Depending on location and amenities, the prices of the rooms offered by the T&C range from 120 to 300 Euro. They are not being promoted online and can only be booked via a hotline. „We chose this practice to be able to advise delegates“, explains T&C project manager Ulrich Jünger. From his experience, mainly groups use this service. „Participants, who have been to Bonn during past visits, usually book the hotels they already know.“ Participants who haven’t been to Bonn before, are more likely to use booking sites.

„If you have a look on those sites, you will see that there are still rooms available for the duration of the world climate conference“, says Thorsten Hellwig, spokesperson for the German hotel and catering association (Dehoga). That these are priced much higher than on „normal“ days, is not to be condemned, he says. „That is quite simply due to the market situation - which is completely different than during other periods.“ He compared the prices to more expensive flights at the start of the summer holidays. If somebody finds the prices too high, he or she could stay in Cologne or other areas around Bonn. The hotel prices there are at their moderate level.

The online booking site Airbnb, on which private people can offer accommodation, twelve percent of offers during the COP23 are still available. „That is very few“, says spokesperson Isabelle Klot, and it indicates quite a lot of interest. She could not present any information on average prices on Friday. Like the hotels, which „raise their prices extremely“, many private providers will use the „super opportunity to earn a bit extra“. But there are also people who offer a room or apartment as a means to help or make international connections. Those providers do not charge more than normal. The prices range from 30 to several hundred Euro.

Sports halls will also be used as accommodation for COP23 participants. As reported, the organisers of the youth summit Coy and the civil society climate summit have asked the city council for help during the week of November 1-7 to accommodate approximately 2,000 young people.

The city of Bonn has made an appeal for sports halls, and 65 clubs and 33 schools have agreed to help. „We are currently assessing, which halls are suitable to accommodate COP23 guests in them“, according to a city council statement. Many Bonn citizens are accommodating guests free of charge too. Approximately 550 „bookings“ were already handled in the „private host“ program. Many people also offer places to stay via Facebook, for example in the Bonn Foodsharing Group. „There is great commitment in this international city“, praises Franz Emde from the Ministry of the Environment.

(Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach, Peter Gassner and Lisa Inhoffen. Translation: Mareike Graepel)