In contrast, there was a small rise of 0.6% in Asia, whilst prices in the US and the Rest of the World fell.
The Hotels.com HPI is the most comprehensive and accurate source of global hotel pricing information. It 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 simply advertised rates. Full details of the Hotel Price Index can be found at http://www.hotels.co.uk/press/gb/
Patrik Oqvist, marketing director of Hotels.com, comments: "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 Hotels.com Hotel Price Index also shows that, outside of New York, many of the major US cities have real bargains on offer. Prices across the country fell to an average GBP71 per night in Q2 2007, 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.
Asian hotel prices rose slightly in 2007, up 0.6% to an average of GBP79.
The price of a room for the night in major European countries
Prices in Europe rose by 5.2% year-on-year in Q2 2007 to an all-time high, with prices up in most of the major city destinations. In some cases, price rises were driven upwards by a lack of supply in specific cities, such as London and Barcelona.
The average price paid for a room in 2007 in Europe was GBP89, which makes prices in Europe far higher than those anywhere else in the world.
The UK posted a rise of 17% year-on-year, making it the most expensive country destination across Europe. A hotel in the UK now sets the average traveller back GBP110 per night, 8 per cent more than Switzerland, the next most expensive nation at GBP102.
As well as the UK, the major Scandinavian countries of Norway and Sweden were amongst those where prices rose most strongly, up 16 per cent and 10 per cent respectively year on year.
At the other end of the scale, Poland and Hungary were Europe's cheapest nations overall.
The price of a room for the night in major global cities
Average price Average price
per room %age per room %age
night Q2 2007 change night Q2 2007 change
City (GBP) YoY City (GBP) YoY
Moscow GBP192 18% Jerusalem GBP79 31%
New York GBP142 7% Munich GBP79 -5%
Venice GBP138 10% Miami Beach GBP79 -5%
London GBP119 19% Tsim Sha Tsui GBP79 -4%
Geneva GBP117 16% Santiago GBP76 -2%
Boston GBP115 -5% Bangkok GBP76 19%
Chicago GBP108 -3% Lisbon GBP76 13%
Edinburgh GBP107 6% Prague GBP75 2%
Rome GBP106 1% Melbourne GBP74 6%
Copenhagen GBP104 9% Frankfurt GBP73 -25%
Paris GBP102 10% Cairo GBP73 27%
Washington GBP102 -2% Rio De Janeiro GBP73 0%
Barcelona GBP100 15% Budapest GBP71 -7%
Oslo GBP100 20% Los Angeles GBP70 -3%
Cancun GBP97 -9% Pisa GBP69 -10%
Amsterdam GBP97 -11% Warsaw GBP69 2%
Dubai GBP95 -5% Tallinn GBP68 -3%
Vancouver GBP94 5% Beijing GBP67 -3%
Nice GBP91 6% Berlin GBP67 -5%
Marrakech GBP89 11% Buenos Aires GBP64 3%
Seoul GBP89 -10% Hong Kong GBP63 8%
Tokyo GBP89 -13% Bali GBP62 -17%
Toronto GBP86 0% Shanghai GBP60 -7%
Seattle GBP83 9% Sao Paulo GBP60 -5%
Madrid GBP83 9% Las Vegas GBP60 -2%
Singapore GBP83 16% Mexico City GBP58 -13%
Istanbul GBP82 9% Jakarta GBP58 4%
San Francisco GBP81 -1% Orlando GBP58 -7%
Dublin GBP81 -2% Guangzhou GBP58 -19%
Montreal GBP80 -9% Cape Town GBP55 -31%
Sydney GBP80 0%
Overall cheapest destinations
With prices averaging GBP55 across all star ratings, Cape Town was the cheapest of the world's major cities. With over capacity in the market driving down prices, hotels are introducing special offers in the face of growing competition. Longhaul destinations now represent some of the best-value city breaks around the world for those willing to travel further afield:
- In the Far East, cities including Guangzhou, China (GBP58) and Jakarta, Indonesia (GBP58), offer some of the cheapest rooms of those in the HPI global basket
- In South America, Mexico City (GBP58), Sao Paulo (GBP60) and Buenos Aires (GBP64) all offer some of the most reasonable average prices for travellers globally.
- Several top US destinations were amongst the cheapest cities. Orlando (GBP58) and Las Vegas (GBP60) both offer rooms at less on average per night than the cheapest European destination (Berlin at GBP67 per night).
- Berlin, Warsaw and Pisa were the cheapest major cities in Europe.
Most expensive destinations
- At the other end of the scale, Moscow (GBP192) had the highest average price for a room for the night, than any other major city worldwide. New York remains the world's second most expensive major city (GBP142), a rise of 7% on the same period in 2006. London was the fourth most expensive of the world's major destinations - posting a 19% rise in prices year-on-year to GBP119 per night on average.
The biggest risers
Jerusalem, Cairo and Bangkok all saw big price rises between 2006 and 2007. In Jerusalem, prices rise by one third (31%) in this period as the city has been enjoying an impressive demand increase which has driven prices higher.
London saw one of the highest price rises for the major European capitals - a 19% year-on- year rise. This increase reflects a lack of cheaper hotel rooms in the city, which is becoming more expensive overall as travellers are forced to book higher rated (and therefore more expensive) hotels.
The biggest price rises in major global cities Q2 2007 (year-on-year)
Average price per %age change YoY
room night Q2 2007
City (GBP)
Jerusalem GBP79 31%
Cairo GBP73 27%
Oslo GBP100 20%
Bangkok GBP76 19%
London GBP119 19%
Moscow GBP192 18%
Geneva GBP117 16%
Singapore GBP83 16%
Barcelona GBP100 15%
Lisbon GBP76 13%
Marrakech GBP89 11%
Venice GBP138 10%
The biggest fallers
Cape Town posted the biggest price fall over the past year, when compared to the same time one year ago as prices fell 31%. Other big year-on-year falls were posted by longhaul cities, including Mexico City, Cancun, Bali, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Pisa were the only European cities to experience a fall in prices year-on-year.
Top 10 biggest price falls in major global cities Q2 2007 (year-on-year)
Average price per %age change YoY
room night Q2 2007
City (GBP)
Cape Town GBP55 -31%
Frankfurt GBP73 -25%
Guangzhou GBP58 -19%
Bali GBP62 -17%
Tokyo GBP89 -13%
Mexico City GBP58 -13%
Amsterdam GBP97 -11%
Pisa GBP69 -10%
Seoul GBP89 -10%
Montreal GBP80 -9%
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