Gillian Harris, The Times, 17 July 2000

St Andrews University has been accused of exploiting golf fans by increasing the price of student accommodation by more than 1,000 per cent during this week's Open Championship.

En-suite single rooms at the university's New Hall accommodation block have gone up from the student rate of £89 a week to £1,015, and a basic two-bedroom terrace house, owned by the university, has been let to visitors attending the Open for £1,500.

The substantial price rise has been criticised by hoteliers and the town's MP, who claim tourists are being exploited by Scotland's oldest university.

"It is a disgrace," Agnes Butters, who runs a bed and breakfast house in St Andrews, said. "I do not think we should rip people off just because we can, and that is what it sounds like to me. What are visitors going to think?"

Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, said that such steep prices could be justified only if the accommodation was of the highest standard. He said: "Nothing could be worse if tourists came to St Andrews, paid large sums of money and left feeling ripped off. The market will determine, no doubt, if the prices are too much."

A student who graduated from St Andrews last year said the accommodation was spartan, gloomy and overpriced. She said: "Even the student rate of £89 a week is a bit much for what is basically a boxroom."

Frances Melville, a councillor, said that tourists would not return to St Andrews if they felt cheated. She said: "Nobody likes being taken advantage of. If this stops people from coming it is a concern because we are all busy trying to make St. Andrews more attractive for tourists."

A spokesman for the university said the cost included a portable television, breakfast and dinner. "Because of intense demand, the price has been competitively set at £1,015," he said. "The price stands very favourable comparison with rates charged by hoteliers."