Slight Increase in US Hotel Room Prices in 2016 with Savings for Americans Traveling Abroad
Friday, March 10th, 2017
Even with several major political shifts and currency fluctuations around the world in 2016, travelers fared pretty well with average nightly hotel prices unchanged globally from 2015, as reported in the latest Hotel Price Index from Hotels.com. The global Index sat at 114 for 2016 for the third year. The United States had a slight average price increase (up 1%) throughout 2016, while declines from most other regions tempered the overall global picture.
The HPI is an annual report on hotel prices in major destinations across the world, tracking the movement in prices that people actually paid* for their accommodation and providing valuable insight into the reasons behind these changes. The data is from bookings made on the hundreds of thousands of hotels on the Hotels.com websites worldwide.
Americans Explore the World
2016 was good time for Americans to travel abroad. They had the best travel value with an average 4% price decrease for international hotel bookings. Seven out of 10 of the top international travel destinations for the U.S. saw a significant price decrease, including a 7% drop for Thailand (now $93 per night) and a 2% drop for China (now $134 per night), compared to 2015.
A Hop Across the Pond
International trends such as Brexit have prompted a strengthening of the dollar and best value prices for trips to European hubs. Among cities analyzed in the HPI, the most popular international destinations were London (prices down 11% from 2015 to $230 per night) and Paris (prices down 12% to $184 per night).
Travel to America Remains Strong
Despite global economic uncertainty and the average price of hotels in the United States increasing 2% during 2016, international travelers were undeterred. The top 10 most popular American destinations remained consistent. New York (prices down 3% from 2015 to $252 per night), Las Vegas (prices up 5% to $138 per night), Orlando (prices up 2% to $112 per night), Miami (prices down 5% to $186 per night), San Francisco (prices down 3% to $218 per night), Honolulu (prices up 5% to $263 per night), Los Angeles (prices up 5% to $183 per night), San Diego (prices up 2% to $157 per night), Chicago (prices down 3% to $202 per night) and Washington D.C. (prices up 1% to $212 per night) rounding out the top 10.
The Lone Star State Makes a Splash
From warm weather to bustling businesses and historic landmarks, Texas destinations are as varied as the state is big. In fact, three of the top 10 domestic destinations were cities located within in the Lone Star State: San Antonio ranks 7th (prices up 1% from 2015 to $127 per night), Houston ranks 8th (prices down 7% to $121 per night) and Austin ranks 10th (prices down 2% to $159 per night).
