‘At this price we could go to the West Indies’: 80th anniversary of landing causes rents to soar

As the 80th anniversary of the landing approaches, visitors who failed to take precautions are looking grim. “In the week of June 6, occupancy throughout Calvados exceeded 80%. We can no longer find accommodation near the D-Day beaches or in Caen,” analyzes the Regional Tourism Committee.

The consequence: the few accommodation options that are still available sometimes reach prices never seen here. Offers are sometimes four to five times higher than regular prices for the same period!

Apartment for 4200 euros per week.

Millie lives in Croix (North). She planned to come to Normandy in June to give this historical experience to her two children. But she “fell out of a cloud when she found out about the prices being charged.” I saw an apartment near Omaha that did not look particularly comfortable and was offered for… 4200 euros per week! For that price, we could probably take the whole family to the West Indies, whereas here we are talking about a place of memory…” she protests, continuing her search.

On the spot, positions diverge. Françoise owns two guest rooms near Utah Beach (Manche). “Incredible anticipation. Of course, we could use this, but it would be uncomfortable for me. This is primarily a period of contemplation and reverence. We need to make money, but not overdo it. Therefore, we applied our high season rates as usual. No more. »

But not everyone had this wisdom. “The rest of the year will be difficult for everyone. So there’s no reason why we shouldn’t take advantage of it at this point. It’s like the Olympic Games in Paris. If there are people willing to pay full price, why not offer it to them? “, says the owner of the house, who wished to remain anonymous. On June 6, he admitted that he rented his dacha for 554 euros per day for a small house with four beds, usually rented out… 170 euros.