Hotels.com Hotel Price Index Finds Hotel Prices Still Low but on the Rise

DALLAS, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Hotels.com®, the largest provider of lodging worldwide, released their biannual Hotel Price Index (HPI™) illustrating an increase in average hotel room rates for the first time since the end of 2007. Despite the 2% increase, hotel room rates are still markedly lower than rates at the peak of the market. As the Hotels.com 2009 HPI predicted, 2010 continues to be another great year for great travel values.

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Las Vegas topped the list of top five most popular domestic destinations for the second time this year, with New York, Orlando, Chicago and San Francisco following close behind. Popular cities for international travelers include New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando and Los Angeles.

"We're seeing travel bookings pick up around the world," said Victor Owens, vice president of marketing, North America for Hotels.com. "It's stimulating to see not only the breadth of travel both domestic and international, but also the steady rise in hotel prices which is helping reinvigorate the industry. There are, of course, still deals to be had, especially in international destinations like Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Reykjavik which each saw a major drop in hotel prices during the first half of 2010."

Click http://www.hotel-price-index.com for a look at the entire report, featuring infographics and a detailed state-by-state and city-by-city breakdown.

Key Findings and Report Highlights:

• Some of the greatest price rises for rooms among the world's top cities in the second quarter of 2010 versus the second quarter 2009 were tied to major events for films, including: film festival famous Cannes (60%); Eat Pray Love locale Bali (57%) and World Cup host Cape Town (53%).
• More travelers are hitting the road in style during the first half of 2010, and they did it for less. A host of cities around the world saw average prices for top-end rooms drop over a tenth, making luxury in these cities a far more attractive proposition for travelers. Domestically, a 5-star hotel dropped 13 percent in Orlando ($259-$225) and San Francisco ($323-$280).
• U.S. residents with the travel bug have been hitting up capitals around the world, including London, Paris and Rome.
• Chicago's rates have stayed steady with an average room rate of $137, making it ideal for business travelers and one of the best locations for meeting planners to book their next event.
• The Big Apple was the most expensive domestic city of those tracked in the global list; but, U.S. and overseas travelers continued to flock to NYC. Prices averaged $224 per room per night during Q2 2010 – an increase of 14 percent compared to 2009. A Gradual return of business travel and an increase in domestic travel fuelled this rise.
• The biggest loser is Abu Dhabi, which fell by 46 percent between Q2 2009 and Q2 2010. This means 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. This was fuelled by various factors, including a growth in the number of rooms, as new hotels opened, and a drop in the number of corporate travelers visiting the Emirate, due to the economic situation. This influential city of commerce was affected by the fall of international business travel, as was its larger neighbor, Dubai, which saw a 10% decrease in hotel room prices.

For the world traveler looking for a deal, following is a list of the most expensive destinations that have recently seen a drop in hotel prices.

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™.

*based on airport hotels averaged at $75.50 per night and downtown hotels averaged at $130.80 per night on random dates. Prices/rates are subject to availability. See site for details.

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SOURCE Hotels.com