Hotel rates up across all regions
NEW YORK, Sept 4 — The average price for a night at a hotel has increased by a global average of 4 per cent over the first half of 2012, with the greatest increases recorded in Pacific, North American and Caribbean regions.
The latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) by Hotels.com, released today shows that, for the first time in five years, hotel rates have spiked across all the regions studied.
For the first time in five years, hotel rates have spiked across all the regions studied, with a few notable exceptions. — AFP/RelaxnewsOver the first six months of 2012, hotel room rates increased by 6 per cent year on year in the Pacific region, by 5 per cent in North America and the Caribbean, by 4 per cent in Asia and by 1 per cent across Europe and the Middle East.
Dubai witnessed the sharpest bump (+34 per cent, reaching €160 a night or RM625), followed by Kiev (+27 per cent, €127) and Goa (+25 per cent, €70) while prices dropped the most around Amalfi, in Italy (-25 per cent, down to €124). However, the island of Capri, off the coast of the boot-shaped peninsula, is where tourists pay the highest rates worldwide for a room: €239 (+15 per cent) on average. Meanwhile rates in Rio de Janeiro soared to €210 (+24 per cent).
While globally rates are on the rise, France saw rates drop by 2 per cent year on year, for an average price of €87 per night. In Portugal, average hotel prices in Lisbon were 2 per cent lower at €77, while key Spanish holiday centers also showed drops in average rates with Marbella (-11 per cent) at €102, Alicante (-9 per cent) at €66, Palma de Mallorca (-6 per cent) at €93 and Torremolinos (-5 per cent) at €68.
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. The index started in 2004 and includes all bookings across all-star ratings across the approximately 140,000 properties in the more than 19,800 global locations that make up the sample set of hotels from which prices are taken. — AFP/Relaxnews
