Affordable Luxury: International Five-Star Room Rates
Where are the most affordable international cities travelers can enjoy lavish accommodations while soaking in the scenery? Based on the biannual Hotel Price Index (HPI) data, hotels.com, the expert in online hotel booking, identified the 10 international cities where a five-star hotel would cost the least.
Hotel Price Index reports on the most popular travel destinations and the average price paid by travelers while visiting those destinations.
In 2011, Warsaw, Poland, Marrakech, Morocco and Cairo, Egypt offered the highest rated hotels for the lowest prices, with five-star properties in these cities selling at an average daily rate of less than $190.
As always, price changes year-over-year were influenced by global events. Average five-star room rates in Cairo dropped 6 percent between 2010 and 2011, undoubtedly a result of the Arab Spring revolution and its effect on tourism. Another significant price change occurred in Cape Town, South Africa, site of the 2010 World Cup. Between 2010 and 2011, hotel prices deflated in Cape Town after World Cup tourism had ended, and five-star room rates dropped 24 percent year-over-year. New cities rounding out the top 10 include Pisa, Italy and Brussels, Belgium, indicating a possible new trend of affordability for European destinations.
1. Warsaw, Poland | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $130
2. Marrakech, Morocco | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $168
3. Cairo, Egypt | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011- $189
4. Budapest, Hungary | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $191
5. Pisa, Italy | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $193
6. Lisbon, Portugal | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $195
7. Brussels, Belgium | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $196
8. Berlin, Germany | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $198
9. Beijing, China | average daily rate at a 5 star hotel in 2011 – $190.
The HPI is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world, based on hotels.com bookings. Prices reported are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates) during the calendar year of 2011. On a global scale, hotel prices increased by 4 percent on average in 2011 over 2010.
