Why is it cheaper to hire a car in Ireland via a foreign website than an Irish one, asks Conor Pope
WE ARE ACCUSTOMED to paying over the odds for pretty much everything in this country. When retailers are confronted and asked to explain why a certain product costs 30 or 40 per cent more in Ballina than in Belfast, there is usually a lot of bluster about higher transportation costs, taxes and wages, only some of which makes any degree of sense.
But transportation costs can't be a factor when it comes to transportation itself. In recent weeks, some people have wondered why it costs more to book a ferry trip from Dublin to Holyhead on Stena Line's Irish site than on its UK site, while others have asked why people who hire cars in Ireland through Irish websites are being asked to pay a whole lot more than those who book the same cars through European and US sites.
One Berlin-based reader was in Ireland a few weeks ago and wanted to rent a car - a Toyota Corolla hatchback. He got a number of quotes for seven days including all insurance. He looked at a few Irish websites and was quoted prices in excess of €300.
"One offer was even over €400," he says. He was reluctant to shell out so much, so decided to check out a German car rental agency instead. "As far as I can tell, the agency rents capacity from car rental companies in Ireland," he says.
He and his pals paid in advance and dealt with Europcar at Cork airport. "The car cost €220, or thereabouts, for the week," he continues. "Divided among the four of us, an absolute steal."
His tale is not an isolated incident and a number of people have got in touch to point out that renting a car to drive in Ireland from the US is also cheaper than renting the same car from an Irish-based website. "Perhaps worth a look, now that we're all tightening our belts?" he concludes.
Top-up charge
The price of blackcurrant and water continues to occupy the minds of some readers. "It is interesting to note that most pubs do not even pay for the cordial as it is often given free with large drinks orders from suppliers," writes one. "I can recall being out in a nightclub in Dublin when in college a few years back and ordered a vodka and lime. The drink had very little lime in it and when I asked the barman for some extra, I was charged an extra €3 for it - €3 for a minimal dash of lime. I refused to pay such an extortionate price and as a result got myself 'removed' from the premises for complaining about it!"
Someone who identifies themselves only as the "Islander" had lunch last week in the Achill Head Hotel "with a tribe of children". The group got a big jug of diluted blackcurrant and six glasses.
"I checked the bill afterwards, and the blackcurrant cost all of €1 for the jug - about 18 cents a glass. the cheapest blackcurrant in Ireland?"
Slice of toast for 75 cent
Another reader found himself sheltering from the rain in a coffee shop in the Bloomfield shopping centre in Dún Laoghaire and felt it would only be good manners if he bought something to justify being there. He opted for a mini-breakfast which was made up of two slices of black pudding and a rasher, a slice of toast and a cup of coffee. He paid €4.95 and didn't think too much of it until he realised his toast was missing.
He went to the counter, got some freshly toasted bread from an assistant who then asked him to pay for it.
"I explained I had already done so and that was okay. But it was then I realised how ripped off I had just been. He wanted 75 cent for the slice of toast."
Fuming, our reader immediately went next door to Tesco and, in the bread section, counted the slices in a well-known brand of toasting pan. There were 17, not including two crusts. "The loaf cost €1.82 or just over 10 cent a slice. How can anyone justify charging seven and a half times the price of a slice of bread just to toast it?"
Race to the top
Last week's item about the high cost of hotels in Galway during race week prompted Laura to get in touch. She pointed out that the practice of inflating prices during peak times is not restricted to this country.
"If you look at hotel prices all over the world there are seasonal rates - high season costs more. Corporate rates are not always guaranteed either, they are generally subject to availability and in peak season in hotels, they invariably go up."
She said race week in Galway could be compared to convention/conference weeks in major cities around the world "where hotels are either not available or cost substantially more than they would do on a less busy week. "I agree that the hotel was foolish not to consider a long-term relationship with a corporate customer, but then again, who would want to be in Galway to do business on the week of the Galway races? The associated partying and rowdiness and residents' bar drinking sessions would hardly allow that man to get much sleep."