Hotel price increase 'appalling'

Hotel managers say they are facing huge demand for rooms

Hoteliers in Aberdeen have been accused of increasing their room rates by hundreds of pounds during a major oil conference in the city.

Some hotels have increased their prices to nearly £400 a night for accommodation during the Offshore Europe event in September.

Hotel bosses said the huge demand for rooms during the conference had led to the rise in prices.

However VisitScotland claimed some hoteliers had gone over the top.

The Highland Haven Hotel in Macduff, Aberdeenshire, is advertising rooms for sale online at £399 a night between 4-7 September, when Offshore Europe takes place.

Companies are desperate as they have people coming from different parts of the world and cannot find accommodation Manav Soni Highland Haven Hotel

Rooms at the hotel, which is 45 miles from Aberdeen, are charged at only £49 the following week.

Manager Manav Soni said he had received requests from companies desperate to find accommodation.

He is now asking holidaymakers who are staying in the hotel if they will consider changing their dates.

Mr Soni added: "We are already fully booked for those dates but I can request that some people move their holidays.

"Because of this we have to offer them something, so our rates will be higher.

"It is such a busy time. Companies are desperate as they have people coming from different parts of the world and cannot find accommodation."

Many of the major hotels in Aberdeen and the surrounding area are already fully booked for Offshore Europe.

The need for places to stay has become so high, organisers have hired a cruise liner to accommodate delegates.

'Buoyant market'

Householders in Aberdeen are also being encouraged to rent out their properties for the week.

However, VisitScotland area director Ian Dunlop said he had been told the Aberdeen Hotels Association was "appalled" at some of the price rises.

He said: "To a certain extent we don't have ownership of that to stop it happening, but I know the Aberdeen Hotels Association are appalled at some of the prices that are being quoted."

Mr Dunlop added that the price of Aberdeen hotels were comparable with other UK cities but the scale of Offshore Europe meant places to stay had become an issue.

He added: "When you get a specific conference - and this is the biggest conference in Scotland - on top of an already buoyant market, hotel spaces are going to be in short supply."

Meanwhile, a national survey has named Aberdeen as one of the most lucrative hotel markets outside London.

The Deloitte study found the average hotel room in the Granite City now costs £73 a night, up from £62 at the same time last year.

Demand from oil crews and business travellers has given Aberdeen one of the highest revenue rates per room in the UK, researchers found.