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Irish punters going to Cheltenham Festival face 500% increase for accommodation during race week
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Irish punters going to Cheltenham Festival face 500% increase for accommodation during race week

IT'S NO secret that the cost of accommodation increases during the Cheltenham Festival, but new research from MyBettingSites has uncovered that the average price can rise by up to 500%. 

The average price of a three-night stay in the weeks leading up to Cheltenham can be as low as £372, before that average price rises to £2,190 during the Festival, an increase of almost 500%.

On AirBnb, the average price of a three-night stay in Cheltenham is fairly stable at around £300-£400 before skyrocketing to above £2,000 as locals make the most of the Festival crowd.

It’s a similar story on Booking.com, where the average price before Cheltenham is as low as £380 for a three-night stay before jumping to £1,500 during the Festival.

CHELTENHAM, ENGLAND - MARCH 19: Jack Kennedy riding Minella Indo (R). (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Around 65,000 pass through the gates on each day of the four-day Festival, which even requires airline companies to provide 30 additional flights, so accommodation in Cheltenham is a priority for everyone.

The Cheltenham Festival is the biggest week of jumps racing in the calendar and consists of four days of top-class racing with the Cheltenham Gold Cup, worth £350,000 to the winner, the biggest race of the event.

A MyBettingSites spokesperson said:

“Many racing fans make the annual pilgrimage to Cheltenham for the Festival, but will have to fork out much more than anyone else visiting the town with prices increasing by up to 500% during the race week.

“The average cost of a three-night stay in Cheltenham during the Festival is over £2,000, which is almost 500% higher than it would cost in the weeks before the racing action - which would take an incredible run of luck in the betting ring to cover.”