Gloucester Rugby fans faced huge costs to be able to see their team play in the final of the European Challenge Cup last Friday against Cardiff Blues and since then, hoteliers in Bilbao have come under some criticism.
An investigation was opened yesterday to which hoteliers said they were “very annoyed” and “sad” after releasing details which state that prices fluctuated between €150 and €225 a room.
The president for the Association of Hotels for Bizkaia, Ángel Gago said EITB: “The tariffs for hotels are exempt and have been communicated to the authorties, this implicates that there can be rises depending on the time of year or with certain events/festivals.”
He went on to say that “we feel hurt, as that hasn’t been recognised and the emphasis and coverage has gone only certain behaviour points”, in this case the finals of European Rugby (the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup) .
Spain became the sixth country to host the finals and the first ever country that didn’t have any participation in the competition.
The San Mamés Stadium, played host to 32,543 for the European Challenge Cup final win for Cardiff Blues against Gloucester last Friday with an almost sell-out crowd of 52,282 turning out to watch the Leinster’s victory of Racing 92 the following day.
Nearly 80,000 visited the Basque country’s biggest city for the final, bringing in thousands into the local economy.
The mayor of Bilbao, Juan Martin Aburto has said: “Thanks should be given for the high percentage of rooms which we reserved for the organisers of the event at reduced prices, including some free for people of high interest, when we could have offered them to an open/free market.”
Fans not only faced expensive hotel rooms, but also high prices in transport to even get to the event. Flights ranged between £217-£700, the most direct ones having the highest price tags.
Taking the ferry was another option, prices started at £209 with Brittany Ferries for a one way trip out of Portsmouth or Plymouth.
With the high prices for transport and accommodation, the trip will have been expensive for many.
Gago set an example of what he thought had heaped during the weekend of the finals:”If I have a hotel which has 250 rooms, 150 being reserved for the organisers-including travel agencies- at a reduced price.
“The rest have been offered at an average price of around 150 and 225 euros. With the a full hotel, could the last five or four hotels gone for prices around 500 euros? And? Where’s the problem?,” he asked himself.
Fans await the results of the investigation.
