Rugby cup boss warns greedy providers

Martin Snedden says that overcharging will put the country's reputation at risk. Photo / Dean Purcell

The boss of next year's Rugby World Cup has warned that hoteliers and renters looking to make a fast buck have the potential to harm the nation's reputation.

In an opinion piece in today's Herald, Martin Snedden said charging fair room prices for the expected 60,000 visitors at next year's 44-day tournament would be a critical factor in ensuring the event's success.

The chief executive of Rugby NZ said if accommodation providers get things right the country's reputation overseas will soar.

"Taint it by irresponsible profiteering within any aspect of hosting the event as a nation and we'll suffer badly," he said. "The consequential reputational and financial damage will be significant."

This follows reports that some Auckland accommodation providers had upped their usual room rates by several hundred per cent for the duration of the tournament and others have added longer minimum-stay provisions.

Some homeowners have also jumped on the RWC bandwagon advertising their houses for exorbitant short-term rent while an Australian tour operator is warning fans could fly into New Zealand just for matches before heading straight home to avoid being ripped off.

Mr Snedden said official travel agents have warned that pricing for rooms outside of peak demand - the last three weekends of the event - was generally too high.

"These agents say that, unless the market listens and adjusts their rates, they will either shorten their package tours or otherwise fill the gaps using alternative accommodation options," he said. "I don't think travel agents are bluffing so the hotels will be wise to listen."

New Zealand Hotel Council independent chairwoman Jennie Langley said the market would likely sort itself out when hotels start releasing rates for the tournament within the next few months.

She could not give an indication of how much prices would increase but said visitors should expect room rates that are higher but not outlandish.

"I'm hearing about some of the figures which are five or six times the normal rate and I have absolutely no examples of those," she said.

"If the price is too high people simply won't pay and those properties that are charging unrealistic room rates will either have empty rooms or they will have to charge lower prices to get patronage."

Tourism Auckland chief executive Graeme Osborne believed 40 per cent of visitors for RWC 2011 could be staying with friends or relatives.

His primary concern was for visitors' experiences in Auckland and for its reputation for hospitality to be enhanced so more people would be influenced to come here.

"We don't begrudge our hotel sector generating appropriate returns but the risk is there are some people that take excessive positions in terms of rate," he said. "They are putting our reputation as a visitor destination at risk."

Mr Snedden said hoteliers could learn from the RWC 2003 in Australia where many Sydney hotels imposed at least a nine-night stay policy. "Visitors shunned these hotels and, as a result, the hotels lost money and lost face.