London hotels gouging Games' goers

Let the gouging begin!

London newspapers are reporting that hotels in the 2012 Summer Olympic city are charging as much as 300 per cent more for rooms - that, despite the fact the London Organizing Committee returned more the 120,000 reservations to the hoteliers. (The organizing committee blocks off rooms for sponsors, media and International Olympic Committee members - but obviously fewer people are planning to attend the Games, which start July 27 and runs until August 12).

London's Telegraph newspaper cited examples of the gouging:

"Accommodation at the Premier Inn Victoria during the Games costs from £199 ($315 Cdn.), a rate that is non-refundable and must be paid in advance. For the rest of August, rooms start at £87 ($138 Cdn.). At the Premier Inn Old Street, August rates range from £75 to £132, but during the Games the cheapest rooms are also £199," the newspaper reported today.

Other examples of gouging reported by the Telegraph:
-  "At the Novotel London Paddington, room rates during the Olympics are more than double (from £299 per night) what they are during the rest of the summer (from £149). And at the Z Hotel in Soho, a two-night stay during the Olympics costs from £186 a night, compared to just £102 a night in the week after the closing ceremony. "

British politicians are reportedly "outraged" by the hotel "scandal" but what a bunch of hypocrites.

Laws to protect the public from such gouging could have been passed when London was awarded the Games but instead the members of Parliament sat on their hands until it was too late.

So, once again, the biggest losers at the 2012 London Summer Olympics won't be any athlete, but rather the public - those, at least, who are dumb enough to go to London during the Games' period.

2012 Games costs out of control



Am I the only person on the planet who is outraged by the news this week out of London that security costs for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in the British capital will now reach $1.6 billion U.S.?

With this new extra amount being committed to security, the total budget for the Games will now surpass $15 billion U.S. - and counting- according to British officials.

Have we all gone mad?

Wasn't this the same Britain where people were rioting in the streets a few months ago because they could not find jobs?

How many jobs would $15 billion create, anyway?

When will people start rioting in the streets because of this wasteful spending by governments?

Less we forget, the 2004 Athens Summer Games started Greece on the road to bankruptcy, and Montreal just recently paid off its Olympic debt - from 1976.

We're all overcome with national pride when our countries are "awarded" Olympic Games and we spend like drunken sailors trying to make our Olympics better than the last. However, the financial hangover that always accompanies these sporting orgies can no longer be tolerated.

Politicians should not be allowed to cut schemes aimed at job creation or social programs - like the British government has been doing for the past few years - yet be allowed to spend wildly on a two-week party that in the end benefits no one except those at the top of the Olympic corruption heap.

 Stop the insanity!

British tourism is now under seige

The biggest victim of the rioting that has gripped London the past few days appears to be British tourism.

Thouands of people have canceled their holidays in the British capital in the last 48 hours and the long-term effects of this public disorder may actually cause some people to change their plans of attending next summer's London Olympics.

The riots could not have come at a worse time for British Tourism, which just a few weeks ago launched their "one year out from the 2012 London Summer Olympics campaign" and boasted that London is one of the "safest" places to travel.

As British Prime Minister David Cameron calls out more police to deal with the growing disturbances, British tourism officials are fanning out around the world to reassure people that London will have everything under control by the time the first athletes start arriving next July. To make matters worse, overnight the riots spread to other British cities and now there is fear the government may have to call out troops to deal with the disturbances.

The image of Britain as a safe tourist destination may take longer than a year to repair.

Mary Rance, CEO of UKInbound, was quoted today as saying:  "The riots of the past few days, particularly in London, are most unfortunate for the global image of the U.K. – and not just ahead of the Olympics but for the country's short term and long term inbound tourism industry.

"With scenes of looting, violence and lawlessness flashing across TV screens across the globe it is absolutely vital that the government and its agencies, as well as the U.K. tourism industry, work hard to put things in context."

With unemployment rising in the U.K. and the government introducing harsh economic measures to deal with the country's growing debt problems, the situation may only get worse over the next while. That's not good for British tourism in the short or long term.