Hotels hike up prices six-fold for Oktoberfest
As an estimated six million people get ready to raise their glasses for the annual Oktoberfest in Munich, hotels are raising their prices by as much as six times their regular rates.
The world’s largest beer festival starts this Saturday on Munich's Theresienwiese, bringing in hordes of tourists who will need a place to rest their heads after days filled with beer-guzzling and pretzel-devouring.
The Local compared prices of Munich hotels for the first nights of Oktoberfest, September 20th and 21st, to their rates for the same rooms during less-busy times of the year. From the the lowliest of the one-star hotels to the most glamorous five-star suites, hoteliers are doubling or even quintupling their prices.
In the one-star category, Hotel Modern’s rate of €89 for a double room jumps to €279 for the night of September 21st - a 213 percent increase.
The two-star Hotel Daheim charges €64.60 for a double room after Oktoberfest, but an Oktoberfest room would cost more than three times the price at €218.50.
At three-stars, Hotel Blutenburg charges €81 euros per night, but during Oktoberfest the same room goes up by 181 percent to €228.
One of the biggest jumps in prices that The Local found was at the four-star King’s Hotel First Class. The hotel advertises a two-bed room at €88.21 per night after Oktoberfest, but the same room shoots up to six times that price during Oktoberfest to €544.50.
Five-star Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski charges €690 for an executive room - the least expensive room still available when The Local searched - for Oktoberfest.
Outside of the festival the same room is offered as low as €416 - a mark-up of about 66 percent.
Prices on Airbnb also saw a bump.
The lowest price for a room advertised during the first weekend of Oktoberfest was €80 and the highest was €590.
Outside of the festival the lowest price was around €40 and the highest was still €590.
Oxana Bytschenko from Regensburg told The Local via Twitter that she found a place to stay during the first weekend through Airbnb for €200 for two nights. “That’s cheap,” she said.
Finding a reasonably-priced hotel in Munich during Oktoberfest season can be competitive. The vast majority of visitors tend to come from nearby - 72 percent according to city authorities. But that still leaves millions more looking for accommodation.
The city has about 60,000 hotel beds and 400 hotels and hostels.
City authorities released a statement last week advising tourists how much they should expect to spend on hotel stays during the beer festival. For the first weekend, the city said a double room could go for €215 per night and a single room €185. During the first week, a double room could cost €240 and a single room €200. By Emma Anderson
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The world’s largest beer festival starts this Saturday on Munich's Theresienwiese, bringing in hordes of tourists who will need a place to rest their heads after days filled with beer-guzzling and pretzel-devouring.
The Local compared prices of Munich hotels for the first nights of Oktoberfest, September 20th and 21st, to their rates for the same rooms during less-busy times of the year. From the the lowliest of the one-star hotels to the most glamorous five-star suites, hoteliers are doubling or even quintupling their prices.
In the one-star category, Hotel Modern’s rate of €89 for a double room jumps to €279 for the night of September 21st - a 213 percent increase.
The two-star Hotel Daheim charges €64.60 for a double room after Oktoberfest, but an Oktoberfest room would cost more than three times the price at €218.50.
At three-stars, Hotel Blutenburg charges €81 euros per night, but during Oktoberfest the same room goes up by 181 percent to €228.
One of the biggest jumps in prices that The Local found was at the four-star King’s Hotel First Class. The hotel advertises a two-bed room at €88.21 per night after Oktoberfest, but the same room shoots up to six times that price during Oktoberfest to €544.50.
Five-star Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski charges €690 for an executive room - the least expensive room still available when The Local searched - for Oktoberfest.
Outside of the festival the same room is offered as low as €416 - a mark-up of about 66 percent.
Prices on Airbnb also saw a bump.
The lowest price for a room advertised during the first weekend of Oktoberfest was €80 and the highest was €590.
Outside of the festival the lowest price was around €40 and the highest was still €590.
Oxana Bytschenko from Regensburg told The Local via Twitter that she found a place to stay during the first weekend through Airbnb for €200 for two nights. “That’s cheap,” she said.
Finding a reasonably-priced hotel in Munich during Oktoberfest season can be competitive. The vast majority of visitors tend to come from nearby - 72 percent according to city authorities. But that still leaves millions more looking for accommodation.
The city has about 60,000 hotel beds and 400 hotels and hostels.
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