Let the Booking Begin?

Much attention has been given to the price gouging going on by airlines and hotels in South Africa. I've seen a lot of people dropping out of the running for making this trip because the cost is too high. Well now things may be set to change.

On the hotel front, the FIFA exclusive booking partner MATCH Ag has released hundreds of thousands of rooms from their exclusive contract ahead of their April 10 deadline to avoid paying penalties. There you have it, PROOF that demand was overestimated and overpriced. We should feel sorry for the hotel operators who got burned by this FIFA scam. Hopefully this will not have damaged SA's reputation in the minds of tourists too much. At least we can be optimistic that we can find more reasonably priced rooms, particularly those of us who will be staying for the latter stages and can't necessarily plan our accommodations for those days.

I am traveling with a group of four. We started with something like 12, but the high prices forced the others out. Thankfully, my friend Sasha located a lodge between Johannesburg and Rustenburg that was charging only about $40/night per person. We've got that booked now for the times around the USA matches.

If you're looking for accommodations and finding the hotels too expensive, try searching for guest houses and B&Bs. Check the forums on Bigsoccer.com. There have been some guest house owners posting there trying to drum up business. Also check the sites like sleeping-out.co.za for lodges, guest houses, and B&Bs. You'll find a lot of them in the Magaliesburg and Hartbespoort areas halfway between Joburg and Rustenburg.

If you're more adventurous or you want something even cheaper, check out fan camps. This seems to be a trend, as I have seen a lot of them being promoted. It looks like someone with some land just sets up a camp with tents, lockers, security, and included meals. Be careful with these. I could see them really sucking. My advice is to pay for your stay only after you've arrived and have been able to inspect the place.