BBC Spends @ £30M on Hotels Over 3 years and Calls it Cuts

[Teddy Bear]

More ammunition to justify privatising the BBC.

BBC spends almost £30m on hotels in just three years including one room costing £633-a-NIGHT

• Corporation blames upfront costs of World Cup for £11.6m in 2013
• Source says BBC stars and bosses being put up in most expensive hotels
• FOI reveals £633-a-night room but costs regularly exceeded £300-a-night
• BBC says staff always stay in 'most economical accommodation available'

By Martin Robinson

The BBC has spent almost £30million on hotels for staff in the past three years including one room costing £633-a-night.

Despite the corporation promising to cut costs, the bill is up by 32 per cent in the past year, with up front spending for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow blamed.

New figures have revealed that in 2011 the total paid out for hotel rooms stood at £8.4million, rising to £8.8million in 2012.

But in 2013 it rose to £11.6million, taking the three year total to £28.8million.

A breakdown of the most expensive rooms reveals that one room booked cost £633 for a night, but on several occasions in excess of £300 a room was spent.

But the BBC has refused to name many of the hotels, who stayed in them and for how long.

A BBC source, who asked not to be named, said today: 'It's fair to say that BBC staff go all over the world, sometimes at short notice, to cover events, but to pay more than £600-a-night for a hotel room is taking the mick.

'Most normal people would make do with a basic hotel, like a Premier Inn or Travelodge for a maximum of £100-a-night or so.

'The simple fact is that it's not your average BBC worker living it up in these hotels, it's the big bosses or presenters - and that's what makes everyone a little bit peeved off when we are meant to be cutting back on expenses.'

Hotels stayed at include the trendy 84-bedroom Art Hotel in Amsterdam, the NH Doelen Hotel, again in Amsterdam, and the Premier Dante Best Western Hotel in Barcelona.

RISING COSTS: HOW BBC'S ANNUAL HOTEL BILL HIT £11.6M A YEAR
Year
Cost in £m Highest price paid
2011 8.4million £306.49
2012 8.8million £632.67
2013 11.6million £414.98

The 'room rate' price paid for the Premier Dante Best Western Hotel in Barcelona by the BBC in 2013 is listed as £400.38, despite the fact that you can book a room at the hotel for £116 today.

The 'room rate' paid for a stay at the Art Hotel in Amsterdam by the BBC in 2011 was £254.29, but again, if you were booking a room today it could cost you as little as £121-a-night.

In 2012 the BBC paid a 'room rate' of £443.91 of the NH Doelen Hotel in Amsterdam, when you could book a room now for £113 for the night.

And in all 30 'top prices' paid for hotels, just one was in the UK - booked in 2013 for £378-a-night.

Top 10 hotel 'room rate' prices for 2011, 2012 and 2013 paid for the BBC, revealed in a Freedom of Information request;

A spokesman for the BBC said: 'The BBC doesn't choose the location of major events around the world – like the World Cup or the Olympics which incur costs – but we do book in advance to save money'.
COST OF A BED FOR BBC STAFF: CORPORATION SPENDS UP TO £633 A NIGHT

TOP TEN HIGHEST ROOM RATES PAID BY THE BBC IN THE PAST THREE YEARS

2011

1 - £306 - Not in UK

2 - £284 - Not in UK

3 - £269 - Not in UK

4 - £254 - Not in UK

5 - £254 - Art Hotel, AMS

6 - £253 - Not in UK

7 - £252 - Not in UK

8 - £241 - Not in UK

9 - £240 - Not in UK

10 - £238 - Not in UK

2012

1 - £633 - Not in UK

2 - £525 - Not in UK

3 - £482 - Not in UK

4 - £444 - Doelen Hotel, AMS

5 - £412 - Not in UK

6 - £412 - Not in UK

7 - £376 - Not in UK

8 - £376 - Not in UK

9 - £348 - Doelen Hotel, AMS

10 - £348 - Doelen Hotel, AMS

2013

1 - £415 - Not in UK

2 - £400 - Hotel Dante, BAR

3 - £400 - Hotel Dante, BAR

4 - £397 - Hotel Dante, BAR

5 - £378 - UK hotel

6 - £359 - Not in UK

7 - £355 - Not in UK

8 - £355 - Not in UK

9 - £352 - Not in UK

10 - £352 - Not in UK

[Teddy Bear]

What the BBC calls CUTS is apparently less quality and service to the licence fee payer. For what they take out of the licence fee for their own benefit, not only is their no cuts, but an actual increase.

The sooner they are privatised the better. Then they can take out what they like from whatever they make, and live the life of luxury for as long as they can get their hands on some money - which I doubt will be for very long.

As well as announcing that they were going to make cuts, they also announced that they were going to be more transparent and regain the trust that they had lost over a host of issues. As this story shows, not only have they increased the cost of business and first class flights by 40% over last year, when questioned over a further 9000 flights that were booked privately they refused to give any information. Just the thing to inspire trust.

BBC spends £1.3million on business and first-class flights in just one year - a 40% hike despite pledges to cut costs

• Staff spent more than £3,500 a day on most expensive luxury flights
• Figures reveal Corporation spend £1,278,618 on 950 flights last year
• But the BBC refused to give details of 9,000 other flights for sport events

By John Stevens

The BBC bill for first and business class flights soared by more than 40 per cent to £1.3million last year, despite its pledges to cut costs.

Staff spent more than £3,500 a day on the most expensive fares as they jetted around the world in luxury.

The BBC promised a new era of cost-cutting, but has admitted paying £1,278,618 for 950 business and first class tickets in 2013/4 – 46 per cent up on the previous year.

But the figures, revealed under the Freedom of Information Act, include only flights bought using the corporation’s central booking system.

The BBC refused to give details of the 9,000 flights booked in the last two years via external travel agents, used for major sporting events.

Under BBC guidelines, employees are told to use the lowest cost means of transport and use video conferences instead of face-to-face meetings where possible.

Travelling any class other than economy is allowed only under ‘exceptional circumstances’ for journeys over four hours and where it saves money on baggage.

When director-general Tony Hall was appointed last year, he said the BBC would have to find further cost savings of £100million a year.

He has warned ‘tough choices lie ahead’ in the run-up to the renewal of its royal charter at the end of 2016.

But last night the BBC was accused of being frivolous with licence fee payers’ cash.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘This only reinforces what the vast majority of people know – the BBC are out of touch.’

Andy Silvester of the Taxpayers’ Alliance said: ‘It’s outrageous that BBC employees, paid for by the licence fee, are racking up huge bills living the high life at our expense.’

A BBC spokesman said: ‘Some element of travel is inevitable if the BBC is to cover global news events and deliver programmes from around the world.

'An upgraded flight with additional baggage capacity for bulky camera equipment can often cost less than a standard fare with excess baggage charges.’