TourismSector: The next batch of Ryder Cup tickets will be issued in the autumn and this will prompt another scramble for accommodation in the area, writes Joan Scales
The next flurry of activity for Ryder Cup accommodation is expected in the autumn when the successful winners of the lottery for 15,000 tickets per day for the public will be notified.
Some have hedged their chances already and are holding rooms with hotels and booking agents, others may find themselves scrambling around the country for accommodation.
The lottery closes on July 18th at midnight and tickets will then be allocated randomly and it is expected that 50 per cent will go overseas.
All applicants can apply for two tickets and must supply the passport number or ID card number and dates of birth for both tickets. Tickets will have to be collected in Ireland on presentation of a passport or ID card.
Multiple applications will be deleted, and this system of allocation is seen as a way of excluding ticket touts. Tickets are already for sale on Ebay at $1,650 (€1,357) for Friday to Sunday.
Tickets are priced at €100 for Friday and Saturday, €130 for Sunday and €345 for four days. You also have to apply for car-parking passes at €20 per day at the time of entering the lottery. Parking will add €80 to the cost of the four-day ticket.
If successful applicants want to stay in any four or five star hotels within a 50-mile radius of Straffan, Co Kildare, they will be disappointed. The top end of the market has been booked out for months and so late bookers will be looking at the three-star market, B & Bs, rental accommodation, and also further away.
Ryder Cup Travel Services has already sold 75 per cent of the 6,000 room allocations they have. By September 2006, there will be 17,000 hotel rooms in the Dublin area and 52,000 in the country. John Power of the Irish Hotels Federation feels that the country will be able to cope with the demand "though there is never going to be enough accommodation for one major event, as we saw last week for the U2 concerts. You cannot build hotels for just one event."
The IHF feels that the importance of the event is the exposure for the whole of Ireland as a destination, and the long-term benefits to tourism.
The challenge for Failte Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation is to spread the business as far around the country as possible.
"Everyone wants to stay in Dublin, but the K Club can be just as easily accessible from Tullamore or Portlaoise," said Paul Kealy of Failte Ireland. "We want to see as many properties get the benefit as possible," he said.
Householders within a one-hour radius of the K Club could be looking at a windfall if expectations of high rates hold up, but the bubble could burst if they overprice their properties.
Siobhan Byrne of Irish Luxury and Tourism Resources, which is handling the letting of up to 100 properties, says: "We have let about 25 per cent of our properties from €3,500 to €100,000 for the week. As a rough guide, those that are charging three times the normal rate are renting fastest. Some people are looking for six times the normal rate and they may find that there will be no takers."
For €100,000 you get a period house within 20 minutes of Straffan, sleeps up to 14, is staffed, and has been rented by a group of friends.
The people who are booking now already know that they have tickets for the event and are looking for a variety of extras around it. Pre and post tours are popular, as are guided tours with drivers.
She has also let a number of properties further away in Galway, Limerick and Wicklow, where the owners are supplying helicopter transfers for clients. These clients are making their trip to Ireland a family holiday. Other clients have also booked large properties in Scotland either before or after for an extended holiday.
Where does that leave the ordinary golfer who just wants to see some great golf? Unfortunately, unless you purchase the packages from Ryder Cup Travel Services, the official agents for the cup, at prices beginning from around €2,000 for a four-night package with guaranteed tickets, or are a corporate guest, you may watch it on television.
Otherwise the options are to stay in guesthouses, or rent apartments or houses. This is where locals think they will make a killing, and fund 2007 holidays. One landlord contacted in Celbridge with a three-bed penthouse said that he would be happy to take up to €1,300 for the week. He normally rents for €500 per week in the short-term market. Others are speculating on getting €3,000 for suburban houses within 20 minutes of the K Club.
This autumn will tell the story. You can apply for the lottery on www.tickets.rydercup.com.
