Capital tipped to bulge at seams

Wellington is expected to be bulging at the seams as visitors arrive for the Rugby World Cup next year but officials say the city will cope.

The council expects a large number of visitors to stay in mobile accommodation, such as campervans, and it was working to ensure they had somewhere to park.

Hospitality Association spokesman Adam Cunningham said only about 25 per cent of rooms placed into the tournament's Official Accommodation Bank had been returned to accommodation providers, which suggested most rooms had already been filled by organisers.

The Official Accommodation Bank was wound up this week, with $60 million worth of accommodation booked for players, officials and VIPs.

Official figures show 121,540 bed nights have been booked through the OAB and the city was set to be packed.

"There's no doubt that we'll have 100 per cent [booked] over those core weeks where we've actually got games in town."

There was still a large amount of motel and hotel-type accommodation available.

Mr Cunningham said they had seen no signs of price gouging in the city. Accommodation providers would be charging at their "rack rate" – inflated prices which were the norm during the high demand of major events. This was up to 30 per cent above normal.

"Rack rates are what the industry would always charge when Wellington was going to be full and it would be no different whether it be the Rugby World Cup or Wearable Arts."

There appeared to be particularly high demand for self-contained accommodation.

Sue Robinson, of property management firm 80 Minute Game, agreed, saying there was a shortage of houses for short-term rental during the cup.

Demand was highest in the CBD and nearby suburbs, where houses generally cost $50 to $100 per person a night.

- © Fairfax NZ News