Hotel groups and guesthouses contracted by Fifa would have to charge a fixed rate for different grades of accommodation during the 2010 World Cup, the soccer governing body's accommodation and ticketing arm told hoteliers in Cape Town on Thursday night.
This did not go down well with some local hotel owners.
Match, the company mandated by Fifa to be responsible for accommodation, ticketing and IT solutions for the tournament in South Africa, was in town as part of its drive to increase the number of hotels contracted for 2010.
"No guest will pay more than the official rate of that season," said Malcolm Gibson, a Match representative.
Match has a mandate to contract 55 000 rooms for Fifa per day during the World Cup and will also use satellite accommodation for host cities without enough rooms for match days. It has already contracted 4 000 rooms in Cape Town.
The official World Cup rate for accommodation for Fifa-contracted rooms will be linked to the seasonal rates - effectively winter rates for Cape Town. The Fifa World Cup rate excludes breakfast.
Match was contracting rooms out using a complex system, taking into account the 2005, 2006 and 2007 CPIX and season rates, before projecting what an establishment would charge in 2010.
In addition, Fifa would only pay 70 pecent of the price to the hotel while the remainder would go to Fifa for its operating margins.
"We do not want to be seen as a high demand time (event)," said Fifa's Adam Brown.
But Federated Hospitality Association of SA chairman Nils Heckscher said: "I would not be happy to put on a low season rate in a highest demand period. I would rather quote you a high season rate."
The tournament is seen as a massive opportunity for hotel groups and B&Bs
Gibson said only graded accommodation was expected to be contracted by Match.
- This article was originally published on page 4 of The Cape Argus on November 09, 2006
