London, New York, Milan, Tokyo and Las Vegas all cheaper for Aussie travellers
The strong Australian dollar continued to drive down the cost of hotel rooms in many of Australia?s favourite overseas destinations for the first six months of 2011, according to the latest Hotels.com? Hotel Price Index? (HPI?).
Other factors including global economic instability, political unrest and natural disasters also contributed to reductions in hotel prices in many popular destinations, despite the global average price of a room rising by 3%.
Hotels in many parts of Europe, Asia and America were significantly cheaper for Australian travellers as a result of marked price drops in the first half of 2011.
?In terms of value for money, now is a wonderful time to be an Australian travelling overseas,? Johan Svanstrom, Managing Director, Asia Pacific for Hotels.com, said.
?The latest Hotels.com Index shows that prices have dipped in some very popular and traditionally expensive destinations for Australians such as New York, London and Milan.?
In Europe, average prices were down in a number popular cities including Athens which fell by 13% to $149(AUD), Milan down 13% to $180 and Madrid down by 5% to $142.
Traditionally expensive destinations such as London became cheaper with average hotel rates falling 4% to $213. Across the UK Average hotel prices dipped 7% to $182.
Several destinations in Asia became a lot cheaper as the Australian Dollar surged in the first half of 2011. In China, Shanghai hotel prices fell 23% as new hotel developments increased supply during the World Expo last year. Japanese cities also featured prominently in the table of biggest fallers with Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo all posting double-digit price falls following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in March. Singapore hotel prices, however, rose due to the strong occupancy levels driven by increasing number of both tourist and corporate travellers.
In the US, hotels became a lot cheaper in a number of popular cities despite the average room rates showing a modest 2% increase. The average room rate in fell by 19% to $128 in San Diego, by 12% to $159 in Seattle, by 5% to $208 and $132 respectively in Washington and Las Vegas. Even the average hotel room in New York dipped by 3% to $260 per night. Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi recorded lower prices paid, by 15% and 16% respectively, and represent great value for Australian travellers.
The biggest percentage price falls from (January ? June 2011 in AUD)
| Destination | Average daily rate | % Change year on year |
| New Delhi | 100 | -38% |
| Hiroshima | 91 | -38% |
| Kyoto | 118 | -33% |
| Cape Town | 146 | -24% |
| Shanghai | 114 | -23% |
| Manila | 126 | -20% |
| San Diego | 128 | -19% |
| Abu Dhabi | 144 | -16% |
| Dubai | 170 | -15% |
| Taipei | 113 | -14% |
The biggest percentage price rises from (January ? June 2011 in AUD)
| Destination | Average daily rate | % Change year on year |
| Stockholm | 210 | 17% |
| Wellington | 119 | 15% |
| Honolulu | 205 | 13% |
| MELBOURNE | 154 | 11% |
| Buenos Aires | 158 | 11% |
| SYDNEY | 172 | 10% |
| Florence | 189 | 10% |
| Singapore | 213 | 9% |
| Bali | 133 | 9% |
| San Francisco | 179 | 8% |
Focus on Australia
Closer to home, the average room rate for hotels across Australia rose 9% year-on-year, averaging $159. Canberra bucked the national trend falling 8% to $177 but was still ahead of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne ($174, $172, $154).
Johan Svanstrom said that Brisbane showed the biggest percentage increase of 27% to $174, in part due to reduced availability following the January floods but also because of rising corporate business demand.
Average room prices and changes across Australia (January ? June 2011 in AUD)
| Destination | Average daily rate | % Change year on year |
| Canberra | 177 | -8% |
| Perth | 174 | 13% |
| Brisbane | 174 | 27% |
| Sydney | 172 | 10% |
| Port Douglas | 172 | 5% |
| Melbourne | 154 | 11% |
| Hobart | 147 | 3% |
| Adelaide | 145 | 2% |
| Gold Coast | 144 | 17% |
| Cairns | 117 | -10% |
-Ends-
Notes to editors
About the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index
The Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI?) is a regular survey of hotel prices in major 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 of 2011.
The HPI Australia version shows hotel prices across the world per room per night as paid by Australian travellers in Australian Dollars, comparing prices paid in the January-June period of 2011 with the same period in 2010.
View full report here.
Source: hotels.com