Queenstown hotels and motels have lost their nerve over the Rugby World Cup – room rates are plummeting. 

Of 34 local properties on global accommodation website Booking.com, 23 have cut rates from levels advertised in early July. 

Like the July search, this week’s Booking.com search sought nightly rates for specific room types for a three-night stay from September 27 – prime RWC time. 

The largest price plunge is at Heritage Heights, which in July was advertising an apartment for four people at $490 per night. 

The same apartment is now $220 – a drop of 55 per cent. 

July’s nightly price for a one-bedroom apartment at Scenic Suites was $314 – it’s now $179, down 43 per cent. 

Oaks Shores, another property pitching for the sky in July, has reduced its one-bedroom apartments by 38 per cent to $164. 

Other properties have cut rates by 21-46 per cent – big names include Rydges Lakeland Resort, the new Kawarau Hotel, Crowne Plaza, Breakfree Waterfront, Sofitel, Millennium, St Moritz and Queenstown Park Boutique Hotel. 

Another 12 establishments have reduced rates by less than 20 per cent but the remaining 11 are sticking to their guns and resolutely holding prices.