Hotel prices flatline, travel goes up

Hotel prices flatline, travel goes up

Aussie jetsetters are better off in their own backyard, only forking out an extra 1% for hotel rooms in 2014.

Hotels.com has released its latest Hotel Price Index, which tracks bookings made on the site, as well as the prices travellers are paying, before collating the data from over 169,000 properties.

For travellers down under, the average hotel room price sat at $177 per night, up from $175 in 2013.

Hotel prices barely moved in the eastern seaboard capital cities, with Sydney moving 1% to $200, Brisbane 2% to $172 and Melbourne just 1% to $177 per night.

Hotel prices actually fell by 3% in Perth, and by 4% in Darwin, to $184 and $200 per night, respectively, as the natural resources boom continued to cool off in the states.

These outcomes look good for domestic travellers, with regional director Katherine Cole saying the result would keep Aussie travel alive while the dollar remained shaky abroad.

“The softening of the Australian dollar is welcome news for Australian hoteliers, who have benefited from an increase in international visitors,” she said.

“At the same time, domestic travellers are turning more to holidaying at home as they find better value locally.”

Internationally, Asia was the only region in the world where hotel guests paid less on average from a year ago, and were only slightly higher than they were 10 years ago.

It was the second consecutive decline in hotel prices in Asia, meaning Asia continued to offer good value for budget-conscious Aussie travellers.

In contrast, hotel prices for travellers on the AUD rose 15% in New Zealand, as the Kiwi dollar continued to strengthen and local hotel prices increased.

Hotel prices in Fiji were also 12% higher than in 2013, followed by New Caledonia at 11%.

But the city where Aussies shouted out the most dosh for an overnight stay was in New York, where the average price paid was $317.

Hotel prices in Dublin, Berlin, Madrid and Milan also recorded double-digit price rises, so it looks like for now, it’s best to stay local for your next little getaway.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

hotels.com

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