EDINBURGH has been hit by a slump in accommodation bookings during its normally lucrative summer festivals season.
The Scotsman has learned bookings at hotels and guest houses are well down on last year.
Industry leaders believe businesses will be forced to slash prices to sell rooms during the busiest season of the year.
However, ticket sales for the capit
al's festivals are said to be at around the same level they were this time last year. Promoters said they were relying on local trade to bring them a last-minute boost.
Inquiries to VisitScotland.com showed widespread availability during the height of the Fringe at a string of city centre hotels – a situation described by experts as "unheard of" for this time of year.
Dozens of private flats are still being advertised as available to rent on the Fringe's website. Some agencies say they are being forced to turn away new clients because of a lack of demand from Fringe-goers.
The industry's main barometer in the city are figures compiled by the Edinburgh Principal Hotels Association (EPHA), whose members include most three, four and five-star hotels in the capital.
Advance bookings as of 1 July for August, were running at 71 per cent, down three percentage points on the same time last year. Advance bookings for July, August and September were running at 63.3 per cent, down four points. The Scotsman was able to find more than 50 options for hotels in Edinburgh for a two-day period in mid-August. Among the city centre hotels with plenty of availability over 6 and 7 August were the Mercure Point, the Royal Terrace, the Apex European, the Scotsman, the Bonham and the Sheraton.
Simon Williams, chief executive of the EPHA, said: "There's no denying that advance sales of rooms are somewhat flat generally."
David Hinnrichs, head of the Edinburgh Hotel and Guest House Association, said: "The first two weeks of the Fringe aren't looking too bad, although it's a bit quieter than normal. The figures do appear to be down quite a bit for the two weeks after that, after the Tattoo is finished.
"I think what we will see is places having to lower their prices and offer better deals to fill their rooms."
Neil Ellis, general manager of the Mercure Point Hotel, which is near major Festival venues such as the Usher Hall and the King's Theatre, said: "There's no doubt many people are hurting financially at the moment. We've been hit with our own cost increases but haven't had to pass that on to the customer yet. We're very conscious of the need for the city to provide good value for money."
Bill Burdett-Coutts, director of the Assembly Rooms, the biggest Fringe venue, said: "Our own tickets are just marginally down, but it's not looking too bad. But I have heard that the hotels and guest houses in the city are struggling.
"I think Edinburgh really has to look at the shocking prices people are being charged for accommodation and we need to do more to offer people package trips to the festivals. At the moment we're relying on the local audience to boost sales next month."
No box office figures were available from the Fringe but the Edinburgh International Festival said its sales were up on last year and that it was "cautiously optimistic".
More than 150 flats were being advertised yesterday on the Fringe's website.
Andrew Landsburgh, director of the Edinburgh Festival Rentals Agency, said: "We're getting people coming to us every day, it's been pretty phenomenal. We're having to turn people away, as we don't think it's realistic that they will be able to get someone in at such short notice. Bookings from the United States and Australia are definitely down, but we've found bookings from Europe are up."
Top tips: How to enjoy yourself on the cheap1 Head down to the Half-Price Hut, located on top of the Princes Mall shopping centre, each day during the Fringe. All tickets sold there are for shows the same day but are half-price.
2 Hundreds of shows will be taking part in the Fringe's 2 for 1's offer, which runs on 3 and 4 August. Although many of these tickets are among the first to be snapped up.
3 You don't actually have to pay for many shows, particularly on the Fringe. Free events like the Jazz Festival Mardi Gras, the Festival fireworks and the Festival Cavalcade won't cost you a penny. Fringe Sunday, the biggest event on the Fringe, will see hundreds of free music, drama, comedy and dance performances staged at The Meadows on 10 August. More than 200,000 people flock to the annual showcase.
4 Tickets for previews of Fringe shows can be just a fraction of the price of a normal brief. Although the Fringe starts officially on Sunday, 3 August, previews starting running up to a week beforehand.
5 Register with the websites of individual festivals and venues. A sure-fire way of hearing about last-minute ticket offers and extra shows.
6 Sampling the atmosphere on the Royal Mile allows you to catch free previews of shows, and take in the plethora of street performers.
7 Watch out for discounted or free ticket offers for shows in newspapers or magazines when the various festivals are up and running. Promoters and venues use these offers as a way of filling shows that are not selling out.
8 For the first time this year, many Fringe tickets still available on the last day, Monday, 25 August, will be put up for sale at half-price. Dozens of venues are expected to take part in the new offer.
The full article contains 962 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
