Make room for us, Games volunteers ask London homeowners

[divingbrit]

Olympic volunteers are appealing to Londoners to open their homes to them amid a shortage of cheap accommodation.

Games Makers, some of whom are coming from as far away as India and the US to work unpaid, are struggling to find affordable places to stay as youth hostels, campsites and halls of residence fill up.

Even if they do find accommodation many will be unable to book because they have not yet been told the dates they will be needed.

Trainee nursery nurse Amie Saunston, 18, from Worcestershire, who will work as an events team member at Horse Guards Parade, said she was "really excited" but worried about accommodation.

"Hopefully my mum knows of someone who knows someone I can stay with. I've got a training day at Wembley on Sunday so I'm hoping they'll talk about accommodation options then because otherwise I'll have to look at hotels which will be really expensive."

About 70,000 Games Makers will spend a minimum of 10 days working unpaid during the Olympic and Paralympic Games to ensure the events run smoothly, checking tickets, providing information and assisting in the field of play.

Some have created a website, appealing to residents who live close to Olympic venues to help out by registering their spare rooms and renting them out for up to £25 a night. Hundreds have already posted on the forum, gm2012accommodation.org.uk.

Games Makers are attending their first training event this weekend at Wembley stadium.
Booking agents accused officials of "overlooking" the accommodation needs of Games Makers coming from outside London.

Rihan Evans, managing director of online booking agency Camping Ninja, which operates Camping at The Games, a service that hires out pitches on temporary campsites during the Olympics, said about half their bookings have been from Games Makers.

She said: "One of the things that a lot of them are finding difficult is that they don't know their shift times yet. Some of them haven't even had all their interviews yet. Because of that we've put together a flexi package so that if they're a Games Maker they can change their booking without charges."

A London 2012 spokesman said: "We will provide several additional ways for our Games Makers to share information on accommodation, including at their training sessions, on the Gamesmaker Facebook pages and on the soon to be launched online networking site."

Evening Standard

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