New York and London expensive, Bangkok and Prague cheap, Rio prices climb in July: Measuring the point at which supply and demand meet in the hotel sector – the hotel.info hotel price barometer for August 2010

New York and London expensive, Bangkok and Prague cheap, Rio prices climb in July: Measuring the point at which supply and demand meet in the hotel sector – the hotel.info hotel price barometer for August 2010

London, 09 August 2010 – What level have hotel prices reached in summer 2010? Where are room rates particularly good value for money, and in which cities do visitors need deeper pockets? hotel.info, the free online hotel reservation service for more than 210,000 hotels around the world, has once again analysed the hotel price inquiries conducted by its online users as per the end of the second quarter of 2010.

The changes in prices in July were compared with those in June, as well as with those from the same month in previous years. These include July 2009, a period in the depths of the economic and financial crisis, and July 2008, before the crisis began. The latest results show that:

• New York and London have very high room rates
• Extraordinary change in prices in Rio de Janeiro during July
• Many cities in Eastern Europe offer cheap accommodation options
• Rising price trends evident for major global cities
• The following hotel.info hotel rate barometer ranking shows the average price per room per night in euros for all types and categories of hotel.

The following hotel.info hotel rate barometer ranking shows the average price per room per night in euros for all types and categories of hotel.

Hotel price barometer at a global level

Visitors to New York needed the deepest pockets. A night’s stay in June and July cost around €194. While the Big Apple’s room rates were therefore below the levels recorded in 2008, they have risen significantly compared with last year. London followed in second place, although its hotel operators’ income was around €50 lower than that earned by their counterparts in North America. Nevertheless, accommodation rates are also stabilising in the UK capital. The cheapest room rates were found in Bangkok, at just €58. Guests staying at hotels in cities in Eastern Europe also enjoyed relatively cheap prices.

Rio de Janeiro provided the greatest sensation in the global price analysis, and not simply because of its colourful carnival. With an average accommodation cost of €143 per night, visitors to Brazil’s second largest city did not have to pay quite as much during July as those visiting New York, London, Stockholm or Zurich. Nevertheless, a rise of 40% compared with the previous periods is impressive. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the price developments alongside the Copacabana last month were not only a result of supply and demand on the free market. The many conferences hosted by Rio de Janeiro in July will have been an opportunity for the hotel trade to force accommodation costs up – an unnatural price rise.

Overall, prices in major global cities are undergoing a phase of stabilisation. The average accommodation costs are around 6% higher than in the same month last year. Only Moscow suffered a drop of more than 10% in comparison with July 2009, and the stabilisation effect appears also not to have taken hold in Copenhagen or Budapest. Picture Credit: Diliff