European hotel prices fall further

Source: Trivago
July 2010

The overnight costs in European cities continue to fall. A standard double room in July is down to 89 pounds - an eight percent drop in comparison to last month. Spanish cities in particular have reached their lowest point this year, with Madrid falling to 80 pounds and Seville dropping to 60 pounds. The UK defies this trend with an 8 percent increase in prices this month. In London, prices have risen 18 percent These are the findings of the trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI), which is published monthly by the hotel price comparison site.

London, July 6 2010. The hotel prices in European cities have fallen to 89 pounds this month – an eight percent drop compared to last month’s average of 97 pounds. Similar decreases in price are to be found in 38 of the 50 cities listed in the July tHPI. This trend is particularly noticeable in the popular Spanish summer destinations. At 96 pounds, Madrid has reached its lowest point this year – a full 21 percent drop in comparison to last month. The same is true in the Andalusian region, where the cities of Seville and Granada have also reached their annual low with average prices of 60 pounds and 55 pounds respectively. Conversely, in the UK, average prices have increased to 108 pounds per night – an 8 percent increase from June.

Falling prices in European cities

At 89 pounds a night for a standard double room, the European average for this month’s tHPI is eight percent lower than in June. Significant price reductions were not limited to the Spanish cities; the Scandinavian region has also followed suit. In Oslo, prices fell 21 percent to 114 pounds, while Copenhagen (130 pounds, -9%) and Stockholm (140 pounds, -10%) saw similar declines. Travelers in the Eastern part of Europe can also rejoice over lower prices: overnight costs in Budapest sank 16% to 73 pounds, fell 14% in Prague (70 pounds) and 12% in Sofia (60 pounds) – marking yet another low point for these cities in 2010.

Prices in the United Kingdom back on the rise

The UK once again saw price fluctuations this month but tended towards higher prices overall. Only two cities experienced lower prices: Cardiff, which fell fifteen percent to 85 pounds and Leeds, which fell thirteen percent to 70 pounds a night. Meanwhile, London overnight costs rose 18% to 152 pounds, dispelling last month’s hope for a stabilisation of prices in the capital. Many other UK cities behaved similarly, with increases of 23% in Bristol, 8% in Liverpool, 7% in Sheffield and 6% in Newcastle. When ranked according to actual price, London (152 pounds) and Edinburgh (120 pounds) remain the two most expensive cities in the UK, but third place this month is claimed by Bristol (100 pounds), displacing Cardiff (June’s third most expensive city) down to sixth place behind Newcastle (93 pounds) and Liverpool (88 pounds).

Top cities more expensive than last year

Despite reduced prices in Europe’s top cities in comparison to last month, a look at the prices in July 2009 shows a very different picture. Travelers headed for Venice are paying an average of 146 pounds this month – 16% more than last year’s 125 pounds. Barcelona’s hotels are charging 20% more this year; Amsterdam’s prices have increased 14% compared to last year; and rooms in Stockholm cost 24% percent more than in July 2009. Florence has increased 8% to 101 pounds, Paris and Madrid are both up 7% and Rome has increased 5%.

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