Hotels.com has released the latest edition of its Hotel Price Index, which takes a look at hotel pricing trends around the world. According to the report, for the first time, hotel prices paid in three world regions have overtaken their pre-financial crisis levels of 2008/2009, with North America, the Caribbean and Latin America setting new records. Overall global prices, however, rose just 1 percent in the first half of 2015.
For the past three years, Hotels.com has reported a steady increase in New York City hotel prices, but this year, the Big Apple is on the decline. For U.S. travelers, prices paid in New York dropped 6 percent from $261 per night to $245 per night this year. Although New York City is still the domestic destination where U.S. travelers paid the most this year, the decline in price could be attributed to the hotel boom in Manhattan and Queens.
If U.S. travelers are looking to go East, Atlantic City, NJ, could be worthy of a few nights' stay. Hotel prices there dropped 3 percent year-over-year to an average of $147 per night.
Gaining in popularity and price are destinations in Washington, Oregon and Arizona. The Grand Canyon area made its debut on the top 50 list of popular U.S. cities for Americans this year, coming in at #45. Hotel prices in the area made a 12 percent jump, the highest increase of any U.S. destination this year. Yet for those looking to travel to the area to celebrate the 2016 Centennial of the National Park Service, average prices paid were still an affordable $117 per night.
Hotel prices in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, each increased by 9 percent this year, rising to $149 and $195 per night, respectively. It's likely that Portland's mild winter this year and the success of Travel Portland's "Portland is Happening Now" campaign at least partially contributed to this rise. As for Seattle, the city saw an increase in travel interest since the recreational sale of marijuana was legalized in July of 2014. The city experienced a 61 percent increase in hotel searches in the second half of 2014 after the law was in effect.
Top Bargain International Destinations
The three most popular international destinations for Americans saw large price drops for the first half of the year. London, which was the #1 most popular international city for Americans, saw a 7 percent decrease, bringing the nightly price paid down from $271 to $252. Paris and Rome, the next two most popular international cities for Americans each dropped by 16 percent. The declines may be a result, in part, of currency fluctuations in the area this year.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, decreased by 24 percent this year. With average prices paid of $89 per night, the city was one of the best bargains in Asia. Both Hong Kong and Seoul, Korea, saw price drops at 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively.