According to the current „Hotel Price Index“ by the British „Hotels.com“ travel site, average prices for overnight stays in hotels fell by 12% as compared to last year. Most affected by this drop in prices was North America where prices fell by 12% in the fourth quarter 2008 in comparison with the previous year. In Europe prices for overnight stays in hotels fell by 10%, in Latin America and the Caribic by 7%. In Asia prices were down by just 2%.
In Asia prices for overnight stays in hotels fell for the first time since the introduction of the Hotel Price Index in January 2004.
The Hotel Price Index is formed on the basis of prices which hotel guests actually paid for a hotel room instead of relying on the prices communicated by hotels themselves. The index takes into account prices paid by guests in 68,000 hotels at 12 different locations around the world.
The latest Hotel Price Index comprises prices for hotel rooms in the period from October to December 2008 and compares them with the respective prices in the previous year. The latest index is available for free-of-charge download in English language. 