Hoteliers that blocked out rooms in anticipation of the Rugby World Cup are now discounting to fill beds that are no longer required by travel companies.
In a situation reminiscent of the 2012 Olympic Games, many hoteliers have been left in the lurch after sports tour organisers that block-booked rooms months ago now say they do not want them.
Inbound operator JacTravel says the situation commonly happens with big one-off events.
Iain Limond, vice president groups at JacTravel, said: "The organisers and others looking to provide travel to the event often make bookings at a wide range of hotels.
"As it does not cost them anything to hold rooms, they do so right up to the last minute when the hotel’s contractual terms impose a cancellation penalty.
"It’s just what happened with the Olympic Games."
He said all travel and event organisers typically book more rooms than they need and when they cancel at relatively short notice, the hotels are left with rooms to fill at short notice.
Limond added: "Some of the hotels in the most convenient locations for the Rugby World Cup now have availability because they got taken in by the enthusiasm surrounding the event and all of a sudden their inflated expectations have just been kicked in to touch.
"In the group market, hotels that would normally expect to achieve rack rate in mid September are now having to discount in order to fill space that had been "blacked out" to the travel trade on specific dates.
"The situation is most pronounced for hotels in locations convenient for the venues such as Heathrow and Waterloo for Twickenham and Stratford for the Olympic Stadium."
