Crucial guidance has been issued to people looking to book hotels and accommodation in Liverpool for next year's Eurovision Song Contest.
A number of people have reported being quoted hugely inflated prices from hotels and businesses around the city and region for potential stays around the time of the May 13 event. It was revealed on Friday that Liverpool will host Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine next year.
Shortly after the exciting news was announced, people started to report that hotels were quoting exorbitant fees for rooms around the time of the May event. Some were quoted as much as £6,000 for a room.
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The city council is quickly working on plans around further mass accommodation options, with some reports that a docked cruise ship and a camp site could be among the ideas.
Now the Liverpool Hospitality group, which represents the collective voice of hospitality businesses in the city and region has issued a statement and guidance for those looking to come to Liverpool next May.
The group said that many hotels in the city are yet to release their rooms for sale because details are still being worked up in terms of where delegates will stay. People have been told not to panic and not to pay hugely inflated prices for rooms.
The statement reads: "Throughout the competitive bidding process we have worked very closely and co-operatively with the team leading the bid to ensure that the organisers had the rooms and rates that they needed. All our members have participated fully, recognising the ethos and principles behind Liverpool's bid."
"Due to the fact that we have been unable to finalise all the delegate contracts until the decision of host city was announced on Friday, the vast majority of our hotels have rightly taken the decision to remain off sale for this period. We are working to get these finalised to ensure we support competitors attending which was integral to the city's bid.
"Once these are finalised in the next few weeks the majority of our hotels will be releasing rooms for sale onto the open market for spectators."
The group added: "We are therefore disappointed that the entire hotel sector is being tarnished with being out to profiteer from the event when the opposite is the case. We do not in any way support the decisions by independent hotel and apartment owners to increase prices and cancel confirmed bookings but do feel that this behaviour is not representative at all of the vast majority of those hotels who are members of Liverpool hospitality."
Liverpool Council's cabinet member Cllr Harry Doyle reiterated his call from earlier this week for people not to book hotels yet and especially not at hugely inflated prices.
He said: "Many hotels in the city have not put their rooms out to sale as we are still finalising what the BBC and EBU require for delegates etc. The rooms will be released once all this is finalised. Don’t panic book now."
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram also slammed hotels and businesses for hiking prices and suggested he was prepared to intervene in the matter.
It is understood the city council will be coming forward with further details about accommodation in the coming weeks.
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