£20,000 quoted for a two-night stay at Derry’s Maldron hotel next summer during the Open golf championship
They first thought the price tag, quoted on both Expedia and booking.com, was due to the fact that the world’s most famous golf tournament is taking place at the same time in nearby Portrush.
2019 will be first time that the Open Championship has been hosted by Royal Portrush since 1951 and it takes place between July and 21 July.
But it has now emerged that the online price some social media users were quoted over the weekend for their stay at the city’s Maldron Hotel was an error.
The dates in question were 20 July to 22 July 2019, covering the final days of the world famous tournament.
A spokesperson for the Maldron Hotel group said the inflated double room price for the final two days of the championship offered on Booking.com and Expedia was an error.
“It is now being amended,” the spokesperson added.
Eoin McDevitt was among the Twitter users to flag up the erroneous quote on Sunday.
He tweeted his followers that he had taken a “notion to attend” next year’s event and began to look for a hotel.
“Was not expecting accommodation anywhere nearby to come cheap but the €22,378 for 2 nights in a double room in a Derry hotel seems a tad excessive,” he wrote.
His initial post sparked a good humoured response online.
Some pointed to a poor sterling/euro exchange rate, others blamed Brexit.
There were offers of alternative and (only slightly cheaper) accommodation, and of helicopter rides to the event at a price below the mistaken hotel price.
The price for the Derry hotel has now been rectified on both booking sites.
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