Hotels in Popular Trade Show Cities Making a Comeback

DALLAS, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Hoteliers in popular trade show cities are faring better in 2010 than the last two years. The September 2010 Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®), released early last week by  Hotels.com®, illustrated a 2% global increase in average hotel room rates paid in the beginning half of this year for the first time since the end of 2007. Business travelers can still find great deals as average 2010 room rates are comparable to 2004 rate levels.

Popular tradeshow cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Dallas, and Toronto were consistent with the global findings found in the HPI with each city showing increased hotel rates of varying degrees. However, Chicago's rates stayed steady since 2009, while San Diego and Orlando's room rates are still falling.  

"Business capitals of the world such as New York, London, and Singapore are seeing significant price rises again," said Victor Owens, vice president of marketing, North America for Hotels.com. "The return of corporate travel, more so in North America than in Europe, has been and continues to be a key factor to stabilize and even improve hotel room rates."

Hoteliers, who relied heavily on corporate travel, lowered room rates in 2009 to record lows as an attempt to fill rooms and meet occupancy quotes. With the gradual return of business travel in 2010, hotel room rates are slowly rising but can be still found at affordable prices reminiscent of rates from 2004.

For more information on the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index, a detailed breakdown of average room rates in domestic and international cities as well as state-by-state, and info-graphics please go to the HPI micro site http://www.hotel-price-index.com

Key Findings and Report Highlights:

• San Diego and Orlando's rates have fallen since last year, making them ideal for business travelers and some of the best locations for meeting planners to book their next event.
• Chicago's rates have stayed steady with an average room rate of $137.
• The Big Apple was the most expensive domestic city of those tracked in the global list. Prices averaged $224 per room per night during Q2 2010 – an increase of 13 percent compared to average room rates in 2009.
• Trade show cities such as Las Vegas, New York City, Orlando, and Chicago rank as the top four U.S. destinations for travelers.  
• The average price paid per room by U.S. travelers when traveling domestically is $114.
• Following is a list of cities popular with business travelers in the North America:

+ Prices from Hotels.com September 2010 Hotel Price Index

*Prices from Hotels.com March 2010 Hotel Price Index

• Abu Dhabi, the market with the largest decline in prices, fell by 46 percent between Q2 2009 and Q2 2010. A hotel room that would have cost a U.S. traveler $304 during the first six months of 2009 cost a traveler just $163 this year – a drop of $141.
• International cities also known as business hubs such as London, Paris, and Toronto ranked in the top 10 overseas destinations for U.S. travelers.
• The Asia-Pacific market bottomed out in late 2009 and is now recovering with rates rising in Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, and Hong Kong.  
• $161 is the average price paid per room by U.S. travelers when traveling internationally.
• Following is a list of international cities popular with business travelers:

+ Prices from Hotels.com September 2010 Hotel Price Index

*Prices from Hotels.com March 2010 Hotel Price Index

About the HPI

The Hotels.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®) is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world. The HPI is based on bookings made on Hotels.com and prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates) in the first half (and particularly Q2) of 2010.

Now in its seventh year, the HPI is respected as the definitive report on hotel prices paid around the world and increasingly used as a reference tool by media, analysts, tourism bodies and academics.

About Hotels.com

Hotels.com® is a leading provider of lodging worldwide, offering more than 85,000 properties in over 60 countries from national chain hotels and all-inclusive resorts to local favorites and bed & breakfasts. Hotels.com is the smarter way to book travel by offering  welcomerewards®, an industry leading loyalty rewards program; the real opinions of other travelers captured in over 1.5 million Guest Reviews and;  a Price Match Guarantee, so that those booking with Hotels.com can be assured they are getting the best deal, either online or by speaking directly to a travel expert at 1-800-2-HOTELS 24 hours a day. For more information, please visit hotels.com. Hotels.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE). Please visit the Hotels.com Travel Smart Blog for consumer and business travel information. Follow us on Twitter via www.twitter.com/hotelsdotcom, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hotelsdotcom and take a VirtualVacation at www.virtualvacay.com. Detailed Hotel Price Index data is available at: http://www.hotel-price-index.com, Hotels.com, A Smarter Way to Book™.

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SOURCE Hotels.com