Ireland now has the cheapest hotel accommodation in Europe with rooms costing an average of €79 per night, a study has found.
By Robert Carry
Irish hotel prices fell 4 per cent in the first six months of the year according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI). Despite the continued fall in Irish prices, global hotel prices appear to be stabilising with a small increase of 2 per cent in prices the first half of 2010.
While the Irish hotel market appears to be taking longer to recover than other countries, the rate at which Irish prices are falling is beginning to slow down compared to 2009 which saw room rates drop 21 per cent year-on-year.
The current average room rate for a hotel in Ireland is now €79 per night compared to €82 in the second quarter of 2009. This further decline in room rates now makes Ireland the least expensive destination in Western Europe and the fourth most inexpensive in the Eurozone. The Czech Republic (€76), Poland (€74) and Hungary (€70) are now the only three destinations in Europe cheaper than Ireland.
Dublin
Dublin hotel room prices fell 7 per cent from €78 to €73, making the city one of the least expensive major city destinations globally. Dublin now offers some of the best value for hotels anywhere in the world and remains the most inexpensive major city in Western Europe, well behind cities such as Rome (€114), London (€129), Copenhagen (€113) and Paris (€117).
Kilkenny is the most expensive destination in Ireland at €123 per night while Killarney fell by 16 per cent to just €93 in the second quarter of 2010. Galway also saw a steep decline in room rates with prices falling by 12 per cent to €98.
Sligo and the Castlebar area were the only two places in Ireland to experience a slight upturn. Room rates in Sligo were up 5 per cent from €82 to €86 while hotels in the Castlebar area saw an increase of 4 per cent bringing the average hotel room price to €77 per night.
Cork hotel prices fell a further 5 per cent year-on-year and the average room rate in is now just €76. Waterford remains the cheapest city in Ireland (€50) with prices down a further 11 per cent compared to this time last year.
The Hotels.com HPI is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world. The HPI is based on bookings made on Hotels.com and prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates) in the first half of 2010.
Iceland
Meanwhile, Iceland’s hotel prices suffered the greatest decline in Europe with hotel prices dropping 20 per cent year-on-year. This dramatic decrease has been in some part attributed to the ash cloud crisis earlier in the year.
Norway saw the largest price increase in Europe with hotel prices up by 11 per cent(€123) making it the third most expensive destination in Europe. Switzerland remains Europe’s most expensive destination with an average room price of €138 – up 2 per cent year-on-year.
Once again Monte Carlo at €180 per night topped the chart as the world’s most expensive city with a 6 per cent increase in room rates year-on-year. Rio de Janerio saw room rates go up by 22 per cent (€166) making it the third most expensive destination in the world. The increase in room rates in Rio can be attributed in some part to the strength of the Brazilian currency and economy as well as the popularity of the seaside city.
The Hotels.com HPI is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world. The HPI is based on bookings made on Hotels.com and prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates) in the first half of 2010.
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