HOTEL accommodation is running out in Bournemouth again this weekend with single rooms selling for up to £300 a night.

After a virtual sell-out last weekend, when temperatures were hotter than Jamaica or Florida, Kevin Wood, director of the Oceana Group, said: “We’ve only got a couple of single rooms left in our three cliff-top hotels. It’s so busy some staff are choosing to work double shifts and seven days a week.

“We’ve all been caught by surprise because we normally allow staff to take holidays until July 19. I’ve been in Bournemouth for seven years and I’ve never seen anything like it before.

“The heatwave has obviously played a part, but I think people are desperate to get to the beach after such a long, cold winter. The past week has been like an August bank holiday weekend; being so close to London also helps.”

He added: “We’ve ran out of ice-cream and sun cream at our poolside cafe and our chefs are coming in early to cope with demand for around 400 meals a day. It’s incredible and the school holidays haven’t even started yet. We’ve had lots of foreign families with guests from Norway, Denmark and Canada.

“Even at the height of the summer I’ve never known car drivers to park on the double yellow lines and grassy verges on the East Cliff.

“It’s going to be another cracking weekend, with Bournemouth set to rival any international resort, but people are going to struggle to find hotel rooms. Last Saturday night the nearest accommodation advertised online was in Salisbury.”

Paul Clarke, chairman of Bournemouth Accommodation and Hotel Association (BAHA) and manager of Menzies East Cliff hotel, shared his sentiments.

He said: “We are fully booked and I think the story is the same for most hoteliers. Everyone is really busy; it’s a real contrast to last July when we had torrential rain and flooding.”

Last weekend's tourist influx ended in chaos as drivers got stuck for several hours in a 10 mile queue to get out of town on Sunday night.

And street and beach cleaning teams said the litter left behind was the worst they'd ever seen, including dirty nappies and bottles.

This weekend there will be two variable message signs on the Wessex Way and one on the A338 just before the Cooper Dean roundabout in a bid to avoid a repeat of last week's traffic chaos.

You can read more about Bournemouth Borough Council's action plan for this weekend in our story here

Mark Smith, Service Director for Tourism, said: “Our seafront staff are preparing for another busy one and extra staff will be on duty. The beach cleaning team will work through the night to make sure the beach is fresh and clean for sun seekers the next morning. But visitors are asked to help them out by taking their litter home with them – we only want to see their footprints left in the sand!

“We are also reminding visitors to plan their journey before setting off - consider other forms of transport, look at alternatives routes into the town and vary arrival and leaving times – as well as urging people to stay safe by using sunscreen, and drinking plenty of water. We want everyone to have a brilliant weekend in Bournemouth.”

THE heatwave is set to continue this weekend with temperatures expected to peak on Saturday when the mercury will reach a sweltering 28C (82F).

Today will be warm and sunny with a top temperature of 26C (79F). And next week will start on a bright note with blue skies and bright sunshine forecast for Monday when the temperature will drop slightly to 25C (77F).