U.K. hoteliers’ "expectations of a Rugby World Cup booking bonanza appear to have evaporated in a situation reminiscent of the 2012 Olympic Games in London," according to Phil Davies of TRAVEL WEEKLY. The rugby tournament organizers and int'l sports travel specialists "have released rooms back on to the market less than two months before the first game kicks off at Twickenham" on Sept. 18. The disclosure "came from B2B travel wholesaler JacTravel, which is responsible for booking around a million bed nights a year in London." JacTravel VP of Groups Iain Limond said, "This is a common syndrome we see with nearly all big one-off events. ... The problem is that all the travel and event organizers typically book more rooms than they need and when they cancel at relatively short notice, the hotels discover that their regular customers have made alternative arrangements with the result that they have to resort to discounting to fill their space" (TRAVEL WEEKLY, 7/29).
RWC ON TRACK: The PA's Duncan Bech wrote the World Cup is on track to sell out with England Rugby 2015 Chair Andy Cosslett confident that by the time the tournament kicks off on Sept. 18 "every ticket will have been bought." An additional 100,000 seats "have been made available this week -- including for England games and the knockout stages -- following adjustments to the configurations for the 13 match venues." The total number of tickets available has risen to 2.45 million and Cosslett believes that "they will all be sold." He said, "We're trying to make it the best. The biggest tag is nice to have alongside your name, but the most important thing is that it's the best" (PA, 7/28).
