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Hotel Prices Nosedive to 2003 Levels
UK hotel prices sank 13% in 2009, versus an average global drop of 14%, according to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.
Britons paid £84 per night on average for a hotel room last year, compared with £97 in 2008.
The UK saw the steepest hotel rate decline in Europe, plunging from the most expensive place to spend a night in Europe in 2007 to the 13th in 2009.
Ireland saw the next biggest fall, with room rates dropping 12% to average £72 per night last year.
David Roche, president of Expedia-owned Hotels.com, said: ‘Our latest Hotel Price Index, covering all of 2009, shows that prices fell globally by 14% on depressed 2008 figures. This has brought consumer prices back to levels not seen since 2003.
‘Despite some early signs of recovery in hotel prices in Europe and the US during 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.’
Foreign visitors to the UK also benefited from the weak sterling exchange rate: US travellers found UK hotel rooms were 21% cheaper in 2009 than 2008, while travellers from the eurozone saw UK prices fall 18%.
Globally, Monte Carlo replaced Abu Dhabi as most expensive city in the world last year, with the average price of hotel room rising by 3% to £172.
Moscow prices plummeted by 27% but it remained the second most expensive destination with rooms averaging £169 a night.
Abu Dhabi (£159) fell to third, while New York (£149) remained in fourth place in the table of most expensive cities, despite both experiencing price falls.
The average price of a night in London was £106 night in 2009, down 7% from 2008.
Travellers spent on average 13% less on rooms in Europe, 14% less in the US, 16% less in Asia and 21% less in Latin America.
However, towards the end of 2009, the price falls started to bottom out. The average price of a hotel room fell just 7% year-on-year in Q409, compared with 14% in Q3, 17% in Q2 and 16% in Q1.
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