THE AVERAGE COST of a hotel overnight in Aberdeen last year shot up 34 per cent, according to hotel booking agency Hotels.corn. And while the Granite City still isn't the most expensive place to stay in Britain, its price increase was the world's biggest.
In the latest edition of its Hotel Price Index report, Hotels.com compares the prices paid, rather than the advertised room rates, for overnight stays in 88 cities - 22 in the UK, and 66 in the rest of the world.
Bath remains the UK's most expensive, with an overnight stay costing an average of £117 - £2 more than in London. Oxford came third in the rankings at £113, while Aberdeen's sudden surge to an average of £109 took it into fourth place, ahead of Edinburgh's average overnight rate, at £103.
In the international arena, London's £115 average puts it in fifth place behind Moscow (£r94), New York (£143), Dubai and Venice (both £125).
Of the 22 UK cities featured in the Hotel Price Index, Coventry is the cheapest place to stay, with the average cost of one night working out at just £57.
However, those cities with a greater number of upscale hotels inevitably fare worse than those with a higher proportion of budget properties.
City fathers will doubtless be pleased to note that, at least according to Hotels.com, Cardiff ranks alongside Tokyo and Milan (£94 a night) and both Belfast and Inverness (£98 a night) are on a par with Paris.