The whole world is a guest at the Opera Ball. Or not? You don’t notice much of this in the city’s luxury hotels, according to a broadcast by the “Krone”. But why is it?
The Vienna Opera Ball is the highlight of the ball season. For everyone who comes there, money doesn’t matter – or does it? A week before the social spectacle, we called the hotels on the Ringstraße to see if there were any rooms available for February 8 to 9.
Lo and behold: there are still plenty of rooms available in Vienna’s best houses. Not only that, we were also offered the suites. Why is that? Has the Opera Ball simply become too expensive for many people?
I changed my mind on short notice
“Pre-bookings for the Opera Ball Night this year are worse than previous years,” confirms Angelika Ponecz, hotel manager of the Grand Ferdinand. In conversations with hotel guests, she heard that some had planned to buy tickets but changed their minds at short notice. “The balls as a whole may have become too expensive,” the director speculates.
She could be right about that. The ticket for the opera ball alone costs 385 euros. A seat at the table starts at 110 euros. If you add the costs for food, drinks and the taxi, you get the price of a city trip. But it’s not just the Opera Ball that is expensive. Tickets for the Kaffeesiederbal already cost 150 euros and for the Advocatenbal 180 euros.
Few ball guests in hotels
The Grand Hotel offers its own “Alles Waltz” packages for ball guests. With an overnight stay for two people, breakfast and 5-course dinner. Costs: 750 euros – of course without ball cards. According to General Manager Oliver Geyer, they are not fully booked and the booking situation is comparable to last year. “You don’t notice much of the balls, given how busy our rooms are.”
There are also tables available in restaurants
The Vienna Chamber of Commerce also confirms that dance events are generally not a major attraction for the hotel sector. “Most ball guests come from the area and do not need a hotel,” a spokesperson explains. What is surprising, however, is that unlike previous years, the Grand Ferdinand still has tables available in the restaurant for the opera ball evening.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
