Hotels.com reports fall in UK hotel prices

The prices paid for hotel rooms in the UK have fallen for the first time four years, according to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI). The UK was the only major European country in which prices paid for rooms by UK travellers fell 4% in Q3 2008, to £97 per room per night, compared to £101 a year earlier.

Prices fell across many of the major UK cities in Q3 2008 as hoteliers – particularly those in Scotland – looked to ensure that occupancy levels were maximised.

Leading the falls in Scotland was Inverness, where prices fell 15% to an average of £94. Inverness was closely followed by Aberdeen, where prices fell by 11% to £96 on average. In England, Birmingham was the city most affected by price falls, experiencing a 13% drop in prices from £75 to £66 per room per night.

London also saw prices fall by 3% year on year to average £116 in Q3.

However, a notable exception to the national picture was in the UK’s most expensive city, Bath. Prices here were up by some 13% in Q3 2008 (when compared to Q3 2007) to an average of £142 per night.

The Hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room in Q3 2008, compared to Q3 2007 and is considered by some to be the most comprehensive and accurate source of global hotel pricing information. It is based on prices actually paid by customers for 68,000 hotels across 12,500 locations around the world, rather than simply advertised rates. Full details of the Hotel Price Index can be found at hotels.co.uk/press/hotel-price-index.html

The Hotels Price Index also showed that:

• London experienced a 3% price drop in Q3 2008, compared to the same period last year. However it still remains the UK’s second most expensive city, with the average customer paying £116 per room per night
• Edinburgh is still the UK’s third most expensive city for hotels at £106 per room per night on average, despite experiencing a 5% drop in prices
• Southampton crept up into eighth place in the hotel price league to £93 per room per night, having experienced an 11% price rise compared to the same period in 2007
• Bournemouth also fared well, as prices rose by 8% in Q3 2008 to £86 per room per night
• Liverpool, this year’s European City of Culture, was the only UK city where prices remained flat, with the average price per room per night staying at £87

David Roche, President, hotels.com Worldwide, says:

“Price falls across the UK means that there are currently great deals to be had, as more affordable accommodation is on offer. In cities such as Inverness, Aberdeen and Birmingham, steep falls in the prices being paid for hotel rooms reflects the need for hoteliers to keep occupancy levels at a maximum, and consequently luxury accommodation is now more affordable.

“On the other hand, Bath’s combination of high visitor levels and luxury hotels means that it retains its place as the most expensive city in the UK by a considerable margin.

“Demand for rooms in the capital has kept London as the UK’s second most expensive city even though prices are down 3% on this time last year. All this is good news for travellers in and to the UK.”

For more information, log on to Hotels.co.uk.