This is a pie chart showing what some accommodation suppliers – mostly in the Western Cape – are doing with their prices during the World Cup soccer tournament.

The chart comes from the February accommodation tracking survey on CapeInfo.com which has come out guns blazing against the “vultures” who are hoping to cash in come June.

The question posed to respondents was: “What rates are you charging for the 2010 World Cup period?”

The answers are quite revealing and indicate, at this stage, that perhaps most South Africans are not as greedy as previously thought.

Of the 426 respondents, 191 (44.84%) said they were charging the same or less than current peak season rates, 83 (19.48%) said they had jacked up their rates by 20% and 47 (11.03%) said they were charging the usual winter off-peak rates.

But 50 respondents were hiking rates by 50% over current peak season rates, 33 were heading for 100%, 4 were happy with a 200% gouge and another 6 were heading for the high country above 200%.

The greedy ones are probably in for a surprise, though. A CapeInfo blogger reckons that 483 000 foreign fans at most – 151 000 from Africa and 332 000 from overseas -will descend on South Africa, if they are not first put off by the predatory pricing going on at various of the airlines.

This is a long way from last year’s worries that there would not be enough hotel rooms for the football hordes.

For an interesting overview on ticket sales, foreign fans and the possibility that it is cheaper to fly to Mauritius on a package from Europe and hop over to SA to see one or two matches, see the post “Profile of 2010 World Cup Fans” on the CapeInfo blog A Spaniard in the Works.

CHART: Cape Info February accommodation tracking survey. SOURCE: CapeInfo.com

Related posts:

1. SA hotels deny gouging during World Cup, says UK paper. Yes, but …
2. The 2010 hotel room “shortage”: some numbers
3. World Cup ticket prices: The Great Big Gouge
4. World Cup airfares rocket
5. SA too expensive for Brits