An international survey exposes the cities offering the best value for money - and the worst.
Moscow is the most expensive city for business travellers to stay, according to the results of a six-month survey revealed yesterday.
Hogg Robinson Group (HRG), an international corporate travel services company, conducted its eighth biannual survey from January 1 to June 31, 2008 and compared the results with a survey from the same period in 2007.
The survey results were based on the booking habits of HRG”s UK-based clients. The survey questioned how many nights their clients had stayed in hotels around the world and what rates they paid, and covered all the cities HRG clients travel to.
The priciest cities
The average room rate in Moscow in 2008 was ”300 compared to last year”s ”240 average. Mumbai came in next on the list of most expensive destinations, with an average 2008 room rate of ”204, followed by Paris, at ”195.
Somewhat surprisingly, London dropped out of the top ten most expensive cities, and is now in 16th position. Other UK destinations also showed a decline in room rates ” particularly Edinburgh, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Heathrow Airport and Bristol. HRG suggests this is because of an increase in budget and mid-market hotels.
US rates have largely remained unchanged, particularly in New York.
Margaret Bowler, the director for the global hotel relations division at HRG said: ”The hotel industry has continued to show an increase in hotel rates, albeit at a slower rate than we saw for the same period in 2007. However, as the market softens we can expect to see more hotels adopting sensible pricing in order to maintain current occupancy levels.”
Eastern Europe hikes rates
But eastern Europe is a different story, with average rates jumping 22 per cent. HRG thinks this is due to a continued focus on luxury hotels, as well as a general shortage of business accommodation.
The annual 2008 survey by HRG will be released in January 2009, and results from their ninth biannual survey will be released July next year.
For more information, visit hrgworldwide.com.
To read about HRG”s expansion into Africa, click here.
Sarah Riches