Canadians Paying More to Stay Over
It’s costing more to stay in a hotel, and for the first time hotel prices paid in three regions of the world have overtaken their pre-financial crisis levels of 2008-2009, with North America, the Caribbean and Latin America setting new records.
The overall global rise is up just 1% in the first half of 2015, however, compared to the same period in 2014, according to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) from Hotels.com.
According to officials, more travellers, higher consumer spending in key areas and strong currency fluctuations have all contributed to this result. Canadian hotels reported one of the strongest rebounds with a 5% increase in prices paid to an average of $166 per night amongst all travellers, both international and domestic.
The HPI is a regular report of hotel prices in major destinations across the world, tracking the movement in prices that people actually paid for their accommodation. The data is drawn from bookings made on the hundreds of thousands of hotels on the Hotels.com web sites worldwide.
Looking at the top 50 most popular Canadian cities for domestic travel, the biggest increases in pricing, upwards of 10%, were found in western cities: Golden, BC; Vancouver, and Banff, AB. The largest reported decrease was in Canada’s largest oil producing city, Fort McMurray, AB. Down 18% year-over-year, the city’s economy has experienced its share of hardship since oil prices plummeted in 2014.2
The 10 most popular domestic cities for Canadian travellers (with average 2015 rates and percentage increase) are: Toronto, $157, 3%; Montreal, $170, 1%; Vancouver, $174, 11%; Edmonton, $139, – 3%; Calgary, $160, – 3%; Ottawa, $154, 3%; Niagara Falls, $155, 7%; Quebec, $152, 1%; Winnipeg, $139, – 1%; Victoria, $159, 7%.
Within the 50 most popular international destinations, Canadian travellers to Shanghai experienced the highest increase in average prices paid for accommodation at 28% more in the first half of 2015. This was followed by US cities Los Angeles and Nashville at 21% and 20%. On the other end of the spectrum, travellers found deals in exotic locales like Bali and Florence, paying an average of 18% less in 2015.
The 10 most popular international cities for Canadian travellers (with average 2015 rates and percentage increase) are: New York, $282, 6%; Las Vegas, $137, 8%; London, $262, 2%; Paris, $217, – 9%; Orlando, $131, 11%; Rome, $176, – 11%; San Francisco, $265, 12%; Chicago, $214, 15%; Los Angeles, $219, 21%; Seattle, $211, 16%.
