Cheltenham bargain of Guinness and convey again Ladies’ Day in sweeping modifications as demand soars
EXCLUSIVE: The Cheltenham roar is expected to be louder than ever this year after racing bosses made some key changes to make the biggest meet in the UK more fun and affordable
Are you ready for the Cheltenham roar?(Image: PA)
Cheltenham hotel prices have rocketed by an eye-watering 289% due to an outbreak of racing fever – triggered by a price cut on Guinness. Accommodation costs have gone through the roof with armies of fans set to descend on the revamped horse racing fest.
An average five-night stay is now £3,772 and it will cost £8,812 to rent a three-bed townhouse for the four-day bash, which starts on March 10. Organisers have brought in a raft of changes to make this year’s festival more fun – and affordable.
Accommodation chiefs say it has had a massive impact in luring in crowds, which has ironically sent stopover prices rocketing. One change by organisers will see the cost of a pint of Guinness slashed from £7.80 to £7.50 – a price last seen at the meeting in 2022.
Fans will also be able to booze at the side of the track which is sure to ramp up the decibels of the famous Cheltenham Roar when the first race starts. Cheltenham chiefs have also brought back Ladies’ Day after it was shelved seven years ago in favour of simply numbering the race days.
Bosses expect the move to trigger an invasion of female fans with £10,000 in prizes on offer to the most stylish race-goer. The daily capacity has also been cut by 2,500 to 66,000 to give the crowd a more comfortable experience, with less-packed stands and smaller queues for food and drink.
Multi-ticket offers were available to reduce the entrance price. The moves are the biggest revamps in Cheltenham’s 166-year history. Though the event may be cheaper to attend, the extra interest has led to a rise in the cost of staying nearby, something outside the control of racing chiefs.
An IrishRacing.com spokesman said its analysis of more than 1,300 accommodation listings on hotel websites and Airbnb showed ‘how much rates increase during the event compared to the surrounding weeks’.
“A five-night stay on Booking.com during Cheltenham – 9th to 14th of March – costs on average £3,772, which is 288.9% higher than the week before the festival,” they said.
“A five-night stay on Airbnb costs on average £1,450 which is a 133.1% higher price than the week before.”
Airbnb prices ranged from a one-bedroom cottage nine miles from the racecourse for £579 to a single-bedroom apartment less than two miles away for £2,500. The cheapest Booking.com option was a guest house four miles from the track for £1,033.
The £8,812 townhouse, just a mile away, was the most expensive stay. We have told how some racing fans plan to watch from 1,200 miles away in sun-kissed Benidorm where a host of pubs are showing the action on big screens.
Accommodation in the Spanish resort for the festival’s duration costs on average a relatively modest £462. Super jockey-turned-pundit Ruby Walsh, 46, who has ridden a record 59 festival winners and popped in to the Daily Star’s London office to show off its famous Gold Cup, predicted this year’s event would be the best ever. “I’m very impressed with the changes,” he told us. “I think less is always more so bringing down the capacity to me is a no-brainer. There has to be a customer experience. People have to walk out thinking, ‘I want to go there again’. “Ladies’ Day? I’m all in a dither. I have no idea what hat I’m going to wear. I am a man with a girl’s name so I’d better make an effort. It will create interest in a different sense. “Drink prices? Look, you drink 18 pints, you get one free!” He said the meeting was so ‘magical’ it would take more than the promise of a ‘one-Euro lager’ to lure him to Benidorm. The Cheltenham Festival takes place from Tuesday 10 – Friday 13 March. Tickets to all four days are still available at https://www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham-festival/
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