Galway festival hotel rates soar as racegoers feel accommodation pinch

A shortage of supply in city accommodation for the Galway festival has been labelled as "disappointing" by racecourse chief executive Michael Moloney, who said racegoers faced "expensive" rates if they have yet to book a room for the seven-day spectacular.

According to leading hotel comparison site Booking.com, there are just three hotels in Galway city available for those wishing to book a room for two adults on Wednesday, July 27 and Thursday July, 28, with such a booking costing €769 (£663) in the four-star Salthill Hotel and €867 in the four-star Dean Hotel.

The three-star Flannery's Hotel is listed at €1,088 for a room offering two singles and a double bed over the same two nights.

Not all hotels will offer their full availability to Booking.com, but the site is a barometer for the level of demand for the popular festival. As of noon on Friday, between 91 and 98 per cent of hotels listed on Booking.com have been booked out over the first six nights of the week-long meeting.

Galway's festival crowds were limited to 1,000 per day in 2021Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

As of noon on Friday just four options are available on the site for two adults wishing to book a city hotel on the Thursday. These range in price from a low of €352 to as much as €429 for one night, while a double room with an extra single bed on the same night in Flannery's Hotel costs €459.

More than 130,000 people attended Ballybrit when the meeting last operated at full capacity in 2019.

"Unfortunately accommodation is certainly tight in Galway, as is the case all over the country," Moloney said.

"Galway has been full for the last two or three months and is pretty full right throughout the summer. I know from speaking to some hotels that their Monday and Tuesday nights in Galway are full. They would never usually be at this stage, but unfortunately for racegoers who haven't booked yet, they are."

He added: "The prices are high at this stage, but you're talking about the last couple of rooms. I know from speaking with contractors who will be coming on site that those who booked in advance got good pricing. It was reasonable compared to what they would have paid in the past.

Michael Moloney: 'We can only do what is in our own control, and unfortunately accommodation is out of our control'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"The last few rooms left are expensive. It's disappointing because we're trying to offer value at the track. We can only do what is in our own control, and unfortunately accommodation is out of our control."

Moloney said that grooms travelling to the festival with overseas runners will not be impacted by the shortage as they will be housed by the track in off-site apartments.

He also put forward a potential reason for the surge in hotel bookings. "It's only my view, but I think what could be the biggest change relates to Airbnb," he said.

"They released a statement in 2018 or 2019 to say they had done 30,000 bed nights in Galway for race week. A lot of those accommodation options might not be available this year, as they could have turned into long-term rental places or are being used for other purposes."

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