The rich will always get richer.
By Fiacre Banks
@xFiacre (13908)
Ireland
July 15, 2025 3:42pm CST
A “top” restaurant in Northern Ireland has been left red-faced this week when it emerged in a newspaper that it had hiked its prices because of the influx of well-heeled visitors to Portrush for the golf Open. A simple chicken and bacon burger increased in price from £7.95 to £17.95 while a bowl of chilli chicken pasta that cost £14.95 earlier this month, rose to £27.95. Management has said it will look into the matter.
The owners cite “market forces” as the reason, when in reality it was a choice on their part, an eye to a quick profit, not something that was forced on them, and the less well-off are now priced out of the fun.
The visitors who have flown in from the US, Australia and so on are generally the kind of people who don’t bother looking at the prices on menus or the cost of a hotel room and consequently local people get priced out of everything.
Because this golfing nonsense is a year round thing, young people growing up in the area can no longer afford to buy houses in their own home town - they’re all snapped up by rich people buying holiday homes which they only use a few weeks of the year, or by speculators who buy them to rent out to the very rich.
While I don’t like regulation, the greedy really do need to be made to act responsibly if it’s not in their nature. There must be more to life than making huge profit and leaving nurses, school teachers, shop workers, garbage collectors and flight attendants out in the cold.
11 people like this
10 responses
@1creekgirl (43860)
• United States
9h
I totally see your point. It's really very unfair.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (86951)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9h
That should not be allowed to happen because local people who eat there could not do so during this time due to the prices, The prices should always stay the same otherwise it is like cheating people,
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358565)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
This is all so true. Our government is trying to take steps to counteract such greed but it's not easy. There are no places in Perth that are cheap enough to be rented by those on welfare. It's all very stressful for those trying to find a place to live.
@LooeyVille (71)
• United States
10h
They do price-gouging here during The Kentucky Derby horse race
1 person likes this
@rsa101 (39100)
• Philippines
6h
I get both sides, honestly. For the business, big events like this are a rare chance to boost income—especially in industries that rely heavily on seasonal crowds. From their view, adjusting prices to match demand might just feel like smart business. But at the same time, it’s easy to see how that can alienate regular customers, especially locals who feel pushed out of their own town. There’s a fine line between making the most of an opportunity and losing the trust of the community that supports you year-round.
@LindaOHio (194717)
• United States
3h
Key West does that for Fantasy Fest. All the hotel/motel rooms are obscenely priced.
@sw8sincere (5828)
• Philippines
6h
When local people get priced out of their own towns, something’s gone wrong. Profit shouldn’t come at the cost of fairness or community.
@Ineeddentures (10563)
•
6h
Aye well.
Scotland is even worse
Almost the whole of Scotland is a golfing tourist hot spot ,
