Touring musicians ‘sleeping in cars due to hotel room shortage’

Musicians and entertainers are having to sleep in their cars and vans while touring Ireland due to a shortage of available hotel accommodation, a representative body has said.

The Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland (MEAI), which represents musicians, DJs, stage crew and others, said the lack of accommodation was hampering the sector’s recovery following the difficulties of the pandemic .

Rebecca Cappucini, a spokeswoman for the organisation, said the association had noticed two impacts of the current housing crisis, affecting both performers and fans.

“The first thing is a lot of performers are struggling to find accommodation. A lot of international acts are having to bring over sleeper vans so they actually have somewhere for their crew to sleep because they can’t find hotels that are affordable or can’t find hotels full stop,” she said.

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“If you are a run-of-the-mill musician that hasn’t quite broken [into the industry] yet, it would be your car you’re sleeping in. If you are a big touring band, you would be lucky enough to be able to afford a sleeper van. But if you’re a bigger performer you will have about 50 people with you to make your performance viable and then you’re all sleeping in a van.”

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Ms Cappucini said she had two gigs lined up in Dublin next month and when she priced accommodation, she was quoted €360 for one night’s stay.

“One of those was for a Saturday, but the other was a Tuesday so there is just no real reason for it. We know there is a scarcity of accommodation but something needs to be done,” she added.

The issue was also affecting the public, she said, with many concert-goers finding it cheaper to attend a concert abroad than in Ireland.

“This affects everybody because it means less people are going to gigs, which affects venues. Then naturally, prices will go up if fewer people are coming in the door, which will make it more unaffordable and make it even less likely for people to attend; it’s a vicious cycle,” she said.

“These challenges are deterring concert-goers and event attendees, resulting in reduced footfall, diminished revenues, and a potential long-term setback for the industry.”

Ms Cappucini said the issue of available accommodation has been worsened by the use of hotels and guesthouses to accommodate asylum seekers and refugees.

MEAI has called on Government agencies, tourism bodies and hospitality providers to take immediate action to address the issue.

The association has also appealed to concert and event organisers to consider various strategies to mitigate the impact of limited accommodation options.

These strategies could include partnering with accommodation providers to secure reserved room blocks or negotiating preferential rates for attendees, the MEAI said.

Encouraging the use of public transportation or arranging shuttle services to venues could also alleviate the burden on available accommodation in city centres, they added.

MEAI was established in 2020 in light of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic was having on the sector. It currently has over 5,000 members.