Average hotel prices remain stable in 2016

The average price of hotels in the world remained stable in 2016, according to the Hotel Price Index calculated by Hotels.com. Canada, the United States and the Caribbean registered a slight increase of one per cent, but most other regions in the world saw prices decrease.

In Paris – the fourth most popular destination among Canadians, after New York, Las Vegas and London – the average price of hotel rooms decreased by seven per cent, from $207 per night to $192 per night. In London, the average price fell by nine per cent, from $278 to $257 each night. Prices also dropped in Singapore (- 5 per cent), Dubai (- 4 per cent), Hong Kong and Bangkok (- 1 per cent for each). In Asia, hotel rates have fallen without interruption since 2007. A room that cost CDN $131 that year only costs $99 today – one per cent less than in 2004.

By comparison, hotel rates have increased in the best-visited American destinations among Canadians. In New York, the average cost of an overnight stay rose from $308 to $316; in Las Vegas, it increased from $148 to $162, and in Orlando from $140 to $150. Despite an unfavourable exchange rate, Canadian travellers are becoming increasingly prominent in these three destinations.

Europe also saw a rise in hotel rates for popular destinations, including Barcelona (from $185 to $204), Berlin (from $142 to $152), Prague (from $130 to $144), and Athens (from $142 to $151). In Canada, average hotel rates rose by nine per cent in Vancouver (from $171 to $187), by seven per cent in Toronto (from $157 to $167), by four per cent in Montreal (from $161 to $167), by 13 per cent in Whistler (from $214 to $241), and by six per cent in Mont-Tremblant (from $201 to $213).

Hotels.com, a division of Expedia, is the busiest hotel reservation website in the world. It has published its Hotel Price Index since 2004. That year, the index was fixed at 100 and in 2014, it had risen to 114. Since then, it has remained stable, for the third consecutive year in 2016. Further information is available at: http://hpi.hotels.com/ca-2016/.