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No vacancy signs could greet thousands of international fans arriving in Auckland for the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
Rugby chiefs and tourism bosses have confirmed there are not enough hotel rooms in the city to cope with the influx of visitors, particularly on the weekend when Eden Park hosts both semifinals.
To cope with demand, cruise ships could be used as floating hotels and fans could be forced to stay as far away as Tauranga and then bussed in.
Finding beds for an estimated 70,000 foreign tourists, tournament officials and supporters was one of the biggest challenges for organisers, said Martin Snedden, chief executive of Rugby New Zealand 2011.
Half of the international visitors will be based in Auckland over the final two weeks of the seven-week tournament, stretching the hospitality industry to breaking point.
"There are some damn good hotels around but our hotel infrastructure is limited, so in terms of available space it will be stretched," Snedden said.
More than 160,000 bed nights are needed for fans in official tour groups and 40,000 more for officials, players and VIPs, and that doesn't count independent visitors or local fans.
An "accommodation bank" has been set up as a centralised booking agency, and Snedden said negotiations had begun with hotels nationwide to book the rooms needed.
Williment Travel Group has been awarded a contract to find the necessary bed nights, which are deposited in the "bank" to meet the official obligations of the tournament hosts.
However, booking rooms more than three years out from the tournament - before deposits were guaranteed - meant the initiative "desperately" relied on the co-operation of the hotel industry, said Snedden.
"The hotels need a bit more certainty," Snedden said. "We'll know more in two or three months whether the accommodation bank will work out. Hopefully this will prevent the chaos these events can create.
"It could potentially happen if it's not managed well."
New hotels planned for Auckland would ease the burden and Snedden confirmed cruise ships were being considered as an option, as well as driving ticket holders from other cities.
"If you had a ticket to the World Cup final, you're not going to complain too much about having to drive an hour and half from Hamilton," said Snedden. "Those are possible solutions. But we are starting with the core stuff, the accommodation bank, then the other solutions. It will take us a couple of years to sort this out."
Mark Oldershaw, of the Hotel Council, said the industry was keen to make the tournament a success.
There was "no doubt" Auckland did not have enough hotel rooms, he said. But once negotiations over rooms and rates were complete, he was confident the industry would cope.
