the hotel.info hotel price barometer for August 2010 — Photo by hotel.info hotel booking Ltd.

What level have hotel prices reached in summer 2010? Where are room rates particularly good value for money, and in which cities do visitors need deeper pockets? hotel.info, the free online hotel reservation service for more than 210,000 hotels around the world, has once again analysed the hotel price inquiries conducted by its online users as per the end of the second quarter of 2010.

The changes in prices in July were compared with those in June, as well as with those from the same month in previous years. These include July 2009, a period in the depths of the economic and financial crisis, and July 2008, before the crisis began. The latest results show that:

  • New York and London have very high room rates
  • Extraordinary change in prices in Rio de Janeiro during July
  • Many cities in Eastern Europe offer cheap accommodation options
  • Rising price trends evident for major global cities
  • The following hotel.info hotel rate barometer ranking shows the average price per room per night in euros for all types and categories of hotel.

Visitors to New York needed the deepest pockets. A night's stay in June and July cost around €194. While the Big Apple's room rates were therefore below the levels recorded in 2008, they have risen significantly compared with last year. London followed in second place, although its hotel operators' income was around €50 lower than that earned by their counterparts in North America. Nevertheless, accommodation rates are also stabilising in the UK capital. The cheapest room rates were found in Bangkok, at just €58. Guests staying at hotels in cities in Eastern Europe also enjoyed relatively cheap prices.

Rio de Janeiro provided the greatest sensation in the global price analysis, and not simply because of its colourful carnival. With an average accommodation cost of €143 per night, visitors to Brazil's second largest city did not have to pay quite as much during July as those visiting New York, London, Stockholm or Zurich. Nevertheless, a rise of 40% compared with the previous periods is impressive. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the price developments alongside the Copacabana last month were not only a result of supply and demand on the free market. The many conferences hosted by Rio de Janeiro in July will have been an opportunity for the hotel trade to force accommodation costs up - an unnatural price rise.

Overall, prices in major global cities are undergoing a phase of stabilisation. The average accommodation costs are around 6% higher than in the same month last year. Only Moscow suffered a drop of more than 10% in comparison with July 2009, and the stabilisation effect appears also not to have taken hold in Copenhagen or Budapest.

A small side note: the relatively cheap hotel room rates in Eastern European cities are certainly one of the reasons for the good performance of these locations in the most recent hotel.info value for money index. However, this does not reduce the importance of the customer service experienced by hotel guests there.

hotel.info | is a free online hotel reservation service for corporate and private customers. The service offers more than 210,000 hotels for electronic bookings around the world. Customers booking via hotel.info achieve significantly better prices in comparison with other booking channels. In addition, hotel.info shows all available room prices for each hotel, so that the customer can always select the cheapest or most suitable room price. All bookings via hotel.info are transferred simultaneously, securely and directly to the respective hotel’s computer. This guarantees the unique integration of each hotel’s own reservation systems (CRS or PMS) and hotel.info’s own reservation system myRES into the hotel.info unified user interface. At hotel.info, customers seeking hotel rooms can base their decisions to book a room not only on the core information such as room price and hotel facilities, but also on the hotel reviews and ratings submitted by around 1 million hotel guests from around the world. Compared with existing rating portals, hotel.info customers can rely on 100% genuine hotel ratings, since only customers who have booked and recently stayed in each hotel are asked for their opinion. Once a customer has selected an offer, the hotel is presented for direct online booking at attractive conditions, in line with the hotel.info "Check & Book" claim. hotel.info is the international brand of hotel.de AG. This brand was created to further drive expansion within Europe. The aim is to establish hotel.info throughout Europe as the leading reservation service for corporate and private customers. Today hotel.infooperates offices in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and China.

Warini Munshi
+44-20-85452678
hotel.info hotel booking Ltd.