Europe hotel rates up 5.2% in second quarter
Average hotel rates in Europe rose 5.2% to an all-time high year-on-year in the second quarter of 2007.
But worldwide, rates grew by just 0.8%, according to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.
In Asia, there was a small rise of 0.6% in Asia, whilst prices fell in the US and the rest of the world.
The index is based on prices for 30,000 hotels across 1,500 locations around the world, and on the actual prices paid by customers, rather than advertised rates.
Patrik Oqvist, marketing director of Hotels.com, said: “While prices across Europe are up, many major global cities have actually experienced a price drop since last year, making some destinations great value for travellers.”
The average price paid for a room in 2007 in Europe was £89.
In the UK, rates rose 17% year-on-year, making it the most expensive country destination across Europe.
A hotel in the UK now costs £110 per night, 8% more than Switzerland, the next most expensive nation at £102.
Prices in Norway and Sweden were up 16% and 10% respectively,
while Poland and Hungary were Europe’s cheapest nations overall.
Prices across the US fell to an average £71 per night in the second quarter, down 0.5% on the same period 12 months before.
This made the US more than 20% cheaper on average than Europe during the period.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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