Gloucester could get Snoozebox portable hotel for Rugby World Cup 2015 to ...

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IT started as the simple brainwave of an unwitting entrepreneur fed up of spending night after night in tents at major motorsport meetings.

And now the Snoozebox – a portable hotel that can be built and dismantled in two days – could hold the key to accommodating the droves of rugby fans coming to Gloucester for next year’s World Cup.

Kingsholm will host several matches as teams do battle for the greatest prize in the sport from September 2015, and the economic boost thousands of international visitors could bring is an unmissable opportunity.

Already, however, there are worries about hotels getting booked up long in advance, and several smaller outlets don’t yet have the accreditation needed to be included in official visitors’ guides.

Increasing visitor capacity and keeping rugby fans in Gloucester, rather than heading to Cheltenham or further afield, is where the Snoozebox might just come in. Decision makers at Marketing Gloucester are investigating bringing one in.

It’s a simple concept – several shipping containers converted into basic but highly functional hotel rooms, bolted together. It can vary in size from 40 to 400 rooms.

Jason Smith is the new chief executive of Marketing Gloucester and stressed the Snoozebox is one of several potential options, but that it’s very early days and details, such as where it would be located if it does come, are a long way from being sorted. “It’s something we are investigating,” he said.

“It’s showing in our forecasts already that we will have a lot of people coming to Gloucester and hotels are going to be booked up early, which means more people will end up going to Cheltenham instead. We are trying to get smaller places to get proper accreditation but it’s proving difficult and the Snoozebox is one idea that’s there, but so could glamping and all sorts of others.”

Smaller bed and breakfasts and guest houses will need to get official accreditation to be included in official visitors’ guides. That involves a visit from a local assessor to ensure basics like fire safety certificates and liability insurance are in place. It costs about £80 for an inspection, much less than an AA star rating.

People with homes in and around the city are also being encouraged to sign up to websites like Airbnb, where you can let out rooms or entire properties. But so far, just one city residence – The Mulberry House BB in Heathville Road – is on its books for September next year. That compares to about a dozen in central Cheltenham.

Dan Graham, operations manager at the Hallmark Hotel in Matson, said: “There should be more joined-up thinking between Gloucester and the surrounding areas, not so much of an ‘us and them’ mentality. The facts are that there will not be enough rooms to suit demand in Gloucester alone during the World Cup.

“People will stay all over Gloucestershire for the Cheltenham Gold Cup and it will be the same here. Money should be spent on improving traffic links in and out of the city to make it easier for fans to get around.”

Howard Milton is manager at the Edward Hotel in London Road and is sceptical about the pulling power of Gloucester.

“I think if people want to go to Cheltenham then they will, I don’t see how a pop-up hotel would stop that,” he said. “If you’re comparing it to the Gold Cup, that fills up all the hotels in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud and Swindon. We are full up for an ordinary premiership rugby match so I would expect the same for the World Cup. We’ve had one or two enquiries about rooms for the World Cup but it’s a long way away.”

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-cipriani-backed-england-return-060947490--spt.html

Gloucester could get Snoozebox portable hotel for Rugby World Cup 2015 to ...