A Wagga hotelier has expressed anger that the reputation of his industry is being "dragged down" by operators in the city who jack up prices for major events.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wagga recently welcomed three major events, with the state touch footy carnival, the Food and Wine Festival and Country Championships race day all converging on the city on the same weekend, and people making the trip have reported paying double or even triple the standard rates for rooms.
But the owner of The Houston Wagga, Mark Madigan, said the issue could be resolved with better planning of major events.
"Who puts [multiple] major drawcard events on one weekend?" he said. "It puts so much pressure on the system that it explodes.
"It just needs to have a bit more common sense through the year."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Councillor Mick Henderson recently said that accommodation prices should be regulated to avoid price gouging at major events, while at the same time he wants red tape cut so operators can be enticed to build more accommodation in Wagga to meet the demand.
Mr Madigan thinks that this misses the bigger issue, as hotels in the area only fill up when events clash in the city.
"That's a load of garbage," he said. "Because at the end of the day it's all about sustainability."
With Canberra Raiders hosting the Melbourne Storm in Wagga next month, The Daily Advertiser reported local hotels charging double their normal rates for rooms that weekend.
But Mr Madigan said that most operators are doing the right thing, only to be "dragged down" by a few bad apples.
"People's perception is that it was every accommodation operator in town that gouged," he said. "There are operators that were pissed off by the prices being charged by some properties."
The Houston prices special events at the "rack rate", or basic rate, "plus 10 per cent". Prices are based on two people per room, so they also charge an additional $15 per person "extra person rate". He said any surcharges should be clearly advertised.
"This idea of some places that were double [the price for rooms], I'm horrified that anyone would even do that," he said.
Mr Madigan worries about the lasting damage the negativity around the gouging issue might do to Wagga tourism, and he wants operators and event planners to come together to make sure punters leave Wagga happy.
"We don't want Wagga to be perceived as [a town] that gouges through events. Because we don't," he said.
"We should be working collectively in order to support Wagga, in order to get [the touch carnival] back for the next three years."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters