The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September will attract visitors from all over the world and with hotels, B&Bs and even campsite spaces at a premium, private homes will be playing host to many enthusiastic fans. Helen Brown looked through the keyhole.
If your home is your castle whether it actually is a castle or not this year’s Scottish summer of sport could find you welcoming a wealth of people into your life for the first time. In 2014, the nation is opening its arms and its front doors to the leading golfers of the day for the 40th Ryder Cup and to international athletes for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
It’s claimed that, globally, only the Olympics and the football World Cup attract more TV viewers than the Ryder Cup so the chance to be there, on the spot, to see at first hand some of the best players in the world in one of the most hotly contested events of its kind is a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Ever since the announcement that this year’s Ryder Cup would take place at Gleneagles between September 26 and 28 and practically before the bunkers had been raked and the divots replaced at Medinah, home of the “miracle” turnaround for Europe back in 2012 accommodation bookings were heading through the roof.
It’s reckoned that at a conservative estimate the Scottish economy will benefit by about £100 million during the week of the Ryder Cup and that 45,000 spectators a day (that’s looking at 200,000 over the week) will bring huge local advantages.
And they all need somewhere to stay. Many top hotels and prestige private rentals, including castles and country estates, have been booked out for almost two years. Figures of £105,000 per week for something with helicopter access, cordon bleu cookery and assured privacy within rolling acres thrown in, have been bandied around and there are lettings websites still offering historic or contemporary dwellings, with, literally, all mod cons, for well into five figures for as many nights’ stay.
But across the sector, private citizens with an entrepreneurial streak and a gift for hospitality have also been setting out their stalls.
Richard Wallace of GlenGolf2014.com, specialising in property lettings of all kinds for September’s event, explained: “The hot spots are in Perth, Dunblane and Stirling, as they offer easy access (for regular ticket-holders) via official buses and trains into Gleneagles. In these locations, owners are getting between £1,500 and £4,000 for a good three or four-bedroom home, with up to £15,000 for something a bit special. Of course, we have organised rentals right at the golf course, too. There the rates are between £15,000 and £50,000.”
Distance, in many cases, is no object. According to Richard, the furthest-flung examples range from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Pitlochry and Ayrshire. “The truth is, for £30k a week, you can rent anything in Scotland and helicopter yourself and your guests into Gleneagles, which keeps pricing ‘sensible’ at the course.
“Otherwise, pretty much every venue and country house that operates as a venue in Perthshire and beyond is full for RC week.
“But we’ve seen lots of rental activity from camping pitches at places like Comrie Croft to rooms rented out, while homeowners are on hand to host guests personally.”
Retired investment manager Ian Macfarlane and his wife Betty are letting out two bedrooms in their Perth home, one to a father-and-son staying for three nights and one to a Ryder Cup volunteer for over a week.
Ian explained: “The main practicalities are suitable bathroom facilities, sleeping accommodation and proper insurance for taking paying guests into a private home. The insurance isn’t that expensive about £50 whether it’s for a night or a year but it’s a necessity.
“We have a three-bedroomed home with a rear extension en suite and another bedroom where the client has sole use of bathroom facilities. We have three bathrooms altogether so the privacy and amenity elements are catered for. We are turning one of our public rooms into a bedroom as my wife and I will be staying on the premises and providing breakfasts for the guests.”
Ian was previously a volunteer driver for Scottish Open events at Gleneagles but it was partly having the Ryder Cup in Perthshire and the sociability of meeting and greeting varied visitors literally on their own doorstep, that appealed. “We’ve never done anything like this before but, to be honest, the money (the letting rate is between £100 and £120 per person per room per night) was a secondary consideration. It makes it worthwhile but it’s not the main reason for getting involved.
“We are looking forward to it we like meeting people and this is a real one-off.”