The year has started positively for travel enthusiasts, as Indian hotels showed only a modest rise in room rates in the second half of 2011,  compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. According to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) Report by Hotels.com, room rates in India have risen by just 2%, while globally room rates have risen by 4%.

The Hotels.com HPI report is a regular survey of hotel prices in major travel destinations across the world. It is based on bookings made through the Hotels.com web sites and prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates) in 2011. The latest HPI features 27 countries including UK, USA, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Greece, Italy, Japan, Australia and others.

Amongst these, India is the lowest priced country with an average room rate of INR 4,226 per night. Switzerland with its currency remaining strong is the most expensive country experiencing a 19% rise in room rates, with an average room rate of INR 10,496 per night. UK is next with a rise of 7% to INR 8,965.

Speaking about the HPI report, Mr. Abhiram Chowdhry, Senior Marketing Director, Asia Pacific, Hotels.com says, “Hotel room prices in India have shown only a marginal rise and Indian hotels continue to be attractive for both both domestic and international travellers. The F1 race coming to India is an indication that the country has the potential to host iconic international events and will continue to be one of the preferred destinations for travellers. It is a good time also for Indian travellers to venture out to other international destinations such as Germany, South Africa, Canada and Japan given the significant fall in hotel room rates in these markets.”

Notes for the Indian traveller:

Overall, the HPI report found that hotel prices around the world have been volatile in the latter half of 2011, with some countries experiencing significant rises. In Asia, Singapore is the most expensive Asian destination at INR 8,684 after a 5% rise. The demand for hotels has remained strong in Singapore from long-haul air passengers on stop-over trips and the recent addition of newluxury developments has only helped to make this already attractive destination even more so. Sri Lanka also bounced back from the end of the civil war there with a 34% rise in hotel prices to INR 8,518. The biggest rise at 49% to INR 8,438 came in the casino resort destination of Macau.

In the Eurozone,  Austria, Germany and Belgium experienced falls, down 10%, 7% and 4% respectively.

South Africa saw the biggest drop of prices at 11%, as the country’s hoteliers readjusted after the high demand for the football World Cup in 2010.

Though Indian hotel prices grew at a marginal rate, travellers faced price rises in nearly three quarters of the international destinations featured in the HPI. This is because the INR depreciated against many major currencies.

Average hotel prices in 2011 compared to 2010 by country in INR as follows:

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