The construction of the Oktoberfest 2024 has begun, the anticipation is increasing among many. Corona will probably no longer play a role this year, and the Oktoberfest lasts from September 16th to October 3rd and therefore two days longer than usual. When the new Oktoberfest mug was presented on Monday, the hosts were correspondingly optimistic. In the evenings, the places in the tents that can be reserved are often almost fully booked, reported the innkeepers Peter Inselkammer and Christian Schottenhamel.
For the first time this year, the hosts want to enable guests to exchange or sell unused reservations on an online portal at the original price. For years they have been fighting against gray market sales, sometimes several thousand euros are charged for a table on the relevant websites. The hosts, on the other hand, only require the purchase of food and drink vouchers and a manageable processing fee.
The landlords also commented on the city council’s push for free drinking water at the Oktoberfest: It was a good suggestion for the Oktoberfest visitors, but it didn’t affect business in the beer tents, said Inselkammer. “People here mainly drink beer. Water is only a marginal part of sales.”
Last week, city council factions submitted an application to set up free drinking water stations in view of the rise in prices. The average price for a liter of table water in the Wiesn beer tents is 10.04 euros, compared to 9.67 euros last year. The average beer costs 14.18 euros.