Global hotel prices up 2 pc in Q2

Global hotel prices rose two per cent in the second quarter of 2010-11, compared to the same period a year earlier, a survey by a renowned hospitality website said.

The latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) by www.hotels.com revealed this is for the first time that hotel prices rose year-on-year after seven consecutive quarters of price fall since the end-2007.

The survey mentions prices had fallen so low during 2009 that despite the modest increase, the average price of a hotel room was still lower than it was in 2004.

The hotels.com HPI is a regular survey of hotel prices in major destinations across the world.

HPI is based on bookings made on hotels.com and prices shown are those actually paid by customers in the first half of 2010.

In yet another aspect related to the hospitality sector, the survey noted that Indian travellers spent an average Rs 6,816 when travelling overseas during the quarter, slotting them at number seven in the list of the world's biggest spenders abroad.

The average price paid for a room in New York by Indian travellers was Rs 10,783, a rise of 20 per cent in the same period a year earlier.

Las Vegas hotels saw the amount Indian travellers paid for their rooms rising 31 per cent between the second quarter of 2009-10 and that of 2010-11, to an average Rs 6,100 this year.

In Asia Pacific, Singapore is at the top of the price scale, where Indian travellers spent Rs 7,949 per room per night, which is up 27 per cent from the same period a year earlier, it mentions.

According to Hotels.com President, David Roche, the hotel pricing trends worldwide confirm that stabilisation has indeed been under way in the hotel industry, and that there are hints of recovery.

"However, while the HPI has shown a rise of two per cent, consumers should remember that hotel affordability across the world has not been this good since 2004, offering terrific opportunities to extend stays or trade up the star class," he adds.

Hotels.com Managing Director (Asia Pacific), Johan Svanstrom, said for hoteliers in the Asia Pacific region in particular, it is encouraging to see the global hotel market stabilising as confidence in the economy returns and consumers begin to travel again.

"For Indian travellers, there is an abundance of international and domestic destinations that offer value for money and will continue to do so for some time," he said.