Looking for a hotel room in Vancouver on the weekend of December 6-8?Be prepared to buck up. If you can still find one at all. Critics say it’s a Taylor-made excuse for price gouging.That’s because Rain City hoteliers are reporting price increases of more than 10 times the going rate ahead of pop star Taylor Swift’s run of three concerts at BC Place..“Price gouging at its best,"Swift fan Michelle Brennan.A room at the Quality Inn that would normally go for $156 jumps to between $1,200 and $1,500 that weekend. At the more upscale Hotel Blu, right across from the stadium, a suite that normally lets for $245 will set Swifties back $2,899.Even at the Cambie hostel, where rooms in shared dorms start at $31, expect to pay $150 including taxes and fees.And it’s not just hotels getting in on the game. A one-bedroom vacation rental in a private home about 10 minutes from the stadium that normally goes for $150 shoots up to $1,237 during the concert weekend.Rooms get cheaper outside the downtown core, but hotels in Surrey and Abbotsford are showing room rates of $800 or about four times the going rate of $200.The ubiquitous Fairmont Vancouver appears to be a better deal; a room that costs about $350 is only $1,400, a relative value..That’s if you can still find a room — many hotels are already sold out.The Western Standard has reached out to the Fairmont’s PR department and others for comment.A similar phenomenon is happening in Australia where Swift is playing this week. Rooms are 100% booked and fans are complaining of price gouging for subpar accommodation. Even a short-term Airbnb in Sydney is going for an average of AUD$6,400 (CAD$5,658).Swift herself is staying at the Crown Barangaroo in a suite reportedly costing AUD$25,000 a night.“Price gouging at its best," fan Michelle Brennan told state broadcaster ABC News. "Thousands of dollars for two nights at a mediocre hotel on the outskirts of the city. It's just ridiculous.".“When the hotels benefit, everybody benefits.”Australian Hotels Association.That hotel rates go up during peak periods is well known — it happens every year in Calgary during Stampede when rooms that would typically rent for $140 go for $650 or more. Anyone planning to go to Philadelphia on July 4 for Independence Day celebrations can expect to pay more than a suite in Manhattan on New Year's Eve.And as in any city, it also becomes a gauge for the health of the local economy and a source of civic pride. If hotels weren’t full at Stampede local businesses would certainly complain. Swift is no different. Her US Eras tour generated more than USD$4.6 billion in consumer spending, lager than the GDP of 35 countries. Cities such as Denver reported additional economic revenue of $150 million over the two nights she played there.As Australian Hotels Association president Michael Johnson told the ABC: “When the hotels benefit, everybody benefits.”
Looking for a hotel room in Vancouver on the weekend of December 6-8?Be prepared to buck up. If you can still find one at all. Critics say it’s a Taylor-made excuse for price gouging.That’s because Rain City hoteliers are reporting price increases of more than 10 times the going rate ahead of pop star Taylor Swift’s run of three concerts at BC Place..“Price gouging at its best,"Swift fan Michelle Brennan.A room at the Quality Inn that would normally go for $156 jumps to between $1,200 and $1,500 that weekend. At the more upscale Hotel Blu, right across from the stadium, a suite that normally lets for $245 will set Swifties back $2,899.Even at the Cambie hostel, where rooms in shared dorms start at $31, expect to pay $150 including taxes and fees.And it’s not just hotels getting in on the game. A one-bedroom vacation rental in a private home about 10 minutes from the stadium that normally goes for $150 shoots up to $1,237 during the concert weekend.Rooms get cheaper outside the downtown core, but hotels in Surrey and Abbotsford are showing room rates of $800 or about four times the going rate of $200.The ubiquitous Fairmont Vancouver appears to be a better deal; a room that costs about $350 is only $1,400, a relative value..That’s if you can still find a room — many hotels are already sold out.The Western Standard has reached out to the Fairmont’s PR department and others for comment.A similar phenomenon is happening in Australia where Swift is playing this week. Rooms are 100% booked and fans are complaining of price gouging for subpar accommodation. Even a short-term Airbnb in Sydney is going for an average of AUD$6,400 (CAD$5,658).Swift herself is staying at the Crown Barangaroo in a suite reportedly costing AUD$25,000 a night.“Price gouging at its best," fan Michelle Brennan told state broadcaster ABC News. "Thousands of dollars for two nights at a mediocre hotel on the outskirts of the city. It's just ridiculous.".“When the hotels benefit, everybody benefits.”Australian Hotels Association.That hotel rates go up during peak periods is well known — it happens every year in Calgary during Stampede when rooms that would typically rent for $140 go for $650 or more. Anyone planning to go to Philadelphia on July 4 for Independence Day celebrations can expect to pay more than a suite in Manhattan on New Year's Eve.And as in any city, it also becomes a gauge for the health of the local economy and a source of civic pride. If hotels weren’t full at Stampede local businesses would certainly complain. Swift is no different. Her US Eras tour generated more than USD$4.6 billion in consumer spending, lager than the GDP of 35 countries. Cities such as Denver reported additional economic revenue of $150 million over the two nights she played there.As Australian Hotels Association president Michael Johnson told the ABC: “When the hotels benefit, everybody benefits.”
