LONDON — They might not get chocolate on the pillow — but at least they’ll have a pillow.
Tourists eager to soak up the pomp of this spring’s royal wedding will be hard-pressed to find a hotel room, as an estimated half-million others will be here with the same idea. But for those willing to pay a premium (and do without amenities) there’s a solution: their very own London flat.
“Hotels are going to be very full,” said Jane Ingram, head of Savills Plc’s rentals unit. “People are going to need to look at private apartments as an alternative.”
London’s roughly 120,000 hotel rooms are nowhere near enough to accommodate the hordes of royalty buffs expected for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. That means many Londoners plan to do what they always do whenever a big event hits town — rent out their homes for a huge profit.
Homeowners have been known to rake in up to 50 percent more than normal rental rates during big-ticket occasions such as Wimbledon. Around the April 29 wedding date, apartments are expected to go for three to four times normal.
Matthew Parker’s started as such a matchmaker for the London 2012 Olympics but expanded once inquiries about the wedding streamed in from owners looking to cash in.
“People love the royal family,” Parker said. “So a lot of people are willing to pay top dollar to actually be near them.”
After seeing friends pocket sizable sums for renting their apartments during Wimbledon, Jonathan Thornton decided to try his luck for April. The 27-year-old musician listed his apartment’s spare room at 500 pounds, which is about $792, for a week during the wedding, up from the normal 150 pounds, or $237.
