Leeds and Reading Festival fans forced to shell out almost £700 for hotels as prices soar

Reading and Leeds Festival fans are being forced to pay nearly £700 for accommodation if they don’t camp on site.

Each year, over 240,000 visitors flock to the two festivals at Richfield Avenue in Reading and Bramham Park in Leeds – making both Reading and Leeds the UK’s biggest music-only festivals. Festival gates open at noon on Wednesday, August 21 for those with early bird passes and at 3:00 on August 22 for those with general camping tickets.

But generic weekend ticket holders do not have the option of camping, meaning they have to book external accommodation, with many choosing hotels in and around Leeds and Reading city centres. Reading and Leeds, run by Festival Republic, often team up with a major hotel chain to provide accommodation for punters if they want to stay off-site and avoid the campsites.

However, this year major chains including IHG, which runs Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza, as well as brands such as Accor, which operates Novotel and Ibis, as well as the famous Hilton hotel chain, have doubled their the prices. for the festival weekend between August 23rd and August 26th.

The Holiday Inn Express Leeds City Center currently charges £593, while the Crowne Plaza in Leeds charges £585. But the following weekend, the Holiday Inn Express charges just £235, while the Crowne Plaza is fully booked. Speaking to The Mirror, a spokesperson for IHG Hotels & Resorts said: “IHG Hotels & Resorts operates a predominantly franchised business model where franchised hotels are independently owned and operated by third parties. Our hotel owners set their prices daily, in line with supply and demand.”

Elsewhere, Ibis Leeds Center Marlborough Street, which is known for its budget prices, charges £474, Ibis Styles charges £493 and Novotel charges around £695. Just a week later and the Ibis Leeds Center is charging guests just £163 for three nights. Meanwhile, in Reading, Holiday Inn Reading South is priced from £614 for three nights.

Although the luxurious Hilton Hotel brand is known for its luxury and luxury prices, they are somewhat similar to Ibis and Novotel. The Hilton Leeds City Center has prices set at £599. More budget friendly, the DoubleTree by Hilton has rates starting from £501. Further south, Hilton Reading charges £729 for three nights. Elsewhere, the Hampton by Hilton in the West Yorkshire town is priced at around £535, compared to £260 for a stay at the Hilton next weekend.

The line-up for the weekend includes the likes of Fred again.., Lana Del Rey and Blink-182, plus Liam Gallagher, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon. Elsewhere, Flo, Bradley Simpson, ThxSoMch, Seb Lowe, Reneé Rapp, Only The Poets, Fontaines DC, Denzel Curry, Pendulum, Neck Deep and Nia Archives will take to various stages. This year’s festival bosses have also announced a first-of-its-kind live stage for digital content creators, which will see Max Balegde and George Clarke take to The Aux stage.

Tickets for Reading and Leeds, which run from August 21 to August 25, are already on sale. Go to the official website if you are interested.

Accor and Hilton hotels have been contacted for comment.

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