EMPTY SEATS AT OLYMPIC OPENING WEEKEND SPARKS RESALE ON LOCOG
Hoteliers drop rates to fill unsold rooms
If, on Friday, you too were transfixed by Danny Boyle’s breath-taking opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, then you were one of more than a billion people worldwide who watched the London 2012 Olympic Games kick off.
If you also continued to watch sports coverage on NBC over the weekend, you will have noticed how many ‘sold out’ seats remained empty across a range of events. Nationwide disappointment ensued as it was reported students, teachers and even armed forces, (most of whom had already been drafted in to solve the G4S fiasco before the games even began) had been called in to fill seats to cover up embarrassing ‘no shows’.
Chairman of LOCOG, Lord Sebastian Coe, was reported as saying the majority of empty seats were caused by Olympic athletes, federations, journalists and officials collectively known as the Olympic family, failing to turn up for pre-allocated spaces. Gymnastics, basketball and swimming were some of the sports that suffered most with up to 25 seats remaining empty in one block of the aquatics centre during Michael Phelps’ silver medal win in Sunday night’s 4x100metres freestyle race.
Despite this, some have praised LOCOG with reacting quickly to the seating crisis without hiding the problem and the British Olympic Association, whose president is Lord Moynihan, even put forward the idea of reselling tickets if people failed to show up to seats 30 minutes into an event. There were also calls for sponsors to be fined for not showing up to use corporate tickets. Organisers have since revealed that some 3000 Olympic tickets have been reclaimed from international sporting associations and put back on sale for the general public. Jackie Brock-Doyle, LOCOG’s Director of Communications, has ensured they ‘will do this every day to make sure as many seats as possible are filled’.
Although this is a headache for Olympic organisers; for those of us who weren’t able to get tickets the first or second time round, it could be third time lucky! According to the Metro the world's largest free newspaper, anyone who wants to go to the Olympics still has the chance with over 100,000 tickets still available. Tickets to events such as sailing, handball and gymnastics were again up for sale on the LOCOG website, as were return style tickets at the Olympic Park. These are tickets already used by spectators who leave an event early that are resold at a lower price – currently £5 ($7.90) for adults and £1 ($1.60) for children. For all information on how to purchase tickets, or return them for resale, go to the official London 2012 website here:
http://www.tickets.london2012.com/howtobuy.html
With fewer people arriving in London than was estimated, Olympic seats aren’t the only places remaining empty. Reduced foot flow in central and west London has forced hotel prices to plummet. Trivago, a global hotel comparison site, shows hoteliers have slashed their prices by a further 17% from an average of £242 ($380) per night to just £201 ($315) in the past three weeks, despite being at 70% capacity. This has also had a knock on effect in the vacation rental market, with companies or owners reducing rates and lifting minimum stay restrictions to attract business.
Vive Unique, the booking specialist for stylish home rentals, is offering this beautiful 4 bed family home, minutes from the action at the Olympic Village, at a reduced rate of £35 ($54) per person per night, based on 9 people sharing:
http://www.viveunique.com/House/London/north_london/islington_glamour_wolsey_road_islington/549
That’s cheaper than a single room at a 2 star hotel in the West End. With access to the London Overground train line at both Dalston Kingsland and Dalston Junction, you are just 22 minutes away from the Olympic Park and the expansive Westfield Shopping centre in Stratford. With a large variety of restaurants, shops, cinemas and even a Playworld there’s more than enough to keep the kids entertained when you’re not cheering on your team at one of the many sporting events. This is one of a number of properties with last minute availability in the East London area.
Vive Unique is a specialist booking website for stylish home rentals. With a handpicked collection of apartments and townhouses in London guests enjoy a more authentic and boutique experience. With personal recommendations for the local area, each home offers an exclusive living experience and the chance to live like a local while the owner is away. Homeowners who wish to market their homes and connect with affluent travellers around the globe, can list for free and earn money while they’re not using their homes.
For further information, please visit www.viveunique.com
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For more information, please contact:
Polly Western
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Vive Unique is a specialist booking website for unique and stylish home rentals.
With a handpicked collection of apartments and townhouses in London, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin and Rome, guests enjoy a more authentic and boutique experience. Guests stay in real homes and live like a local while the owner is away. With personal recommendations for the local area, each home offers a stylish living experience and excellent value.
Homeowners who wish to market their homes and connect with affluent travellers around the globe, can list for free and earn money while they’re away.
Please visit www.viveunique.com
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