WORLD EVENTS LEAD TO DRAMATIC SWINGS IN HOTEL PRICES

Political and natural events strongly impact room rates in first half of 2011, says new Hotels.com Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®)

Mumbai, 13 September 2011 – Hotel prices have experienced pronounced volatility as a result of political turmoil and natural disasters in the first half of 2011, according to the latest Hotels.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®).

The average price of a room around the world rose by just 3% but this masked some steep rises and falls in regions affected by the historic events in the first six months of the year.

Other factors such as currency strength and supply of rooms also impacted average room prices across the world, although the report shows that overall these were just 6% higher than when the HPI was launched in 2004, representing outstanding value for travellers.

Prices fell 6% in Asia Pacific year-on-year but rose in all other areas: 4% in North America, 2% in Europe and Latin America and 1% in the Caribbean.

 Counting the cost of the Arab Spring

The uprisings which occurred in North Africa and the Middle East triggered substantial reductions in hotel prices across the region as tourists and business travellers stayed away not only from countries directly hit by the civil unrest but also from those which escaped political protest.

However, the fall in consumer confidence was good news for destinations in southern Europe as travellers returned to more traditional havens. The rising demand pushed up prices in some Spanish sunshine destinations and the overall HPI for Europe rose 2% compared with the first half of last year.

Ireland was also helped by the high-profile visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama which triggered a slight market recovery in hotel prices by attracting visitors and boosting demand.

 Japanese earthquake hits prices in Asia Pacific

Average prices for hotel rooms across Asia Pacific fell by 6% over the period. The Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis at Fukushima led to reduced occupancy and falling demand in the country and also had a knock-on effect in other parts of the region as the Japanese chose to stay close to home.

However, despite the downward price pressures, there were also some marked rises in the region, especially in strong economies such as Australia where corporate travel continued strongly and the Australian Dollar remained high.

 Travellers from economic powerhouses enjoy lower hotel rates

This factor was also evident in other countries with strong currencies and economies and meant citizens from nations such as Brazil, Sweden and Switzerland benefited from lower prices in many destinations, particularly the US and UK where the US Dollar and Pound Sterling struggled to hold their ground.

David Roche, President of Hotels.com, comments: “This year, for the first time, dramatic political and natural world events, such as the Japanese earthquake and Arab Spring, have caused the most pronounced level of hotel price volatility.

“However, despite some exceptional price movements, it is important to highlight that overall the picture has been one of gradual recovery with many room rates still on a par with what they were seven years ago, representing great value for the traveller.

“Of course, other factors such foreign exchange fluctuations, one-off political sporting, cultural or trade events and discounting by hoteliers can also influence prices but it’s important to underline the general health of the sector so far this year.

“This can be seen by the growth in the supply of rooms all over the world with nearly 6,000* hotel projects in development. This increase in accommodation also acts as a brake on prices and, once again, is good news for the consumer.”

“Individual markets in Asia Pacific showed marked differences, presenting a mixed picture of results. Overall lower average prices paid for hotels in the region means good news both for travellers coming into Asia and for travellers within Asia. During this period, consumers travelling to Asia have benefited from the favourable exchange rates in many of their currencies. One note of advice to travellers is to search and compare alternatives, as individual markets exhibit different trends.” added Johan Svanstrom, Managing Director of Hotels.com Asia Pacific.

The Hotels.com HPI is based on bookings made on Hotels.com sites around the world and tracks the real prices paid per hotel room (rather than advertised rates) for about 125,000 properties across more than 19,000 locations. The latest HPI looks at prices in the first half of 2011 compared to the same period last year.

 -Ends-

 * July 2011 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report

 Notes to editors

 About the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index

The Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI™) is a regular survey of hotel prices in major 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 2011.

Full details of the latest Hotel Price Index can be found at http://asiapress.hotels.com/in/.

 About Hotels.com

As part of the Expedia, Inc. group which operates in all major markets, Hotels.com, the global hotel specialist, offers more than 140,000 quality hotels, B&Bs and serviced apartments worldwide. If the customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com benefits from one of the world's largest hotel contracting teams in the industry, negotiating the best rates for its customers, plus there are 2.5 million reviews from users who have actually stayed in the hotels to ensure customers make an informed choice when booking. The company currently operates 85 Hotels.com sites around the world including 15 sites in 10 languages across Asia Pacific alone. Travellers can book online or by contacting one of the multilingual call centres on 1800 846 835.

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