Hotels hike rates as tourists run for sun

2010-04-09

Hotel prices in southern Europe soared by as much as 42% from March to April as demand increased for sunshine destinations. The trivago Hotel Price Index also found wide variations in UK rates, with Blackpool prices rocketing by 44% to an average of ?88, while others slumped.Between March and April 2010 prices dropped 11% in Birmingham to ?78, 15% in Newcastle (?80) and 16% in Bristol (?79).Average hotel prices rose 9% in London to ?138 and by 10% in Edinburgh (?119) and Liverpool (?95). Compared with April 2009, however, UK prices were more uniformly higher, with Edinburgh up 19%, London up 14%, Liverpool up 12% and Manchester up 8%.The average price of hotels across Europe increased 12% from March to April this year - from ?93 per night to ?101 - bringing rates to their highest since October 2009. Most European cities experienced growth of 10%-20%, and Rome led the way with 42%. Costs rose 33% in Prague and Venice, 32% in Florence, 31% in Istanbul and 24% in Seville, Nice and Bruges.Venice becomes the most expensive city at ?184, with Geneva second (?154), then Rome (?146) and London and Paris level on ?138.The Czech Republic saw the greatest inflation in hotel prices, increasing 38% from an average of ?62 a night last month to ?88 this. In Turkey, prices have risen 24% (?76 to ?97) over the same period, while Russia is experiencing price climbs of 19% (?112 to ?137). Only five European countries saw a drop in costs between March and April. In Ireland, prices have fallen 6%; in Finland by 4%; Norway and Bulgaria have both dropped by 2%; and Sweden’s hotel prices have decreased 1%.The trivago website compares the hotel rates of 53 booking sites for 400,000 hotels worldwide. Headquartered in Dusseldorf, trivago was founded in 2005 and now operates 21 international country platforms.