Hotels.com UK reveals hotel prices drop by 13%

Hotels.com UK has announced that hotel prices in the UK fell by 13% last year, taking prices across the country to their lowest levels for six years. The UK, which three years ago boasted of the most expensive hotel rooms of any European country, has now slipped to thirteenth place in the league table of European nations.

According to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI), the price of a hotel room in the UK was down by 13% in 2009 compared with 2008. On average, Britons paid £84 for rooms across the country in 2009, down from £97 per night the previous year.

For overseas visitors to the UK, the news was even better as the weakness of the Pound coupled with hoteliers lowering their rates to stimulate business meant that the average prices paid by travellers from Europe or the US was down by up to 32% in some UK cities.

The average price paid was down in almost every major UK destination, the only cities to escape the falls were Newquay (where prices rose 13% in 2009) and Oxford (where prices were up 14%). However, the overall trend was for hoteliers to cut their prices. The falls meant that London became a more affordable destination for those planning a visit to the capital, with prices down 7% on 2008, to £106 per night on average.

Despite prices falling in Bath by 11% year-on-year it remained the UK's most expensive city, with its relatively low number of hotel rooms and predominance in the luxury sector. Experiencing the steepest price falls for UK travellers were Southampton (where prices were down 30% to £61 per room per night), Belfast (down 27% to £67) and Aberdeen (down 26% to £78).

The HPI also showed:

For the UK's cheapest rooms, the Midlands was the place to go as Coventry emerged as the UK's best-value city. Prices in Edinburgh were down by 6% to £95 per night, while prices in Cardiff dropped 11% to £81 per night. Prices on Jersey dropped by 17% to an average price of £93 per night, which helped dispel its image as an expensive destination.

David Roche, President of Hotels.com, said: "Step inside the time machine, turn the dial back to 2003, and compare hotel prices then and now. What's changed? Not much. Our latest HPI, covering all of 2009, shows that prices fell globally by 14% on already weak 2008 figures, bringing consumer prices back to levels not seen since 2003.

"Despite some possible first signs of hotel prices recovering in Europe and the US in the last quarter of 2009, the promotions and great value look set to continue for some time yet. 2010 promises to be another great year for the traveller."

-Ends-

Notes to editors:
The Hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room (rather than advertised rates) for 94,000 hotels across 16,000 locations around the world. The latest HPI looked at prices during 2009 compared to those in 2008. A full copy of the report, maps and graphics are available upon request from 020 7492 0979.

About Hotels.com
As part of the Expedia group which operates in all major markets, Hotels.com offers more than 110,000 hotels, B&Bs and serviced apartments worldwide, including San Francisco hotels, Vegas hotels, hotels in Chicago and New York City hotels. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com benefits from one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating the best rates for its customers, plus there are 1.3m reviews from users who have actually stayed in the hotels to ensure customers make an informed choice when booking. Hotels.com won the Gold Award for best hotel booking site in Webuser magazine in February 2009.

For more information or to request interviews please contact:
Cordy Griffiths
Hotels.com
42 Earlham St
Covent Garden
London
WC2H 9LA
020 7019 2268
www.hotels.com