London hotel prices increased by '300 per cent' during Olympics

PA

Hotels in London are charging families up to 300 per cent for a stay during the Olympics, a study by Santander has found.

Rooms in the centre of London were £2,891 a week or 139 per cent more expensive on average during the period when the Games take place than after the event.

The study looked at prices near the Olympic Park in east London, which will host up to 180,000 spectators a day, and found that while most hotels were fully booked, one of a handful with vacancies was charging an extra £5,054 - that's an increase of 301 per cent on its rates after the Olympics.

Researchers compared the cost of a week's stay for a family of four in two rooms starting on the day of the Olympics opening ceremony next Friday with prices in late August, after the event has finished.

In central London, four star hotels that were found most likely to apply big hike rates with one hotel increasing its prices by 245 per cent (£5,666).

A Santander spokesman said: 'This research highlights just how enormous the demand to stay in London during this summer's biggest sporting event is.

'The fact that the few limited rooms available near the Stratford Olympic Park can charge such expensive rates demonstrates how holidaymakers are willing to pay the extra costs.'

A previous study on hotel prices during the Queen's Jubilee celebrations found that the typical price hike for the bank holiday weekend was 54 per cent.

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