A Sligo man is determined that soccer fans will not be charged a Pole lot of euros at the European Championships.
Strandhill native Mark James Howley has set up a bargain room rent scheme where fans can be put up in comfortable accommodation for as little as E45 per night in Poznan, where the Irish team will be largely based.
And with some Polish hotels in Poznan charging up to E300 for B and B, Mark’s cut- price scheme has already attracted over 150 enquiries five weeks ahead of the great Irish invasion of Poland.
Sporty Mark(30) from Hillcrest, Strandhill has been living in Wroclaw, Poland which is about two hours from Poznan, for over five years.
He has hooked up with apartment owners in Poznan and is renting their property from them for the month of June when thousands of fans, including many from Sligo, will descend on Poland.
“I got the idea when I saw the demand from so many Irish coming over here and some of the hotels are really charging excessive prices.
“Also there was a scheme where an Irish Village was being set up and it collapsed.
“So I decided to rent out accommodation to fans by contacting people I know who have apartments in Poznan for the fans coming over.
“At the moment I am sorting our rooms for some lads from the Strandhill area and I used to play Gaelic football for Coolera/Strandhill and soccer for Abbey Utd and City Utd.
“So for E45 you will get accommodation in comfortable surroundings, with a shower in the morning.
“And you will also get a complimentary bottle of vodka” he said.
Enterprising Mark has also organised a pub crawl for his guests.
“The normal price for a Polish pint is E2 but this could increase to E3 and meals cost from E10-E15.
“There have been a lot of enquiries so far and it is a very exciting time here.
Mark has been in Poland since 2003 and works as a marketing executive for a newspaper called Wroclaw International.
“I would like to get involved in more marketing projects which tell Polish people about Ireland.
“Both nations have a strong work hard play hard ethic and we also have a similar history.
He also hopes to run guided tours of Poland for Irish who are visiting.
Mark’s top tips for the trip are to beware of pick-pockets as they are rife in Polish cities
Bring sun cream as temperatures could hit 35C and leave plenty of time between games as their trains are very slow.
To contact Mark you can e mail him at markhowley1@gmail.com.
Category: News
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