The latest Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com has revealed that Australians’ love affair with Asia continued in 2015, with 38 Asian destinations amongst Australians’ top 100 most popular international destinations. Twenty-two of them recorded the lowest prices paid* for a room among the top 100 cities in the HPI, with eight destinations averaging less than $100 per night.
Meanwhile, as inbound tourism to Australia took off in 2015[1], helped by the weaker Australian dollar and major sporting events such as the ICC Cricket World Cup, Aussie hotel prices rose by 2 per cent to $183 as the average price paid for a room per night by all travellers, both domestic and international, in 2015. This was marginally ahead of the global increase of 1 per cent.
The HPI is a regular report on hotel prices in major destinations across the world, tracking the movement in prices that people actually paid for their accommodation and providing valuable insights into the reasons behind these changes. The data is drawn from bookings made on the hundreds of thousands of hotels on the Hotels.com websites worldwide.
Asia trumps all destinations in the value-for-money stakes
Thailand was the most affordable hotspot of 2015 for Aussies who sought out luxury hotels, pristine beaches and excellent shopping without a top dollar price tag. Pattaya was the international destination where Aussies paid the least for a hotel room last year, and down 6 per cent on the previous year at $72 per night. Average prices paid for hotel rooms in Kamala, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai also experienced greater price declines in 2015.
Average prices paid in other South East Asian destinations such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia, also fell, including in Bali, which was ranked as the favourite international destination for Aussies in 2015.
Average prices paid for hotel rooms in Phnom Penh came in at $73 per night, and the city ranked as the second most affordable international destination for Aussie travellers in 2015.
Around Australia
Darwin saw the steepest decline in hotel prices in Australia, where the average price paid fell a massive 20 per cent year-on-year to $157 per night. This result is unsurprising given the tightening of the mining sector and the decline in oil price. Hotel prices in Brisbane fell by 3 per cent to $163 per night.
The best value hotel accommodation in Australia was in Launceston, where the average price paid for a hotel room in 2015 was $141 per night. This was followed by Adelaide, where a room cost on average $155 per night.
At the other end of the scale, Uluru came in as the least affordable destination in Australia, where a hotel room set travellers back on average $310 per night in 2015.
The country’s two most popular destinations, Sydney and Melbourne, both showed a modest rise in hotel prices at 6 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, while hotel prices in Port Douglas recorded the sharpest increase, at 12 per cent.
Commenting on this year’s HPI, Abhiram Chowdhry, Vice President, Asia Pacific for the Hotels.com brand, said: “While Aussies are spoiled for choice in Asia, with a wide range of hotels, good value and competitive hotel deals, a local holiday is proving good value as well. With only a slight increase overall in Aussie hotel prices, a domestic trip is always on the cards for those not wanting to travel too far. “
“To bag a holiday bargain, download the Hotels.com mobile app for exclusive savings on a huge range of hotels,” he said.
US provided the least value for Aussies
As the Aussie dollar tumbled against the US dollar in 2015, the price of a hotel room increased significantly for US-bound travellers, with four US destinations – Maui, New York, Boston and Honolulu – dominating the top five highest priced list. The cost of a hotel room in Maui set Aussies back an average $398 per night.
For those who travelled to the US last year, hotels were a bit more affordable in Las Vegas and Orlando, where the average price paid for a hotel room in 2015 was $195 and $172 respectively.
The spotlight is now on Rio
Even though the world anticipates the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio, the Brazilian city saw the steepest decline in the average hotel price paid globally by Aussie travellers in 2015. The average price paid for a hotel room there plummeted by 25 per cent to $215 per night.
Meanwhile in Europe, average hotel prices paid in Paris fell an average of 6 per cent in 2015, while average prices for hotel rooms in Venice, Rome and Prague all fell by 2 per cent.
A snapshot of hotel prices paid per night in 2015
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