ADVANCE hotel bookings for events such as the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer have seen the BBC spend almost £29 million on hotels over a three-year period.
Details of the bookings, released as a result of a Freedom Of Information request, show that last year the total was £11.6 million - £2.8 million more than the previous 12-month period.
The total spend is equivalent to nearly 198,000 licence fees, and includes one room booked in 2012 and outside the UK which amounted to £632.67 for a night.
The sharp rise in cost between 2012 and 2013 has been attributed to advance bookings being made for major sporting events such as the World Cup in Brazil, the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, all taking place this year.
A spokesman for the BBC said: "The BBC doesn't choose the location of major events around the world - like the World Cup or the Olympics which incur costs - but we do book in advance to save money."
The figure for 2011 was £8.4 million, while in 2012 the cost was £8.8 million.
Many of the rooms are booked well ahead of time in an effort to obtain better rates, but the BBC pointed out that the cost of accommodation during busy times such events generally leads to much higher charges than they would normally attract.
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