The World Cup has not driven up the cost of accommodation during the June/July school holidays — in fact, it could have the opposite effect.
Match, Fifa’s accommodation arm, has returned 441 695 beds to date and a final release is expected on April 10, the last date that Match can cancel beds without penalties.
Hotels in the vicinity of stadiums, for days that coincide with matches, are almost sold out and accommodation in Johannesburg is in demand because the teams will be training at altitude. However, foreign tourists seem reluctant to tour outside the cities and locals are not booking during that period as they expect prices to be high.
Arthur Gillis, head of Protea Hotels, said prices will have to come down. Many Protea hotels outside the cities have below average occupancy rates for the school holidays and the chain has started advertising specials at heavily discounted rates. A family of four can spend a three-night weekend at the Protea Hotel Imvubu for R800 a night in June/July; the same room during the April holidays costs R1 221.
Kulula ticket prices during the World Cup, with the exception of trips to match venues, are reasonable. A one-way ticket between Johannesburg and Durban is R299. Flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town are pricier, but cost between R700 and R900 for a single ticket if the date is carefully selected.
Southern Sun’s Priya Naidoo said the group’s city hotels are fully booked. Dylan Rothschild, of accommodation website SafariNow, said most hotels tried to milk the World Cup. “They hiked their prices — and now they’re sitting with vacancies.”