hotel room rates

Want A Hotel Room? You'll Spend The Most In Moscow

Once again Moscow is the city with the most expensive average hotel room rate in the world. Bloomberg reports that a survey by business travel agency Hogg Robinson Group Plc showed that the average rate in the city in the first half was 256.83 pounds ($407). The rest of the top five were Geneva at 199.11 pounds, Hong Kong at 197.61 pounds, Paris at 197.13 pounds and New York City at 194.13 pounds. Rates were up in Stockholm, Zurich and Geneva.

The survey found that rates in the US were mostly flat or marginally back compared to 2009 figures, with the exception of San Francisco where average rates dropped by 11 percent. Although Moscow was still at the top its average rate declined by 12 percent. Room rates in Abu Dhabi were down 25 percent. Rome, Copenhagen and Dubai also showed reductions of 7 percent, 10 percent and 12 percent respectively.

Douglas McWilliams, Chief Executive of cebr (Centre for Economics and Business Research Ltd.), a leading economic think tank which analyzed the HRG survey said that the global economic recovery is still fragile and that the "latest HRG Hotel Survey illustrates the effects of a multi-speed economic recovery in the hotel market." The report indicates that it may take until 2012 for some hotels to see a return to pre-recession rates.

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Hotel Rooms Rates Down Worldwide For First Half Of 2009

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

It's not your imagination, hotel rooms have gotten cheaper. According to the hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) room rates around the world have dropped. According to the hotels.com Hotel Price Index, hotel prices around the world fell by 17 percent in the first six months of 2009, when compared to the same period in 2008. What's even more interesting is that with the exception of the Caribbean, every major region around the world experienced the sharpest price drops since the hotels.com Hotel Price Index began in January 2004. Latin American hotels were down 18 percent year over year, while North America saw a 17 percent drop and Europe's average was 16 percent lower than it had been a year before.

The hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room rather than advertised rates, using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets in which hotels.com operates. The latest report issued looked at hotel prices paid at 78,000 hotels across 13,000 locations around the world for the period January to June 2009, compared to the same period the year before.

In the first half of 2009, the world's most expensive destinations, with the exception of Capri, saw dramatic falls in prices paid by travelers compared to the same period in 2008. Two major U.S. travel destinations, New York and Las Vegas, saw a 30 percent drop in hotel rates in the first half of 2009. In the first half of 2009, New York overtook Las Vegas as the U.S. city with the fastest growth in hotel rooms. A total of 8,000 new rooms are predicted for New York City for 2009. London is also adding rooms in advance of the 2012 Olympics. Hotel room supply in the city increased by more than 3,000 new rooms in 2008 and an additional 3,400 are forecast for 2009.

In the first half of 2009 hotel prices across the United States dropped 17 percent with room rates on average $115 a night down from $139 a night during the same period in 2008. New York City held its spot as the most expensive domestic city for U.S. travelers and Washington, D.C. rose to second place (a response to the travel for the presidential inauguration). Las Vegas had the third least expensive hotel rates in the first half of 2009 but is the top spot for tourists and Orlando, the third most popular destination for U.S. travelers, ranked number 10 in lowest hotel rates.

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Is It Too Soon To Raise Hotel Rates In Las Vegas?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Why does it seem to be that the second that the economy gets even a tinge better prices start shooting up? The Las Vegas Sun delivers the sad news that MGM Mirage is already plotting to raises rates on the company's hotel rooms after seeing more bookings. Admittedly MGM Mirage which has struggled in recent months and does have the huge CityCenter project to pay for, does need the cash. Still, I have to wonder, is it too soon?

Conventions still haven't returned to Las Vegas in droves but the Sun article says that the MGM Mirage hotel occupancy rates, which dipped into the high 70s in January climbed back into the high 90s. Phil Ruffin, who bought Treasure Island from MGM Mirage will also be raising room rates because he's looking to attract the big fish customers rather than focusing on occupancy rate. The lower rates have worked their magic of getting more guests in beds but now the resorts seem to be more confident that the economic momentum is, if not completely charging upward yet, at least not fixed to slide lower.

Should hotels raise rates during the summer time in Las Vegas? The triple-digit heat often makes visits to the city only palatable for those interested in gambling in air-conditioned spaces or lounging in the shade of the pool cabanas. It seems like the fall season might be the time for a modest price increase but for hotels laboring under the strain of reduced rates for months already that may be too long to wait.

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Tags: hotel rates, hotel room rates, HotelRates, HotelRoomRates, las vegas, LasVegas, mgm, mgm mirage, MgmMirage