Photo courtesy of Hotels.com
For the first time, hotel prices paid have exceeded their pre-economic crisis levels of 2008/2009 in North America, the Caribbean and Latin America, according to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) from Hotels.com.
This is particularly true for the United States, which saw a 2 percent increase in paid hotel prices in the first half of 2015, compared to the first half of 2014.
According to Hotels.com, this is due to more travelers, higher spending in key areas and beneficial currency fluctuations.
Western cities in Washington, Oregon and Arizona are particularly on the rise. The Grand Canyon area came in as the No. 45 most popular U.S. city this year after being outside the top 50 in previous years. Hotel rates jumped by 12 percent in the area, the highest increase of any U.S. destination in 2015 (if you are looking to celebrate the 2016 Centennial of the National Park Service at the destination, however, prices are currently at a reasonable $117 per night).
Hotel prices in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington also increased by 9 percent year-over-year, rising to $149 and $195 per night, respectively (inclusive of taxes and fees). Hotels.com attributes Portland's rise to its relatively mild winter this year, as well as Travel Portland's "Portland is Happening Now" campaign. As for Seattle, the legalization of the recreational sale of marijuana contributed to a 61 percent increase in hotel searches from when the law went into effect in July 2014 until the end of 2014.
That doesn't mean there aren't some bargains to be had, though.
For one, New York City's hotel prices are on the decline in 2015 after three straight years of rate increases. For U.S. travelers, prices paid in NYC dropped from $261 per night to $245 per night, a 6 percent decrease. Hotels.com attributes it partially to the hotel boom in Manhattan and Queens.
Hotel prices in Atlantic City, New Jersey, also dropped to $147 per night, a 3 percent decline.
It may be a good time to travel abroad, as well. The overall global rise in hotel prices was just 1 percent.
The three most popular international destinations for Americans-London, Paris and Rome-experienced large price drops in the first half of 2015. London experienced a 7 percent decrease in hotel prices, year-over-year, while Paris and Rome each saw prices drop by 16 percent. The changes are attributed to currency fluctuations in 2015.
Hong Kong and Seoul also saw significant price drops of 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively, while Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia may be one of the best bargains in Asia at $89 per night (a 24-percent drop from the first half of 2014).
The HPI is a regular report on hotel prices in major destinations across the world, tracking the movement in prices that people actually paid (inclusive of taxes and fees) for their accommodation. The data is drawn from bookings made on the hundreds of thousands of hotels on the Hotels.com websites worldwide.
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