the city for the game in the Volgograd Arena.
A probe has been launched by the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection. Yevgeny Reznikov from the organisation said the Gallery Park is not the only hotel in the city inflating their prices for June.
He added: “An administrative case was opened against the hotel on the count of illegally overstating administered prices.
“People simply cannot understand where such prices come from. We will be closely monicharging toring the situation.” As well as the England-tunisia game, Volgograd is hosting Nigeria-iceland on June 22, Saudi Arabia-egypt on June 25 and Japan-poland on June 28. Labour MP Grahame Morris said: “FIFA and the football authorities should ensure fans attending the World Cup are not being overcharged.”