Global Hotel Prices On The Rise
The average price of a hotel room around the world rose 3% during 2013, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).
This means there have now been four years of steady rises in hotel prices since the substantial falls during the financial collapse of 2008/9.
Set at 100 in 2004, the HPI tracks real prices that hotel guests actually paid for their accommodation around the world. The HPI for 2013 stands at 110, seven points lower than its peak in 2007 despite the recent growth, and just 10 points higher than at its launch.
Latin America registered its strongest result yet, with a 5% increase in hotel prices, and has now overtaken its previous peak set just before the global economic downturn. With reports stating that emerging markets are showing solid economic growth, prices rose as demand intensified.
Johan Svanstrӧm, president of the Hotels.com brand, said, “According to UNWTO (the United Nations World Tourism Organization), international tourist arrivals in 2013 grew by 5% to a record global figure of 1,087 million, well above expectations. The growth in global hotel prices we are reporting today reflects that trend.”
He added, “There is no doubt that European hotel prices were some of the most badly affected by the economic fallout. However, most indicators now show that the economic squeeze is easing, if not yet completely over. Looking ahead, one phenomenon impacting global hotel prices in 2014 is the huge rise in the number of sports fans travelling this year, with the Sochi Games in February and March and the World Cup in Brazil in the summer.”
Higher occupancy levels recorded in many areas helped the North American HPI climb 3%, matching the global rise.
(http://www.hotels.com/hotel-price-index)
