Hotel prices in Europe remain low

March 09, 2010 | Hospitality Industry

From February to March 2010, the average price of hotels in Europe stayed constant at 93 pounds. Compared to March 2009's average of 100 pounds a night, this represents a seven percent drop.

Prices in 34 of the top 50 European cities also decreased in comparison to last year. In contrast, prices in London have increased by six percent. These are the findings of the trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI) which is published monthly by the hotel price comparison site trivago.co.uk.

The average price for a standard double room in Europe has stayed consistent at 93 pounds a night – the same rate as last month, and seven percent lower than in March 2009. In the United Kingdom, hotel rates remained constant: 100 pounds in March 2010, compared to 99 pounds in the previous month. In 34 of the 50 top European cities, average hotel prices have dropped in comparison to March 2009. In contrast, London hotel prices have risen by six percent in the year-on-year comparison. London is currently the most expensive city in the United Kingdom with an average cost of 126 pounds a night. This puts the capital as the fourth most expensive city in the tHPI behind Milan (139 pounds), Oslo (142 pounds) and Geneva (177 pounds).

Rising prices in Central and Southern Europe; decreases in the North

The overnight prices in many tourist capitals have increased over the past month. A hotel room in Rome (103 pounds) costs thirteen percent more than in February; in Vienna (105 pounds), the price has gone up by nineteen percent. Similar increases have also occurred in Amsterdam (106 pounds), Athens (84 pounds) and Barcelona (93 pounds), with all three cities seeing increases of nine percent from February to March. The opposite is true in Denmark and Sweden, though prices in both countries are still far higher than the European average. Hotel rooms in Copenhagen (118 pounds) and Stockholm (122 pounds) have dropped by six percent since February.

Stable prices in the United Kingdom

With the notable exception of Ireland, major cities across the United Kingdom experienced only minor fluctuations in accommodation prices over the past month. The average nightly cost increased two percent in London (126 pounds) and rose one percent in Birmingham (88 pounds), York (104 pounds) and Glasgow (79 pounds). No change was recorded in Nottingham (73 pounds), while costs in Manchester dropped two percent to 87 pounds. In Dublin, on the other hand, the average overnight price climbed steeply to 103 pounds – eighteen percent higher than in February – in anticipation of the RBS Six Nations Championship and several upcoming cultural events and festivals. A higher-than-average increase of six percent was also registered in Edinburgh (108 pounds), and stands in sharp contrast to March 2009, when the average stay cost only 94 pounds.

The trivago.co.uk hotel price index shows the average overnight accommodation prices for the most popular European cities on trivago. Prices for a standard double room are calculated on the basis of 160,000 daily price inquiries for overnight hotel stays generated through the trivago hotel price comparison service. trivago stores all hotel enquiries for each month and therefore gives an overview of hotel accommodation prices for the upcoming month. The tHPI reflects the hotel prices within the European online hotel market: The overnight accommodation prices of 53 online travel agents and hotel chains create the average hotel prices for cities, regions and countries within Europe.