Dubai hotel rates drop 26%
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Dubai, U.A.E, 15th September 2009 – The average price of a hotel room around the world fell by 17% in the first six months of 2009, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index. This 17% fall in room rates* was driven by price drops across every continent.
Hotel prices in June 2009 were more than one sixth lower than they were the year before and room rates were just 1% above their level in January 2004, when the Hotel Price Index was started.
For travelers paying in US Dollars, Dubai became an even more attractive destination in the first half of 2009 as hotel rates in the city fell 26% from their level the year before. Rates in Abu-Dhabi also dropped for those buying rooms with US Dollars, falling by 9% year-on-year.
For UK visitors paying for hotel rooms in Sterling, room rates in Dubai dropped a more modest 4% year on year, while rates for UK travelers actually rose by 15% in nearby Abu Dhabi.
As a result of the changes in prices, fewer British and Russian travelers visited Dubai in the first half of 2009 and more visitors from the US and Italy took their place.
Prices for hotel rooms in North America were down by 17%, with rates in Europe faring little better, dropping 16% during the same period.
Asian hotel rates, which had been holding up better than those in the U.S. or Europe, tumbled in the first half of 2009 dropping an average of 17% compared to the same period one year earlier due to the region’s drop in business travel.
The Hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room rather than advertised rates. It is based on prices actually paid by customers for 70,000 properties across 13,000 locations around the world.
The latest HPI looks at hotel prices for the period January to June 2009, compared to the same period the year before.
David Roche, President, Hotels.com worldwide, comments: “”The dampening effect of falling consumer demand has been compounded by sharply increased hotel capacity. In the first half of 2009 an ever larger number of hotel rooms chased a dwindling stream of customers, and this ‘double whammy’ lowered prices by 17% globally.
“As demand fell, hoteliers closed floors and cut back both services and prices, creating a market with a distinctly promotional character that is likely to endure for some time.”
Hotels in Dubai are extending their summer and weekend packages and promotions through Ramadan in order to boost occupancy by attracting visitors from the neighbouring emirates and other GCC countries for a chance to stay in some of the world’s top properties for a great price.
-ENDS-
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