Rise in prices in SdC

[Will O Dwyer]

Hello. We have noticed an increase in prices in SdC for the end of May 24.
Are hostels/hotels raising prices to a captive audience?
One hostel has quoted us 30 euro for 29 May, increasing to 50 euro for May 30/31st, an increase of 20 euro.
Is the Camino becoming too popular or are owners getting too gready.
Your thoughts please.

 

[Bradypus]

There is a huge music festival in Santiago at the end of May and beginning of June. I think the price rise reflects the demand for beds at that peak period. Not directly related to the popularity of the Camino. Santiago is a big city and not everything that happens there is centred on the Camino.

 

[SabsP]

Nope.
Just a big festival.

O Son do Camiño el 30, 31 de mayo y 1 de junio 2024 en Santiago de Compostela | Agenda Completa Conciertos

Ya se conocen las fechas de la edición del 2024 de uno de los mayores festivales de Galicia, O Son Do Camiño, que se celebrará en O Monte do Gozo de Santiago de Compostela durante los días 30, 31 de mayo y 1 de junio. Tres días por los que pasarán un total de cuarenta

galiciaenconcierto.com

 

[Antnix1]

It's called making hay while the sun shines.
If they charge the high price off peak (mid-week, events), they'll have empty rooms. If they charge the low price peak, it won't offset the days they can't charge so much.and they won't have money for repairs,. replacing sheets etc.

My advice to you is stay on 29 May and save money.

 

[CaminoPhotos]

Hello. We have noticed an increase in prices in SdC for the end of May 24.
Are hostels/hotels raising prices to a captive audience?
One hostel has quoted us 30 euro for 29 May, increasing to 50 euro for May 30/31st, an increase of 20 euro.
Is the Camino becoming too popular or are owners getting too gready.
Your thoughts please.

Supply and demand. It's a business. If people are willing to pay a certain price, why not charge it?

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

If in 2018 I paid 25 euros to stay at The Last Stamp, and in 2014 I paid 40 euros to stay in a little Pension near the market, I don’t see that 30 euros in 2024 is *greedy*.
The people who house and feed us along all the camino routes also live in a real world with marked leaps in inflation post CoViD. Indeed, 30 euros to stay in an astonishing city that is every bit as glorious as Barcelona, Madrid, Paris or London (etc) strikes me as extremely reasonable.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Hello. We have noticed an increase in prices in SdC for the end of May 24.
Are hostels/hotels raising prices to a captive audience?
One hostel has quoted us 30 euro for 29 May, increasing to 50 euro for May 30/31st, an increase of 20 euro.
Is the Camino becoming too popular or are owners getting too gready.
Your thoughts please.

Well, I wouldn't call 50 Euros "greedy," really. I don't know about the UK, except where I've stayed and rooms were much more there.
There is no place in the USA I know of where you get a room without bedbugs and dead people for $54.75???
It's always been less expensive to book early, which is why I booked my rooms for April/May back in June and July.

 

[domigee]

Hello. We have noticed an increase in prices in SdC for the end of May 24.
Are hostels/hotels raising prices to a captive audience?
One hostel has quoted us 30 euro for 29 May, increasing to 50 euro for May 30/31st, an increase of 20 euro.
Is the Camino becoming too popular or are owners getting too gready.
Your thoughts please.

As others have said, it is very likely due to the demand as there is apparently a big music festival that week. Happens everywhere.
As a general comment, I have noticed that the prices in Spain (for food especially) have gone haywire! Much more than in the UK ( and that's bad enough!). I was horrified last time I was there and it was only a week ago.
So 'owners getting greedy', I don't think so. Imo.

 

[Tincatinker]

Just figure the price of water if you own the only well

 

[David Tallan]

Hello. We have noticed an increase in prices in SdC for the end of May 24.
Are hostels/hotels raising prices to a captive audience?
One hostel has quoted us 30 euro for 29 May, increasing to 50 euro for May 30/31st, an increase of 20 euro.
Is the Camino becoming too popular or are owners getting too gready.
Your thoughts please.

Prices have indeed gone up. Why in 1989, a private room only cost 400 pesetas. This year I was quoted 29 euros! (Admittedly, it comes with a breakfast buffet and is right next to the Cathedral.) The greed!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

On my first Camino in 2015, I knew nothing of Spain's May 1st holiday. We'd been gifted $100 from a family member and decided to use part of it as a "splurge" in Leon and spent €50 with no reservation at a cute boutique hotel in the historical area. I loved the little hotel and we inquired about an additional night and the price jumped to £100 because of May 1st festivities so we ended up moving to the municipal albergue.

 

[Will O Dwyer]

Thank you all for responding.I still believe that it is greed on a captive audience.For a hostel to raise prices an additional 20 euros to 50 euros per night is not acceptable.Next year I will look outside of SdC or try Italy.

 

[SabsP]

Thank you all for responding.I still believe that it is greed on a captive audience.For a hostel to raise prices an additional 20 euros to 50 euros per night is not acceptable.Next year I will look outside of SdC or try Italy.

Equivalent of Santiago cheaper in Italy? Wish you very good luck...

 

[Will O Dwyer]

Thank you.It could be a Rome finish.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Thank you.It could be a Rome finish.

When I walked a large portion of the Via Francigena in 2022, the cost of lodging in Rome was quite high. I remember staying outside the large historical city center to keep the cost down to less than 3 figures for what I considered a decent place to stay.

 

[Former member 104756]

I don’t begrudge higher prices at certain times - eg holiday periods, long weekends, festivals etc. In my experience it’s no different to any popular destination the world over. Try booking a room in Sydney any time or a beachside location during the summer or holiday weekends. And, as has been pointed out, the camino is not the centre of life in SdeC - it is a popular destination in its own right.

Also, these days the fixed costs just to open the doors - especially energy costs - are such that many establishments do need to make hay when they can or risk closure. There would be many low occupancy months of the year when profitable or even ‘break even’ days would be difficult to come by.

 

[Barbara]

Thank you all for responding.I still believe that it is greed on a captive audience.For a hostel to raise prices an additional 20 euros to 50 euros per night is not acceptable.Next year I will look outside of SdC or try Italy.

Supply and demand. You could stay outside the city and go in by bus.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

I still believe that it is greed on a captive audience.For a hostel to raise prices an additional 20 euros to 50 euros per night is not acceptable.

It's perfectly acceptable, and having worked in world famous hotels for some years, this is how it's done. Hotels set their rooms at "rack rates", either discounting them by selling to larger group bookings or loyalty program holders...or raising prices according to demand (i.e Easter holidays, high season, Friday night vs. Sunday night).

 

[bullingtonce]

Hello. We have noticed an increase in prices in SdC for the end of May 24.
Are hostels/hotels raising prices to a captive audience?
One hostel has quoted us 30 euro for 29 May, increasing to 50 euro for May 30/31st, an increase of 20 euro.
Is the Camino becoming too popular or are owners getting too gready.
Your thoughts please.

It is not a scheme to raise prices for a captive audience; rather, it is properly running a business so it can remain/stay open. There is also such a thing called inflation. Running a business is one of the hardest things to do in life.

 

[Pafayac]

Please, notice that there is currently a prices raising in the whole European Union. We use to call it "price inflation".