Night Shelter manager David McKenzie said that during major events there was a habit among the city’s backpackers proprietors of emptying rooms normally occupied long term by those people who had no home to go to.
It was feared the kick-out would happen this weekend due to the kick-off of the All Blacks versus England rugby test on Saturday.
"This kind of thing happens when there is a pinch on accommodation availability and it is still carrying on. It exacerbates things for people already in a precarious situation," Mr McKenzie said.
When asked the solution, he said: "It is the same old answer. We are still beating the drum for more housing and support in the city."
One source in the social service sector named a well-known backpackers as notorious for chucking out homeless people at the last minute.
The backpackers was known for also accommodating tourists and regularly had a "clear-out" of homeless people during busy weekends.
A man in his early 20s, who had been in and out of institutions and had life challenges, recently found himself with nowhere to stay on two occasions because the backpackers establishment was making way for visitors, the source said.
The Otago Daily Times spoke to the backpackers owner and started the conversation by saying the rugby weekend was coming up, but was cut short.
The owner said: "Leave us out of it, will you?" and put the phone down.
A search online showed accommodation was all but booked out in Dunedin for the night of the test, the only available options going for between $690 and $1259.
Among the accommodation providers still listed as offering a room was Stafford Gables in Stafford St.
The hostel, which is known to house homeless people, is advertising rooms over the rugby weekend for more than $700.
Prices have gone up. In January last year, Stuff reported the hostel charging $600 to a family of concert-goers for a room that they said had "broken beds and poo in the corner".
The most recent Tripadvisor review for Stafford Gables is more than two years old. However, it describes it as "filthy and should be closed down".
When the ODT rang Stafford Gables, the person answering the phone said they had not changed their prices and were not moving anyone out of the premises for the rugby.
A search online showed the hostel had charged more than $700 a night on other dates.
