By Amanda Gillies and Simon Shepherd
For a moment Rugby World Cup chief executive Martin Snedden sensed an alarming tremor in the force today, as a grand promotion of next year's glamour event threatened to go very publically pear shaped.
Its symbol, the giant rugby ball-shaped tent, has arrived in Sydney ready to mark this week's ‘one year to kick off’ occasion.
The plan was stir up Australian interest – but instead it stirred Australian resentment.
The aborigines welcomed New Zealanders to their land; in reply New Zealand asked Australians to visit their home for the Rugby World Cup next year.
They promised the ultimate Kiwi experience: friendship, fun and festivities – but what they forgot to add, according to Geoff and Nina Berry, is the rip offs.
“They're an unscrupulous, not very nice company,” says Mr Berry.
Rugby fanatics and Sydney pensioners, the Berrys have been to every Rugby World Cup since 1995.
Six months ago, they booked their tour for next year's event in New Zealand; they are on a budget and for the Auckland leg they opted to stay at the North Shore Motels and Holiday Park in Auckland.
They were quoted $300 for three nights; they agreed and paid the $100 deposit.
But this week they received an email from the holiday park, saying the price had gone up and they now owed $425 – more than twice the original outstanding amount.
They immediately queried it and were told to read the fine print – down the bottom of the email it said “management reserves the right to alter tariffs without notice”.
“We thought ‘not very noble, not noble’,” says Mr Berry. “This is what we have read about, the gouging of prices in the Rugby World Cup, so we wrote back saying that's not fair enough. They weren't interested.”
So they wrote to Tourism Auckland, but to no avail. Today they cornered Tourism New Zealand in Sydney
Chief executive Kevin Bowler said it was difficult for him to comment on the specific case but does think it is a bad look for New Zealand.
“And it's not one that we certainly support.”
Rugby World Cup chief executive Martin Snedden smelled trouble and hastened across to trouble shoot.
“It's just a reminder, be careful if you get it wrong as a business you will suffer, as a country we will suffer,” he says.
Some foreign rugby fans are paying up to $20,000 a week to rent Auckland homes.
Some people simply can't afford to stay in New Zealand, so what they are doing is basing themselves in Sydney. They will fly over, watch the game, then fly back. That's actually a cheaper deal.
Despite their raw deal, the Berrys say they will still stay in New Zealand. They believe in the end it will be worth it.
“I think that New Zealand should worry about Australia in the World Cup because I do have a feeling we might win this one, go the Wallabies,” Mr Berry says.
So what does the motel at the centre of the Berrys' complaint have to say for itself?
And how many other complaints about ticket rorting have there been?
Auckland North Shore Motels and Holiday Park is a mixture of motor home parks and
Units – like the one the Berrys thought they had booked for a $100 a night.
Motel management believes it did tell Geoff Berry over the phone at the time he booked, that prices would go up for the Cup – but today decided to honour the original quote.
Raj - north shore motels
“Looks like there has been a bit of a miscommunication from our end and I agree to it and acknowledge that something has happened and overlooked,” says Raj Natarajan of North Shore motels.
The Berrys will get the original room rate even though the reservation did have that opt out clause about "the right to alter tariffs".
Which raises the question – can an operator legally hike prices after quoting a rate and taking a deposit?
The industry is on notice about price gouging, but so far tourism bosses say there have been few examples.
“This is the third complaint we've received and in general most people are understanding that this will be a period of peak demand,” says Graeme Osborne of Tourism Auckland.
That demand should start next week when it's officially one year from kickoff, and operators start confirming bookings and prices.
To try and smooth the process, Tourism New Zealand is about to launch a World Cup accommodation website, but says it has no control over prices or gouging.
“So all we can do is encourage hoteliers to price fairly, to recognise it is a big major event and give people great value for money,” Mr Osborne says.
Auckland North Shore Motels would reckon the Berrys have definitely got that.
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