Sawt Falasteen - 'Sleep under the stars': hotel mess in Brazil ahead of UN meet

The owners had been hoping to cash in on the conference by filling all the rooms with foreign delegates.

But the hotel's eye-watering initial rates -- a cool $1,200 per night, which it later lowered to try to drum up business -- were a turnoff.

Delegations from governments, NGOs and civil society have repeatedly urged Brazil to put a limit on accommodation costs that have soared for the first-ever climate COP (Conference of Parties) to be held in the Amazon.

It is a symbolic setting given the rainforest's critical role in absorbing planet-warming carbon dioxide, but also a challenging one.

More than half of Belem's 1.4 million residents live in shantytowns -- the highest rate of any regional capital in Brazil.

And with a shortage of traditional hotel rooms, conference organizers have scrambled to find alternative accommodation in private homes, universities and schools, and even two cruise ships docked in the harbor some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the conference center.

As many as 50,000 people were expected to attend COP30, though organizers say only 68 of the 198 participating countries have secured their reservations.

"This has never happened at a COP. Normally, everyone has their accommodation sorted three months in advance," Marcio Astrini of the NGO Climate Observatory told AFP.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has batted away concerns, saying in February that delegates can "sleep under the stars."

- Most exclusive COP? -

A free-for-all ensued as Belem residents seek to profit from the one-off event that saw an investment of some $700 million in public infrastructure, including a convention center.

"Prices spiraled out of control," conceded COP30 Hotel manager Alcides Moura, adding that "Belem never hosted an event of this magnitude."

Ronaldo Franca, a 65-year-old pensioner, is one of several property owners hoping to make a quick buck by renting out his weekend house, some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the conference venue.

For a property with three double bedrooms and a swimming pool, he is charging $370 per night.

"I'm not going to charge an exorbitant rent, but the government hasn't sufficiently monitored prices, and some have skyrocketed," he told AFP.

Organizers say 60 percent of delegates will rent rooms from Belem residents.

Hotels "are almost all full," said Toni Santiago, president of the hotel association of Para state. It has rejected a government request to cap prices.

"No one does this for other major global events, so why should Belem?" asked Santiago.

The government has set up a task force to help delegates find rooms, and Para governor Helder Barbalho told AFP "the availability of beds is guaranteed."

Airbnb, for its part, said the average price for accommodation has dropped by 22 percent since February.

But an online search yielded few options for under $100 a night -- the limit requested by the UN for delegates from poor countries.

Astrini told AFP that accommodation concerns were overshadowing "what is truly important, like emission reduction goals or climate financing" -- issues on the agenda for COP30.

This COP, added the Climate Observatory, could turn out to be "the most exclusive in history."

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST