The quarterly Hotel Price Radar by HRS, the hotel portal, has identified a levelling of global hotel prices. Whilst most rates increased in Q1 2011, Q2 has seen many prices decrease, especially in Cape Town which has seen a dramatic decrease of 28% compared to the same time last year when it hosted the World Cup.

HRS compared hotel room prices in a total of 50 cities across the world to reveal that guests in Zurich and Sydney found the biggest rise in prices over the same quarter last year. Average prices for hotel rooms in both these cities rose by more than 20% – to more than 160 euros in Zurich and just below 143 euros in Sydney. 

In most European cities room prices rose in Q2 2011 compared to the same quarter last year. For Istanbul, Warsaw and Zurich this was a double-digit rise. Zurich saw prices rise by 24.6% to more than 160 euros, knocking Moscow off the top spot. However, the Russian capital also reported higher prices – up by 5.63% to 148.44 euros. Other relatively expensive cities are Amsterdam, Oslo and Paris, with prices above 130 euros per room.

Hoteliers in Madrid have been hit particularly hard by demand and the inevitable price war. With guest numbers low, room prices have fallen by more than 15% to less than 88 euros. One year after the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, the Norwegian capital has been unable to maintain the high price levels of the previous year. Hotels in Oslo charged just under 132 euros per room per night in Q2 2011, 5.65% less than in the same period last year. HRS found prices had fallen by a similar amount in Athens. However, down by 1.62% to 80.49 euros, the decline has been a modest one.

The Eastern European cities Prague and Budapest are among the more reasonably priced at less than 70 euros. Other very popular cities such as Istanbul, Lisbon, Madrid, Warsaw and Vienna join Athens in the mid-range with prices ranging from 80 euros to 100 euros.

Outside Europe, prices varied widely. In 13 of the 20 cities reviewed prices have fallen, mostly by a few percentage points. Cape Town, Tokyo and Las Vegas have seen a stronger decline of more than 15%. In Cape Town room prices have fallen one year after the football World Cup by 28%, the most significant HRS found in this survey. The average price paid by guests to the South African city in Q2 2011 was 84.42 euros; in the same quarter last year it was still over 117 euros. The prices have fallen to 2009 levels, the year before the World Cup.

With the fall in demand for hotel rooms associated with the environmental and atomic catastrophe in March 2011 in Japan, prices in Tokyo are also significantly down – by just under 24% to 86.79 euros.

Driven by the strong Australian dollar, the prices in Australia have increased disproportionately. In Sydney hotel guests paid an average of 142.95 euros per room, 20.2% more than in Q2 2010. In Brazil, prices also rose in the wake of a strengthening currency. Travellers in Rio de Janeiro paid 130.18 euros, up 17.34% on the previous year. Overall, the most expensive city is New York; taking over from Sydney is Q1 of 2011. It leads the world with an average price of just under 180 euros.