A two-bed apartment in west Dublin is up for rent for over €20,000 for the weekend of Taylor Swift’s concerts in the city next year.
It has emerged as hotels came out fighting over allegations of price-gouging ahead of the US pop star’s gigs. The I Knew You Were Trouble singer announced on Tuesday that she would be performing two dates at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29, 2024.
With many fans rushing to hotel websites to book accommodation in anticipation of securing a ticket, there was shock when some of the listed prices were extortionate. Among them were seemingly an on-site price of €6,500 to stay for both nights at the Westbury Hotel in Dublin city centre when, two weeks prior to the concerts, the same room double room is priced at €595 for two nights on the five-star hotel’s website.
However, the hotel said the price is a 'default figure' and it is not possible to book the room as the dates are over a year away. "It’s a default rate set on the booking system as the rooms are not yet available for the concert dates next year as it’s outside the 365 days," the spokesperson said.
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"The maximum price our rooms will be is at the €600 mark." Meanwhile, an analysis of accommodation on popular hotel booking site Booking.com has uncovered a private landlord renting a two bed apartment for €20,158 for the two nights Swift is performing here.
However, the renter is willing to knock €2k off the property in Rathborne, near Ashtown, west Dublin, if you pay €18,158 in advance, which it states on the website is non-refundable.
The apartment, which is a new listing, is described as a "fab retreat" 4.3km from the National Botanic Gardens. It is spacious and equipped with two bedrooms, a flat-screen TV and a fully equipped kitchen that provides guests with a dishwasher, an oven, a washing machine and a microwave. Towels and bed linen are provided in the apartment. The accommodation is non-smoking.
This extortionate price comes as data shows Ireland is officially the most expensive country in the EU for goods and services. The data compiled by Eurostat shows restaurant and hotel prices in Ireland were the fifth-highest in the bloc last year, at 28.5 per cent ahead of the EU average.
And because of this, many artists are refusing to perform here and Irish fans are prepared to go abroad to see their idols - as it is too expensive to see them on Irish soil. Last summer, the Dáil was told that Irish Bruce Springsteen fans would be better off flying to Rome and buying tickets to the Boss’s concert there, rather than attending his Dublin shows.
And earlier this year, no Irish dates were included in Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour. Coldplay and Madonna have also left Ireland off their lists of destinations for their respective upcoming tours. The reason why Ireland was left off the lists is not known but with the spiralling costs of going on the road and insurance hikes, this means that promoters are becoming more risk-averse with shows which may make a significant loss.
A further analysis of Booking.com’s site shows that only 15 properties in Dublin city centre are listed for the weekend of Swift’s concert while two weeks prior to the gigs 93 properties are listed. Many hotels, including Grand Canal Hotel, The Green, The Spencer Hotel, Croke Park Hotel and the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Temple Bar do not appear on Booking.com for the weekend of the concerts. This is possibly because they have not yet released their rooms for next year.
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