Global Hotel Prices Drop 14%

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Mar 01, 2010, 07:01 ET

DUBAI, March 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Figures Show Dubai Becomes a More Attractive Destination for International Travellers as Room Rates Fall

The average price of a hotel room around the world fell by 14% in 2009, according to the latest annual Hotels.com Hotel Price Index released globally today. This 14% fall in room rates* was driven by price drops across every continent.

Whilst hotel prices continued to fall globally throughout 2009, towards the end of the year the rate of falls started to level off. The average price of a hotel room on a global level fell by 7% year on year in Q4 compared to 14% in Q3, 17% in Q2 and 16% in Q1. In fact across the year room rates fell lower than the level set in January 2004, when the Hotel Price Index was started.

For Travellers paying in US Dollars, Dubai became a more attractive destination in 2009 as hotel rates in the city fell 25% from their level the year before. Rates in Abu-Dhabi also dropped for those buying rooms with US Dollars, falling by 17% year-on-year, lower than for any other currency.

For UK visitors paying for hotel rooms in Sterling, room rates in Dubai dropped a more modest 10% year on year, and rates for UK Travellers to Abu Dhabi fell by a more modest 5%. For visitors paying in Euro, the year on year room rates in Dubai dropped by 25% whilst Abu Dhabi rates in 2009 were down by 13% compare to 2008.

The visitor profile to Dubai also changed during 2009 with the business and convention market not as buoyant as the previous 12 months. On the flipside, 2009 proved to be a great year for the leisure market as travellers were tempted to the Emirate by falling hotel prices enabling them to take advantage of luxury for less. Italian and Scandinavian travellers particularly benefited from new direct flights introduced in 2009, whilst the French and German markets continued to bring holiday makers to the Emirate.

Across the world prices for hotel rooms in 2009 in North America were down by 14%, with rates in Europe dropping 13% during the same period. Latin America was hardest hit with rates down 21% overall in 2009 compared to 2008. Asian hotel rates, which had been holding up better than those in the U.S. or Europe in late 2008, dropped an average of 16% year on year.

The Hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room rather than advertised rates. It is based on prices actually paid by customers for 94,000 properties across 16,000 locations around the world.

The latest HPI looks at hotel prices for the period January to December 2009, compared to the same period the year before.

David Roche, President, Hotels.com, comments: "Step inside the time machine, turn the dial back to 2003, and compare hotel prices around the world then and now. What's changed? Not much. Our latest Hotel Price Index, covering all of 2009, shows that prices fell globally by 14% on already weak 2008 figures, bringing consumer prices back to levels not seen since 2003. Despite some possible first signs of hotel prices recovering in Europe and the US in the last quarter of 2009, the promotions and great value look set to continue for some time yet. 2010 promises to be another great year for the traveller."

The international scale of the Hotels.com makes the Hotel Price Index one of the most comprehensive benchmarks available, as it incorporates both chain and independent hotels, as well as options such as self-catering and bed and breakfast properties.

* The HPI tracks the real prices paid per room by Hotels.com customers around the world using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets that Hotels.com operates in.

Full details of the Hotel Price Index can be found at

http://www.hotels.com/press/hotel-price-index.html

Notes to Editors

Seventeen editions of the HPI are published globally. Country versions reflecting hotel prices in local currencies are available for the US, Australia, Japan, Canada (French and English), UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

About Hotels.com

As part of the Expedia group which operates in all major markets, Hotels.com offers more than 100,000 quality hotels, B&Bs and serviced apartments worldwide. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com benefits from one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating the best rates for its customers, plus there are 1.3m reviews from users who have actually stayed in the hotels to ensure customers make an informed choice when booking. Hotels.com won the Gold Award for best hotel booking site in Webuser magazine in February 2009. Travellers can book online or by contacting one of the multilingual call centres on 0871-200 0171.

    For further media information, please contact:
    Cordy Griffiths: +44-20-7019-2268 [email protected]
    Alison Couper: +44-20-7019-2360 [email protected]
    Kate Hopcraft: +44-20-7019-2165 [email protected]

SOURCE Hotels.com