Hotel room prices fell 17% at end of 2008, survey shows

THE AVERAGE price of an Irish hotel room fell by 17 per cent in the last three months of last year compared with 2007, according to an international hotel price index survey. Irish hoteliers have reported very difficult trading conditions in recent months and many are offering special deals to attract guests.

The hotels price index compiled by hotel-booking website Hotels.com found that Ireland had experienced the largest drop in hotel prices in the euro zone and the third biggest drop in Europe after the UK (24 per cent) and Norway (18 per cent).

The index, published twice a year, is based on bookings made on Hotels.com. The prices used in the survey are those paid by customers, rather than advertised rates. Some 68,000 properties in more than 12,500 locations are included in the survey.

It found that the average price of a hotel room in Dublin fell by 20 per cent between October and December 2008, from €107 to €86, compared with the same period in 2007.

This means that Dublin’s hotel rooms were €3 cheaper on average than hotel rooms nationwide. It also makes Dublin one of the least expensive major cities worldwide for hotel room charges.

Galway was the most expensive Irish city surveyed, with an average room costing €129 (a 1 per cent reduction on 2007). Its hotel rooms cost more than rooms in Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Rome and London.

Limerick was the least expensive city in Ireland with a hotel room costing €76 on average. However, it had reported a 22 per cent price drop in 2007. This was halted in the latest survey with Limerick prices increasing by 2 per cent. It was the only major city in Ireland to show an increase.

Cork saw the biggest drop in prices of all Irish cities, with hotel room prices down by 21 per cent to €100. Belfast room prices fell by over a third to an average of €102. This was the biggest fall in the UK and was steeper than the UK average decline of 24 per cent.

David Roche, president of Hotels.com Worldwide, described the fall in hotel room prices in Dublin as dramatic.

“However, this drop in room prices now makes Dublin remarkably good value for travellers looking for cheaper hotel stays within the euro zone,” he said. “Indeed, a four-star hotel room in Dublin now averages at €78 per night, one of the cheapest four-star rates anywhere in the world and now cheaper than Cape Town or Madrid.”

The survey found that Moscow had the world’s most expensive hotel prices, with a €231 average charge per room. It was followed closely by Abu Dhabi at €224. Abu Dhabi was one of the only cities in the world to see prices increase significantly. Its average room price increased by 24 per cent.

Dubai was the third most expensive city in the world at €202 per night with New York in fourth place at €187 per room per night.

On the cheaper end of the scale, Las Vegas was €71 per night while cities such as Prague, Reykjavik and Bangkok had average room prices of less than €80 per night.