Oasis fans face soaring prices as Edinburgh hotels charge up to £850 a night for gigs during clash with Fringe

Oasis fans face having to fork out hundreds of pounds a night for a hotel room in Edinburgh when the reformed band stage their shows at Murrayfield next year - as thousands of people descend on the city for the festival at the same time.

A huge scramble for accommodation as well as tickets has already begun as the two gigs will coincide with the second weekend of the Edinburgh International Festival, Fringe and Tattoo.

Oasis last performed at Murrayfield Stadium in 2009. | TSPL

Prices for rooms in the West End and other areas within walking distance of the Scottish rugby ground for the two nights Liam and Noel Gallagher’s band is playing in Edinburgh are almost double that of the previous weekend, when the festivals are already underway, with some hotels saying they have already been booked out for the weekend of the Oasis tour.

Fans in the front row for the last Oasis concert at Murrayfield Stadium in 2009. | TSPL

Business leaders have admitted fans seeking overnight accommodation may have to stay outside the city, but also expected rooms to be snapped up well in advance on the back of the concert announcement.

Among the cheapest hotel rooms currently on offer for the night of the first Oasis show, Friday, 8 August, are the Moxy at Fountainbridge, which costs £429 and Voco at Haymarket, which costs £539.

However starting prices for rooms in the West End include £630 for The Angels Share, £771 for The Rutland and £850 for The Bonham. By contrast, those three hotels are available for the previous Friday night for just £335, £441 and £483 respectively.

One of the closest hotels to Murrayfield, at Tynecastle Park, is charging £806 a night over the Oasis weekend.

Other room rates around the city for 8 August include £609 for Hotel Indigo in the New Town, £615 for the BrewDog Doghouse on Market Street, £557 for the House of Gods in the Old Town and £707 for The Raeburn in Stockbridge.

Some hotels are yet to put rooms on sale for next August, including the Holiday Inn, near Edinburgh Zoo.

However some local hotels have suddenly become booked up, including the Twin Lions Hotel, on Corstorphine Road, which saw a surge of enquiries after the Murrayfield dates were leaked online.

It is understood that some of Edinburgh’s hotel operators are not yet selling rooms for next August.

A member of staff said: “We actually got booked up really suddenly before the concerts were announced. We did wonder what was going on.

“We are usually full in August, but that doesn’t usually happen until June or July, so this is completely different.

“Some places don’t release their rooms as far in advance as this but we already had ours on sale.”

Edinburgh is believed to boast more than 13,000 hotel rooms. However, it is estimated that around 25,000 beds are needed to accommodate artists, people working on events and audiences on the festival in August, with many staying in student accommodation and short-term let accommodation.

Roddy Smith, chief executive of city centre business group Essential Edinburgh, said: “Securing two Oasis concerts is fantastic news for the city although of course it would be preferable if the dates were in June or July.

"It will create some operational challenges, especially with accommodation availability and costs. The city will be exceptionally busy but that is good news for the business community, and it will showcase our city.

"If we are serious about looking to attract events of this scale we have to, as a city, be able to deliver them. Edinburgh has a great record of stepping up for these events.

"It may well be that people may need to stay further afield or indeed travel back and forth in a day.

"With tickets on sale at the end of the month, rooms will be getting booked up earlier than normal for August.

"On a really positive note, with the additional people coming to see Oasis, they may also buy tickets for other shows during the festivals and visit other parts of Scotland as well, so hopefully it will give additional benefits to our tourism industry and economy.”

Neil Christison, VisitScotland’s regional director, said: “The announcement that Oasis will be coming to Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium next summer provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the city and surrounding areas to music fans. 

“The trend for gig tripping, where visitors combine a concert with travel, continues to grow, and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was most recent example of how large-scale shows by global stars can have a bring benefits to a destination.

“We would anticipate that Oasis fans will travel from other parts of Scotland and further afield, having a positive impact on the visitor economy through accommodation bookings, hospitality and retail.

“There is also an opportunity for music fans to explore the surrounding regions, spreading the economic benefits further and adding to the enjoyment of their trip.”

City council chiefs said they would be “multi-agency” planning to ensure the Oasis concerts were delivered safely.

Val Walker, city culture convener at the city council, said: “Following the exciting announcement that Oasis will once again perform live in Edinburgh – it’s fantastic that the capital is a stop on their world tour.

"Their long-awaited return to the stage will be amongst the most anticipated gigs of the year.

“Whilst we’re proud to host the biggest and best events and hope everyone who gets a ticket will have an excellent experience, we are always conscious of our residents who live here year-round.

"We’re also more than aware that the concerts will happen at an already extremely busy time of the year.

"We will work closely with Scottish Rugby and our multi-agency partners to make sure these concerts are delivered safely, with arrangements in place to work with local residents and their representatives to manage the impact.”

Edinburgh is thought to have seen an economic spin-off of up to £100m from the three Taylor Swift shows in June - the highest capacity concerts ever staged at Murrayfield.

Before the concerts were even staged, Scottish Rugby published research revealing that sporting and cultural events at the stadium were worth more than £185m for the economy.