IT is described as a wonderful luxury seven bedroomed house, set in three acres and situated only five miles from York Racecouse.

And for a cool £24,000, this detached home can be yours for five days, along with the hot tub, personal gym, tennis courts, games room, satellite television and housekeeper (if required).

About 250,000 people are expected to descend on York for Royal Ascot. But with only 12,000 hotel beds in York, one keen-eyed homeowner has spotted a gap in the market.

Entrepreneur Neil Boddy set up the website, www.ascot-lets.com to try to secure a deal for his home, which lies near the Knavesmire course.

The idea generated so much interest that the site was forced to expand. It now features almost 300 properties, including the £24,000 house, and offers customers the chance to have the complete racing experience.

By visiting the service directory, racegoers can pick a route to the course, hire a hat, buy a new outfit, book a chauffeur, have a facial and find a restaurant - all at the click of a button.

Mr Boddy said he did not expect the website to prove so popular, but is now planning to capitalise on its success by setting up other sites and service directories for events around the country.

"I think people have been crying out for something like this," he said. "It has generated so much excitement in York and everywhere you go people are talking about it.

"We have told householders that they can get value for money because people want nice surroundings and a back garden and plenty of space, and that is what they are providing."

Hotels have also got in on the act and have registered on the website. One of the most lavish is the 21-bedroom Mallyan Spout Hotel in Goathland, on the North York Moors, which is charging £120,000 for exclusive use for seven nights.

Hotels in York began taking bookings when the dates for Royal Ascot at York were announced last month. So far, the average price for a double room in a York hotel during Ascot week has been put at £250, with £50 the price of a double room in a guest house.

But the extra profits will not be confined to the city's hoteliers. According to tourism bosses, the whole of York will experience an economic boom.

Kay Hyde, PR manager for York Tourism Bureau said: "Most of the city's hotels and guest houses will be fully booked, but it does not just benefit hotels and guest houses, it benefits restaurants, taxi drivers, florists and hat hire companies.

"It is very, very good news for the city because it is a colourful event, people love to dress up for it, and it puts York on the map as being one of the best venues in the country for racing."

York has its own version of Royal Ascot - the Ebor festival, which gets under way today.

It is expected to attract 21,000 people today, 31,000 people tomorrow and 29,000 people on Thursday.

The meeting is one of the highlights of the European racing calendar and brings the great and the good of the fashion and racing worlds to the Knavesmire course.

It is being used as a dry run for a new traffic management system that is designed to bring an end to the congestion brought by large-scale meetings in the past.

The system is designed to channel vehicles to the Knavesmire via the A64, avoiding all residential areas and if it is a success, it will be put in place for Royal Ascot next year.

The course itself, which has hosted horse racing since 1731, has also undergone a transformation.

Course marketing manager James Brennan said: "For 250 years, we have been a horseshoe shaped course, but we have built a three-furlong extension to create an oval shape.

"It is settling in now, as turf does, and it will have its first trial race next May."