Britain Business Section Hotel Rates Fell Sharply up to 20%

UK MIDLAND HOTEL, buisness hotel

With all the apartment hotel equipment you could possibly desire. Hotel rates in Britain’s key business destinations have fallen by between 5 and 20% in the past year, according to figures from business travel agency HRG. Business travellers are getting wi-fi and breakfast included in rates.

The company’s annual hotels survey reveals that London remains the UK’s most expensive city for hotels, with an average rate paid by is clients of £151.45, down from £160.18 last year.

Aberdeen is the second most expensive location, with an average rate of £117.95, despite an 11% drop over last year’s figure. Heathrow Airport (£101.61), Newcastle (£95.86) and Manchester (£95.17) completed the top five.

Rates fell most sharply in Belfast, down by 20% to £86.60 from £108.42 last year. In Liverpool, rates are down 15% year on year.

Moscow remains the most expensive city in the world for hotels, with an average room rate of £266.56, down from £303.39 last year. It is the fifth year that the city has been the most expensive in the survey. The city retained is position despite a 5% fall in rates due to slower demand from within the banking and finance sectors and an increasing number of hotel openings in recent years.

The Russian capital is followed by Abu Dhabi (£223.56), New York (£203.70) and Paris (£201.07). Manama, the Bahraini capital, leapt from number 20 in last year’s rankings to number 5.

Cities that have fallen significantly in the rankings include London which is now at 29th and Mumbai and Stockholm which have both fallen a long way lower than last year’s top 10 rankings.

Rates in Dublin and Dubai fell sharply, both by 21% on last year’s figures. Dubai’s drop down the list was caused by what the company called a “current over supply of hotel rooms”.

The survey also revealed that the cost of hotel rooms in both New York and Chicago have fallen by 23% on 2008’s prices.

The company says that falling occupancies has meant that hotels have now started to welcome corporate travellers on discounted rates, Margaret Bowler, HRG’s director of global hotel relations, said: “Previously hotels could deny bookers access to corporate rates in favour of more lucrative options. In 2009, the playing field levelled and this trend reversed as occupancy levels decreased and corporates gained greater access to negotiated rates. Hoteliers have tried to maintain rates and therefore corporate travellers have increasingly been able to secure value-added services as part of their negotiated rates such as internet access, parking, and breakfast.”