Business-savvy cash on olympics

Natasha Corne is offering Olympic fans who attend this summer's London Games a piece of her back yard for around $24 (Dh88.15) a night, including a full English breakfast. Corne, 36, a health-care worker, has bought a blue tent to house her guests and plans to set up a barbecue on the 163 square-metre plot of land in Eltham, southeast London. "I've jumped on the Olympic bandwagon," said Corne, whose two-bedroom home is 4.8km from the equestrian-event sites in Greenwich. "I haven't got a massive garden, but there's enough space to sleep eight." The Olympic ritual of renting out space to visitors is under way in London after government cuts triggered the biggest drop in disposable incomes in more than two decades. Homeowners are trying to take advantage of a hotel shortage that's allowed some operators to charge as much as double the usual rate during the Games. About 320,000 visitors will converge on the British capital in July, many of them competing with invitees of Britain and the International Olympic Committee for more than 140,000 hotel rooms, according to estimates by the British government's VisitBritain office. "There are simply not enough rooms available across all price classes," said Konstanze Auernheimer, London-based director of marketing and analysis at hospitality research company STR Global. "That's why many Londoners see this as an opportunity to offer accommodation with a local flavour for less money." Corne is one of several hundred people advertising alternative accommodation during the Games on Campinmygarden.com. Londoners are offering houses and apartments to rent on websites such as Londonrentmyhouse.com, Gumtree.com and Craigslist's London site. A six-bedroom property in Hammersmith, about 1.6km from the Earls Court sports hall where the Olympic volleyball competition will take place, is listed for £2,500 (Dh14,574) a week. A 10-bedroom Hackney Wick home, north of the Olympic Park, will cost £7,500 a week. A typical London hotel room during the Olympics will cost £210 a night, according to Hotels.com, a website advertising more than 145,000 hotels around the world. That compares with an average rate of about £103 at the same time last year. By renting a furnished room, homeowners can make about £4,000 tax-free, according to Claire Evans, a director at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. From gulfnews