British globetrotters enjoyed lower prices in over half of the destinations featured on the Index due to the increased strength of the Pound
Hotels.com has unveiled its Hotel Price Index findings, revealing that the average prices paid per night for hotel accommodation were up by only one percent globally in 2015, compared to 2014. Specifically, British travellers enjoyed lower average hotel prices in over half (64) of the 100 popular destinations.
The global Index sat at 114 for 2015 and is closing the gap on the previous peak of 117 in 2007, the year before the global economic crisis. North America drove the global increase as the only region to see hotel prices rise (up 3%) throughout 2015 with the Index hitting 119, exceeding its pre-recession high of 117 in 2007.
The HPI is a regular report on hotel prices in major destinations across the world, tracking the movement in prices that people actually paid for their accommodation and providing valuable insight into the reasons behind these changes. The data is drawn from the hundreds of thousands of bookings via Hotels.com websites worldwide.
Many European hotspots from Russia and Estonia in the North, to Mediterranean favourites such as France, Italy and Spain in the South saw a modest decrease in average prices paid. Due to the falling Rouble, Moscow in particular saw a significant decrease, which dropped over a quarter (-27%) from the previous year.
In total, Britons paid less in 42 of the 57 most popular European destinations compared to the previous year. In the United States, due to the continuing strength of the Dollar, it was only New York out of the 13 most popular American destinations that saw a marginal decrease in average prices paid (down 2% to £177).
Incidentally, Lake Buena Vista near Orlando, Florida saw the most significant rise jumping 21% (£122 in 2014 to £148 in 2015). Meanwhile, UK travellers were able to part with less throughout numerous Asian destinations in Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.
Popular destinations across Thailand saw a decrease in rates, including areas such as Pattaya (-15%), Chiang Mai (-6%), Phuket (-16%), Krabi (-5%) and Koh Samui (-3%). The Pound also stretched significantly further last year for those visiting popular Australian destinations as room rates paid dropped 7% in Sydney and 6% in Melbourne.
“The value of Sterling may have dropped this year, but there are plenty of bargains to be found for anyone wanting to stretch their wings beyond these shores. Our HPI data offer consumers easy access to information on hotel prices paid worldwide to enable them to do just that,” Isabelle Pinson, VP Marketing for EMEA of Hotels.com.
