"Hotel prices have been slashed, and thousands of tickets remain unsold. Olympic package holidays are being flogged at half price and flats near the stadium languish unrented. It looks like the Olympic bubble could well have burst.This comes as no surprise whatsoever, as in February I wrote:
With a surplus of top-end tickets and VIP packages, ticketing and travel companies have slashed prices in a last-minute effort to fill spaces."
"Locog have had to publicly humiliate themselves (not for the first time) by admitting that they had overestimated the number of rooms needed by officials, media, sponsors and assorted freeloaders for the coming games.My advice to any tourist brave enough to endure the chaos of London during the Olympics is to negotiate hard with the hotels (who are desperate for business), don't let the greedy bastards get away with overcharging you for a shoddy room and lousy service!
By how much did they overestimate the demand?
By a staggering 20%!
Locog have had to hand back 120,000 of the total 600,000 nights booked for the Olympics.
Needless to say this 20% reduction in bookings has given the greedy hotel industry a well deserved kick in the goolies.
Tour operators are now panicking and have warned that the newly available rooms will not boost visitor numbers.
For why?
- the vacancies have come too late
- tourists have been put off by the naked greed of the hotel operators
- tourists have been put off by the transport/travel chaos expected in London during the games
It is estimated that up to one million beds will go unsold over the Olympic period, costing the tourism industry around £3.5BN.
Now who was it who said that the Olympics would be a boon to tourism?
Oh yes, Locog!"
Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics
Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"
With a bit of luck, this will be the final nail in the Thomas Cook coffin. Good riddance!
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