Hotel prices around the world fell 17% to their lowest level for five years in the first half of the year, according to the latest price index - great news for travellers.

The average price of a room in Barcelona was down by 14% year-on-year (to ?2 on average), by 12% in Vienna (to ?5), by 11% in Florence (to ?2) and by 11% in Dublin (to ?5) for the first six months of the year. Prices paid in Milan were down 9% (to ?01) and were down by 5% in Madrid (to ?9) as hoteliers cut their rates to maintain occupancy.

Prices rose in just two major Eurozone capitals in the first half of the year, rising 2% in Rome and Paris to an average of ?10 and ?09 respectively.

The average cost of a hotel room in the US also started to come down, according to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI). UK travellers spent 6% less for rooms in New York than they did in in the first half of 2008 as prices averaged ?39 from ?49 in 2008. In the first six months of 2009, they spent 17% less for rooms in Las Vegas (?3) than in 2008.

While the general trend was for prices to drop, prices were up 20% in Tel Aviv, by 15% in Istanbul and by 15% in Abu Dhabi.

Closer to home, UK hotel prices fell 16% on average making the first six months of the year a great time to staycation. Prices in London were down 12% to ?01 on average, in Bournemouth by 14% to ?6 on average and in Southampton by 33% to ?7 on average.

The Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) tracks the real prices paid per hotel room (rather than advertised rates) for 78,000 hotels across 13,000 locations around the world. The latest HPI looks at prices from January to June 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

David Roche, President, Hotels.com Worldwide, says: "Despite the relative weakness of Sterling to the Euro and the Dollar, the HPI has shown that Britons can still enjoy some tremendous bargains abroad. Hotel rates are down year on year across most destinations in Europe, and typically expensive places such as New York and Moscow have never been more affordable."

Average price per room per night Jan-June 2008 % Change year-on-year


Average room prices and changes in the first half of 2009: major UK cities


For a full copy of the HPI report (live from 00:01 hrs 15 September) go to:

www.hotels.co.uk/press/hotel-price-index.html