Buyers are being urged to continually review their travel programmes to ensure the best possible hotel rates as they continue to soar in the UK & Ireland.
According to research from hotel booking provider HRS, average prices for hotel room nights showed significant growth in all of the UK and Ireland’s major cities last year, compared with 2013.
HRS analysed all hotel bookings made via its hotel portal in 2014, with results showing that hotels in Leeds recorded the highest price rise, with an average increase of 21.6 per cent.
London’s hotels followed closely with a 16.1 per cent rise from 2013 and Birmingham saw a 14.5 per cent increase. Edinburgh was the second most expensive city, with an average room rate of £99, followed by Bristol at £87 on average per night.
HRS UK and Ireland managing director Jon West, said: “These figures show that UK hoteliers are clearly reaping the rewards from an uplift in demand from both leisure and business travellers. This is great news for hoteliers who are able to charge more on average for their rooms per night, but obviously not so great for guests paying a premium.
“In fact, as rates continue to increase in the UK and Ireland, and fluctuate globally, we really would urge travel and procurement managers to review the effectiveness of their travel programmes on a regular basis to ensure they’re getting the best rates possible to make substantial savings for the long-term,” he added.
Europe
Analysis of Europe’s top destinations showed London overtook Zurich as the most expensive city for hotel stays at £126 a night. The Swiss city dropped down to second place, costing £110 a night, with Paris coming in third at £106.
Greece has also seen a huge price rise with Athens showing a 35 per cent increase compared with the previous year.
HRS said a reason for this could be the continuing unrest in Egypt that has led to a rise in overnight hotel accommodation requests for Mediterranean countries.