London 2012 Olympics: Accommodation cost hikes as hotels raise prices
Add to My Stories Tourists are facing the prospect of massive hikes in the cost ofaccommodation in London during next yearsOlympic Games.Many of the capital's hotels intend to raise their prices during the Games and one hotel intends to charge five times the normal tariff, according to a report by the Financial Times. 
The same hotel is also demanding that 70 per cent of bookings must be paid by the end of September 2011 and it is insisting that the final balance should be handed over by 31 January.
Tickets for London 2012 go on sale tomorrow and tourism chiefs are worried that the price hike will deter people from visiting London during the Games.Chris Foy, a spokesman for the government's tourism agency Visit Britain, said he was not surprised by the prices rises. He said: This is a situation weve been aware of. The potential for people to stay away from London is a live issue. The issue is what we do about it.
Visit Britain said it hoped that hoteliers and other hospitality businesses would sign up to an industry-led 'fair pricing and practice charter' under which they wo! uld volu ntarily agree to offer fair and reasonable prices between 1 June and 30 September next year.
Star attraction: Construction work on the 2012 Olympic Stadium nears completion. Tickets for the Games go on sale tomorrow The four-star hotel quoted 1100 for a room that would normally cost 200, according to a wholesale tour specialist who asked for neither the hotel nor his company to be named.
Another four-star hotel quoted 297 per room per night during the Games compared with 131 this year, and a three-star hotel has more than doubled its 80 a night rate to 162.
One hotel is planning to implement a strict 100 per cent cancellation fee during the Games, which run from 27 July to 12 August 2012.
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The same hotel is also demanding that 70 per cent of bookings must be paid by the end of September 2011 and it is insisting that the final balance should be handed over by 31 January.
Tickets for London 2012 go on sale tomorrow and tourism chiefs are worried that the price hike will deter people from visiting London during the Games.Chris Foy, a spokesman for the government's tourism agency Visit Britain, said he was not surprised by the prices rises. He said: This is a situation weve been aware of. The potential for people to stay away from London is a live issue. The issue is what we do about it.
Visit Britain said it hoped that hoteliers and other hospitality businesses would sign up to an industry-led 'fair pricing and practice charter' under which they wo! uld volu ntarily agree to offer fair and reasonable prices between 1 June and 30 September next year.
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