Asia’s a better deal than ever. It’s the only region in the world where the prices of hotel rooms dropped for Australian travellers in 2014. Admittedly, some of the falls can likely be attributed to the weakening of the Aussie dollar, which has hit a six-year low, but the results will doubtless be of interest to most organisers seeking to run an event offshore – and not just Australians.
The latest hotels.com index, which compares Asian prices, shows that they were in fact only slightly higher than they were 10 years ago, and fell for a second consecutive year.
In Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka prices paid for hotel accommodation in cities like Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok all fell – some quite substantially – in 2014. These ranked among the best-value cities in the world for hotel stays. The only exceptions to the slump were China, Hong Kong and Japan, where prices rose modestly last year.
Conversely, says Regional Director for hotels.com, Katherine Cole, hotel rooms in Rio, Honolulu, San Francisco, London, Dublin, Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Paris were all subject to double-digit price rises. Prices rose by 15% in New Zealand, 12% in Fiji and 11% in New Caledonia. The city where Australian travellers paid the most for a hotel room in 2014 was New York, where the average price was $317.
In Australia prices increased on average by only 1% in the past year. They rose slightly in Sydney (1%), Brisbane (2%) and Melbourne (1%). They fell in Darwin (-4%) and Perth (-3%).
Best-value hotel destinations for Australian travellers in 2014:
| Destination | Average price paid in 2014 (AUD) |
| Cambodia | $73 |
| Vietnam | $91 |
| Thailand | $113 |
| Poland | $116 |
| Egypt | $117 |
Countries where hotel prices fell the most for Australians:
| Destination | Average price paid in 2014 (AUD) |
| Oman | -18% |
| Russia | -7% |
| Sri Lanka | -5% |
| Croatia | -5% |
| Taiwan | -4% |
Top five international destinations where Australian travellers paid the most for hotels in 2014:
| Destination | Average price paid in 2014 (AUD) | % change on 2013 |
| New York | $317 | 7% |
| Rio de Janeiro | $299 | 14% |
| Cancun/Riviera Maya | $282 | 19% |
| Honolulu | $281 | 10% |
| Boston | $272 | 10% |
Top five international destinations with the highest growth in hotel prices for Australian travellers in 2014:
| Destination | Average price paid in 2014 (AUD) | % change on 2013 |
| Morocco | $169 | 41% |
| Mauritius | $277 | 25% |
| Greece | $196 | 18% |
| Qatar | $197 | 17% |
| New Zealand | $162 | 15% |
Change in Australian hotel prices for domestic travellers in 2014:
| Destination | Average price paid in 2014(AUD) | % change on 2013 |
| Hobart | $176 | 6% |
| Adelaide | $153 | 6% |
| Canberra | $185 | 4% |
| Brisbane | $172 | 2% |
| Sydney | $200 | 1% |
| Melbourne | $177 | 1% |
| Perth | $184 | -3% |
| Darwin | $200 | -4% |
