Hotel prices continue to rise in North America as customer engagement and consumer confidence remain very strong, according to Josh Belkin, Vice President & General Manager, North America at Hotels.com.
“Hotel prices continued to steadily rise across North America (up 4%), surpassing the previous high reached in 2007 and suggesting that consumer confidence in the travel sector remains strong,” Belkin told Loyalty360. “The strength of the U.S. economy encouraged domestic consumer spending to reach an all-time high in the second quarter of 2015, and currency fluctuations abroad had much to do with the increased accessibility to places in Europe for U.S. travelers. London, Paris, and Rome, which are normally among the most expensive cities for Americans, saw price drops this half of the year – Paris and Rome both dropping by 16% each. Overall, consumers can still find great deals in these cities.”
Hotels.com recently released its Hotel Price Index (HPI), which is viewed as the definitive report on hotel prices paid around the world and is used as a reference tool by the media, hoteliers, financial analysts, investors, tourism bodies, and academics. The full report can be found here: http://hpi.hotels.com/usa-h12015/.
Here are some highlights of the report:
· Global hotel prices paid by travelers worldwide rose by just 1% during first half 2015
· U.S. hotel prices are up 2% this year for worldwide travelers
· For U.S. travelers, prices paid in New York City dropped 6% from $261 per night to $245 per night this year – this is the first drop New York City has seen in 3 years.
· The Grand Canyon made its debut on the top 50 list of popular U.S. cities for Americans this year, coming in at No. 45. Hotel prices in the area made a 12% jump, the highest increase of any U.S. destination this year.
· London, which was the No. 1 most popular international city for Americans, saw a 7% decrease, bringing the nightly price paid down from $271 to $252.
“Our bi-annual Hotel Price Index or HPI is a useful resource to identify industry trends based on actual hotel prices paid on Hotels.com,” Belkin explained. “In our 11 seasons of producing the report, we’ve also found that travelers use the HPI to discover new destinations and build their travel budgets. We make the report accessible online and break it into easily navigable chapters that cover which destinations are up or down in price, which destinations are trending in popularity, and where the best values can be found.”
Belkin said the The Hotel Price Index is intended to serve as a tool for customers filled with points of interest and helpful tips resulting from the report across Hotels.com’s social media platforms.