By Samindra Kunti
December 4 – A study by the French consumer organisation QFC-Que Choisir has revealed that hotel rates during EURO2016 are set to skyrocket with rates up 45% on average from €97 to €141 across France.
Accommodation is a prime concern for football fans traveling to major tournaments and a trip to France next year might cause more headaches for the faithful of the beautiful game. English, German, Swiss and Belgian fans are expected to travel in large numbers to the tournament.
QFC-Qye Choisir researched rates of double rooms of 445 hotels ranging from one to four star hotels spread over the ten host cities, Paris, Saint-Denis, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Nice, Bordeaux, Lille, Saint-Etienne and Lens. The organization compared room rates on the eve of the first group game in a host city with the rates a week before.
During the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, rates also rose sharply, on average by 41% with fans having to fork out FFR547 or €84 for a room on average.
Hotel-owners in Saint-Etienne want to cash in and will enforce room rates 180% higher than usual with prices raising from €40 to €112, making it the most expensive destination in relative terms. The city, which also hosted the 1984 European Championships, the 1998 World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup, will receive three group games and one round of sixteen game.
Paris, a global tourist destination, and Saint-Denis have the lowest increase in room rates with an average of 37% from €149 to €204. The Stade de France will host EURO2016’s final.
In September England confirmed their base camp for the tournament. Roy Hodgson and his charges will stay at the £500-a-night luxury retreat Auberge du Jeu Paume hotel in Chantilly, 25 miles north of Paris.
UEFA recently confirmed that France will host the governing body’s flagship event, notwithstanding the recent terror atrocities in the French capital. The tournament will take place from June 10 to July 10 in an expanded format with 24 participating countries. Spain are the two-times defending champions.
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