Tourists considering visiting the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year have slammed a Travelodge budget hotel for charging over £200-a-night during August. The firm has a number of locations across the city and when searching for three nights at the central location on St Mary's Street, one prospective visitor was astonished to see it would cost £687 for just three nights.
Taking to Twitter, the regular Fringe goer wrote: "This is why I will not be going to the Edinburgh Fringe this August..." sharing a screenshot showing how much it costs to book the low-tier hotel. Depending on which dates you choose in August, the prices hike even more with the second and third weeks costing well over £200-a-night for the most basic room which does not include Wi-Fi or breakfast.
At the start of January, Edinburgh Live reported that Airbnb flats in the city were charging £1,000 per night during Festival Fringe 2023.
Performers have voiced concerns about what impact the skyrocketing prices for accommodation are going to have on the huge arts festival this year - potentially making it unaffordable for many to come.
Despite looking eight months in advance, one social media user said: "You need to book much earlier! Or look at Airbnb." Another said it's best to just stay in another city altogether and wrote: "It's actually easier to stay in Glasgow and just get a train to Edinburgh every day. That's what I do."
One said: "That place has gone up in price so much in the last few years, swear it used to be about £100-a-night during Fringe which is still expensive but is doable for two." One social media user joked: "So London prices any time of year then?"
Finally, one performer added: "And the reason we won’t be going again in the foreseeable future. Sell-out shows and still cannot afford the accommodation bill. £4600 (twice as much in OZ dollars) for a tiny flat for 20 days? Go **** yourself."
A Travelodge Spokesperson said: “Our mission is to always offer the most competitive price within the marketplace. We do this by daily checking all UK hotel room prices and competitively pricing our rates to ensure we are offering the best value to consumers. This policy includes our nine hotels in Edinburgh.
"We do operate in a demand-led industry and we are confident that we are offering consumers the best value prices for a branded hotel chain within the area.”
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