Garth Brooks fans to pay average of €583 for one-night stay in Dublin hotel room

The rush for accommodation on the nights of his five Dublin concerts began when tickets went on sale last year.

Since then, a post-Covid bumper tourist season and the war in Ukraine has heaped pressure on bed space across the capital, with prices increasing as a result.

The Sunday World carried out a price survey of the hotels within three kilometres of the venue for Garth Brooks’s concerts on September 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17.

The search was conducted on Booking.com on Friday, August 12, for one room, for two adults, for one night.

Rooms were found in 19 hotels for Friday, September 9. The cheapest hotel room was €388, at the Beresford Hotel – with only one room available at that price – while the most expensive room was found at the Shelbourne Hotel for €1,407. The average price of a room across all sites was €583.

On Saturday, September 10, rooms were found at four properties, ranging in price from €437 at the Belvedere Hotel in Parnell Square, to €519 at the Grand Canal Hotel in Ballsbridge.

A spokesperson for the Grand Canal Hotel said the ”rate that you refer to on your search, this rate was caused by an error in loading and was removed as soon as it was noticed”.

They added: “You will see from other dates, including high demand dates throughout the year, that the rate of €519 is not reflective of the rates offered by the Grand Canal Hotel for double or twin rooms.

“Guests booking in advance for the Garth Brooks concerts have received good value by booking directly with the hotel or by choosing long stay discounted or advance purchase rates.”

The first leg of Brooks’s Dublin gigs ends on Sunday, September 11. Rooms were found at 49 hotels on the night, starting at €359 in the Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane, up to €765 at the Shelbourne. Thirty-eight rooms were found for under €500.

The following Friday, September 16, Brooks will take to the stage for another sell-out concert. Hotel stays searched for that night range from €349 at the Beresford Hotel to €1,010 at the Westin. Rooms were found in 18 hotels.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, September 17, the country music legend will play his final Irish stadium concert.

Back in April Brooks announced that his upcoming stadium tour, which ends with his string of Dublin concerts, would be his last.

On the night, rooms were found in 21 hotels within 3km of Croke Park.

The cheapest room, at the Bonnington Hotel, was priced at €387, while the most expensive room, at the Westbury Hotel, was €1,170. The average price of a hotel room for the night was €524.

A spokesperson for the Westbury Hotel said the price quoted in the search may have been for a “suite”.

They added: “The hotel is now fully sold out on this date, but the selling rate for a standard room was €620.”

Chair of the Consumer Association of Ireland Michael Kilcoyne said “there’s no justification” for the prices.

“I know the Government has taken a couple of thousand beds in Dublin to accommodate refugees but it’s the same story again. They’re using every opportunity, the hotel industry, to charge outrageous prices,” he said.

“You’d have to ask the question, at what point is enough, enough for some of these people? I’m sure if they keep going like that, there will be loads of hotel beds and people will go elsewhere.

“It will have an impact on things like tourists coming to Ireland, and Dublin is already one of the dearest cities in Europe. There’s no justification for it.”

A spokesperson for the Irish Hotels Federation said most people who are staying in Dublin for the concerts had booked accommodation “months in advance”.

“Like cities the world over, there will be times when Dublin experiences a significant increase in prices around major events – including concerts. For the dates in question, we have seen exceptional levels of demand relative to supply, and the vast majority of people going to these concerts and looking to stay in Dublin have by now already booked their accommodation months in advance," they said.

"What we are seeing currently are rates for last available rooms on nights that Dublin is nearly sold out. However, the vast majority of rooms sold would have been booked at lower rates.

“This will understandably impact on decisions made by consumers and options for staying in Dublin, and some people may decide to stay further out from the city centre.

"People yet to book should also consider contacting hotels directly where there may be better value available.”