Global hotel rates on the rise

Global hotel rates on the rise

20 February 2012

New York, Rio de Janeiro and Zurich were amongst the most expensive destinations on average for overnight stays, according to a recent study from HRS, Europe’s leading hotel portal.

The average room price in New York for 2011 was almost £150, closely followed by Rio de Janeiro, where visitors paid an average of £144 per room.

An overnight stay in the UK’s capital in 2011 rose by over 10% compared with 2010, whilst visitors to 17 of the 20 European cities reviewed paid higher prices for accommodation than in 2010.  

London remains on top for the UK

The average rate in London has consistently risen since late 2009, with the price of an overnight stay in the capital reaching £108 in 2011. The royal wedding last April, which attracted hundreds of thousands of domestic and foreign visitors to London, as well as the impending Olympics, have fuelled tourism in the English capital, pushing up hotel prices as a result.

Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Bristol have seen an increase in the number of visiting corporate clients, hence the decrease in average prices since 2010 with more bookings at corporate discount or net rates.

Prices increase in Europe

Vienna, Paris, London, Prague and Amsterdam proved particularly popular for city breaks in 2011. Thanks to high demand and good occupancy rates, many hotels in these destinations were able to increase room rates significantly compared with 2010.  

Visitors to 17 of the 20 cities reviewed paid higher prices for accommodation than in 2010.

Bolstered by a strong Swiss franc, room rates in Zurich increased by 13 percent to almost £130. Overnight stays in the Russian capital of Moscow cost an average of £124 last year – an increase of some 10 percent from 2010. The shortage of hotel rooms in Moscow runs into thousands and this undersupply is driving prices upwards.

Warsaw is already gearing up for football's Euro 2012, with good flight connections, a thriving nightlife and a multitude of sightseeing attractions making Warsaw an increasingly popular destination. Higher visitor numbers, and therefore increased hotel occupancy rates, led to an above-average price rise of almost 9% to £65 per night.

Worldwide trends

Outside Europe, price trends were highly disparate. In New York, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney, visitors were faced with significant increases.

Hotels in New York have been among the most expensive in the world for many years. Visitors to the USA's largest city paid almost £150 per night last year, representing a 14 percent increase on 2010.

While prices in traditionally expensive destinations increased further last year, overnight stays in many East Asian cities became even more affordable. In Bangkok, prices decreased by almost 6 percent to £42, while in Beijing they dropped by 3 percent to just below £46.

* prices are calculate at the currency conversion rate of 1 EUR = 0.825329 GBP and are correct at the time of going to print.