2013 Global Hotel Rate Development - Asian cities more affordable, Bangkok with sharp increase

  Table 1: Average room rate per night for hotel stays in Asian cities

Hotel rates remain stable in German Cities

The average price for hotel room nights remained stable in most German cities in 2013. Hotels in the trade fair city of Cologne saw the most significant increase in price with an average of three per cent. Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt measured a slight increase in hotel room rates in the past year. In the remaining German cities, the hotel room rates remained on the past year’s level and are on a moderate level if compared with the rest of Europe.

The development in pricing outside of Germany has been quite diverse. HRS ascertained that the - on average - most expensive rates were found in New York (187 Euro), Rio de Janeiro (179 Euro) and Sydney (174 Euro). Zurich remains the frontrunner amongst the investigated European top destinations with 145 Euros, followed by London and Moscow. The largest increase in price was measured in Oslo with more than five per cent. City travellers found the most inexpensive room rates in Prague with an average room rate of 70 Euro. Comparably inexpensive room rates could also be found in Budapest, Warsaw, Lisbon and Athens, where the average rate is below 80 Euro. HRS, Europe’s leading hotel portal, came to these results after evaluating all hotel reservations made through the booking portal in the past year.

Munich is the only city in Germany above 100 Euro

The hotel room rates remained relatively unchanged in most German cities in 2013. Only Cologne, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt saw a slight increase in the average room rates. Especially the hotels in Cologne were able to profit from the many trade fairs and demanded an average of three per cent more for a hotel room. Munich, the Bavarian capital, remains to be the most expensive city in Germany with an average room rate of 109 Euro and is the only city progress beyond the 100-Euro-threshold. In addition, the rates in Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt/ Main slightly increased. The most inexpensive hotel rooms are furthermore found in the east of the republic and one may spend a night in Dresden for an average of 82 Euro. And despite the increasing number of visitors, the rates in Berlin remained moderate and guests only have to pay 85 Euro for a room on average.

Table 2: Average room rate per night for hotel stays in German cities

Zurich, London and Moscow are the most expensive top destinations in Europe
The rest of Europe is patchy. Zurich remains the most expensive city to stay with an average of 145 Euro per room, followed by London with room rates of 142 Euro and Moscow with 141 Euro per night. City travellers found the most inexpensive room rates in Prague, even if the rates in the Golden City rose by four percent and are at 70 Euro.

Visitors to Budapest, Warsaw, Lisbon and Athens were able to go easy on their travel expenses thanks to moderate room rates. The rates in Warsaw decreased the most and the hotels there could not sustainably profit from the Word Cup 2012. They saw an average decrease of nine per cent. Madrid also saw a decrease of some seven per cent – a noticeable effect of the consequences of the economic crisis in Spain. Zurich remains the frontrunner of the comparison of the top destinations, with an average of 145 Euro despite a decrease of three per cent on the average room rates. Vienna, Moscow and Amsterdam also had slightly less expensive room rates than a year before- the room rates dropped by four per cent in these cities. The largest increase in the room rates was seen in the major Scandinavian cities Stockholm (138 Euro), Oslo (133 Euro) and Copenhagen (129 Euro), where the room rates increased by around five per cent.

Table 3: Average room rate per night for hotel stays in European cities

New York is the global frontrunner, followed by Rio de Janeiro and SydneyThe hotel room rates partially decreased significantly in around two thirds of international metropolises. Especially Tokyo, with 134 Euro per room (a minus of 19 per cent) has significantly reduced room rates than in the year before. Mumbai, Shanghai and Buenos Aires all saw a decrease of ten per cent on the average room rates, too. Mexico City (plus 13 per cent), Bangkok (plus 11 per cent) and New York (plus 9 per cent) are now more expensive. The city that never sleeps therefor holds the front runner position worldwide. Hotel owners in New York had set their rates at 187 Euro per night at an average, followed by Rio de Janeiro (179 Euro) and Sydney (174 Euro). For that price, one could have booked nearly three nights in Kuala Lumpur (58 Euro), Shanghai (64 Euro) or Bangkok (65 Euro).