ESC 2025 in Basel Hotel prices are exploding - or rooms are fully booked
ESC fans in Basel have already made their move: most hotels are fully booked and room prices are skyrocketing. Anyone still looking for a place to sleep needs to hurry.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be held in Basel, resulting in an expected income of 60 million francs and expenditure of 35 million francs for the city.
- Many hotels in Basel are already fully booked for May 2025, and room rates have risen sharply, especially for the final day.
- Some hotels are charging up to four times higher prices than usual, reflecting the strong demand from the international audience.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will therefore take place in Basel, SRG announced today. Government President Conradin Cramer is dancing with joy, expecting income of around CHF 60 million - with expenditure of CHF 35 million for the city of Basel.
ESC fans all over the world have apparently already received the good news: Not only will hotels in Basel be wickedly expensive in May, some are already fully booked. Anyone looking for a room at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Basel for May 2025, for example, will be met with sobering news: There is no room available for this date.
Out of interest, the writer has tried all dates in the corresponding month - May 1 to 31. Nothing to be desired, the same message pops up.
Almost four times the room rate for the final day
Other hotels in the ESC venue are experiencing the same or similar situation: no matter which hotel is clicked on at booking.com, the rooms are either gone or almost gone. There are messages like: 1 room still available, 3 rooms still available etc. But even these are likely to be gone in the next few hours, if not by the time this article is published.
The only options left might be Airbnb or camping. Or find Swiss friends to crash on the couch with until May 2025. At least for those traveling from abroad.
The prices also vary: at the ODELYA Hotel in Basel city center, guests normally pay around CHF 220 per night - from May 17 to 18, the final day of the ESC, the same room suddenly costs CHF 990.
The Director of Basel Tourism, Letizia Elia, was also cautious about the horrendous hotel prices that have been widely reported. Hotels everywhere know dynamic pricing. However, Basel Tourism will do its utmost to ensure that prices do not get out of hand. They have already reserved a contingent for the ESC - at fixed prices.
Franz Xaver Leonhard, President of the Basel Hoteliers' Association, told the Keystone-SDA news agency that the prices quoted, amounting to several thousand francs per night, were not to be understood on a one-to-one basis. This is the result of AI tools that automatically translate the strong demand into price mark-ups.
As the ESC attracts an international audience, countless hotels in Basel and the surrounding area are nevertheless likely to earn a golden nose - as predicted by President Cramer.
