Champions League fever is sweeping across Europe, with Hungary preparing to host one of the world’s most prestigious football events. The final in Budapest—featuring a clash between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at Puskás Aréna—has triggered a surge in demand across the city’s accommodation market, effectively igniting a “gold rush” among property owners.
On booking sites – including Booking and Airbnb – prices have appeared for the Champions League final weekend (May 29–May 31) that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances, Origo.hu reports.
In the city center and around Puskás Arena, several accommodation providers are clearly aiming to earn as much as a month’s or even a full year’s revenue from a single weekend.
According to the article’s findings, on Booking, for instance, a four-star apartment was available for more than 550,000 forints (1,550 euros / 1 euro=350 forints) for two nights during the final weekend, while the same accommodation would cost barely 83,000 forints a month later. In a hotel near the stadium, an offer of 534,000 forints appeared for the Champions League final period, whereas at the end of June the same place could be booked for around 56,000 forints for two nights for two people.
A three-star hotel near Andrássy Avenue was no exception to the price surge:
they asked for nearly half a million forints for two nights including breakfast, while a month later the same offer could be booked for around 129,000 forints.
Photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán
At the same time, Airbnb is reflecting pricing trends similar to those seen on Booking.com.
Most private accommodations near Puskás Arena were cheaper than Booking’s premium offers, but their prices were still significantly higher than usual. According to Origo, most apartments that would normally cost 50–70,000 forints for two nights were priced at three to four times that amount during the final.
One of the most expensive Airbnb listings showed a price of nearly 943,000 forints for two nights for a stadium-adjacent apartment. The accommodation could host six people, but guests would have had to share three beds.
However, the record was set by a luxury apartment:
on one intermediary site, the accommodation was offered for more than 16 million forints for the Champions League final weekend.
Not only apartments, but also the cheapest hostel beds saw a price surge. A bed in an eight-person female dormitory could cost up to 90,000 forints, while a mixed hostel bed for two nights was priced at 127,000 forints – which in normal circumstances would already be the price level of a mid-range hotel room.
Although the trend is clear, not every accommodation provider raised prices to extreme levels. Even during the Champions League final weekend, there were still some more modest, more distant options available for a few tens of thousands of forints – although only very few vacancies remained.
Tourism experts say, however, that the phenomenon is not unique: similar price shocks have occurred during European Championships, World Cups, and other major sporting events. Many property owners deliberately test the market with extremely high prices, hoping that there will be guests willing to pay almost any amount for the finals weekend.
Via Origo.hu, Featured image: Pixabay
