Hotels.com reports global hotel prices fell 3 per cent in 2008
Released
on: January 5, 2009, 4:38 am
Press Release Author: Cordy Griffiths
Industry:
Travel
Press
Release Summary: Hotels.com has reported global hotel prices fell
3% in 2008, the first year on year fall in prices measured since
the Hotel Price Index was started in January 2004
Press
Release Body: Hotels.com
has revealed that the average price for hotel rooms across the
world fell over the summer, according to the Hotels.com Hotel
Price Index (HPI). This is the first-year on-year fall in prices
measured in any quarter since the HPI started in January 2004.
The
average price paid by travellers for a room during the period
July-September 2008 fell by 3% globally when compared to the same
period in 2007.
However,
the weakness of the pound over the course of the 3rd quarter of
2008 meant that UK travellers have yet to feel the effect of the
global fall in hotel costs. In fact, a combination of slight real
price rises in Europe (which bucked the global trend) and the
stronger Euro meant that, for UK travellers, average prices in
some European destinations have risen by as much as 30%.
The
report from Hotels.com also stated that the 3% drop in prices
globally was driven by falls in room prices in across North America,
including New
York hotels and Las
Vegas hotels (where prices fell by 5%), Latin America (where
prices were down 1%) and the Caribbean (prices down 4%). Prices
in Asia, meanwhile, were flat.
David
Roche, President of Hotels.com Worldwide, commented:
"Hotels in the Americas in particular have been feeling
the effects of the wider global downturn for the past six to nine
months and we have seen extensive price cutting already. US hoteliers
may have to cut prices further to maintain occupancy in the month
to come."
He
continued, "In Europe, by contrast, hoteliers have had
to cut less, with a reasonably strong summer performance - the
traditional European travel peak - helping them to maintain their
rates."
"However,
European prices are now starting to come down and there are likely
to be an increasing number of good deals to be found across the
continent's major travel destinations over the course of 2000,"
David Roche concluded.
About
Hotels.com
Hotels.com is the world’s most visited hotels bookings site*
and the global hotels specialist. Operating in all major markets
with dedicated staff, Hotels.com offers 80,000 quality hotels
worldwide, including Orlando
hotels and Miami
hotels. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a
prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com also has one
of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating
the best rates for its users, plus user-contributed reviews of
its properties.
Web
Site: http://www.hotels.co.uk/
Contact
Details: PR Contact:
Cordy Griffiths
PR Manager
Hotels.com
42 Earlham St
Covent Garden
London
WC2H 9LA
020 7019 2268