Perth has been knocked off by Canberra as Australia's most expensive city for hotel rooms, a new survey has found.
Perth has been knocked off by Canberra as Australia's most expensive city for hotel rooms, a new survey has found.
The 2010 Hotel Price Index by Hotels.com showed Australian hotels experienced five per cent growth in the cost of an average room in 2010.
There were double-digit increases in Canberra, which pushed Perth off top spot as Australia's most expensive city for hotel rooms - after prices jumped 18 per cent to an average of $189 a night.
Cairns's average room rate of $118 per night made it Australia's cheapest city for hotels.
Australia's performance was in contrast to the broader Asia-Pacific region where hotel room prices fell two per cent, although there was significant differences between individual countries.
"Thailand suffered from political unrest and having a relatively large supply base, while Japan faced challenges in the continued slow domestic economy and a strong currency," the report said.
"Singapore, on the other hand, recorded significant increases thanks to the strong bounce back of corporate travellers and new tourist attractions, while Shanghai price points were boosted by the successful World Expo."
Globally, hotel prices rose for the first time last year since 2007 but still remain relatively cheap at 2004 levels, thanks to the lingering effects of the global financial crisis, a survey finds.
The index showed average room prices rose two per cent last year, the first yearly increase since 2007.
The report, released on Monday, said the cost of an average hotel room was now at 2004 prices.
Hotels.com vice president and managing director for Asia-Pacific Johan Svanstrom said cities that showed some of the strongest increases were those regarded as financial hubs.
Mr Svanstrom cited Sydney (up 16 per cent), Singapore (up 14 per cent) and Hong Kong (up eight per cent) as three examples from the region.
"In strong markets, the common denominator is really the business centres, where you have a very solid banking, corporate trading base," Mr Svanstrom said.
Hotels.com president David Roche said while promotions were still widespread, they had tended to become "more selective".
"2010, I think, is the story of a recovery even if it is one that had, and is likely to continue having, particular twists and turns," Mr Roche said in the report.
The eight-year-old index is based bookings and prices paid by customers on Hotels.com and the sample size covers about 110,000 properties in 18,000 locations around the world.
Meanwhile, Melbourne emerged as Australia's most popular destination for domestic travellers in 2010 and took the mantle from Sydney, which is battling perceptions it is too expensive.
The Hotels.com report put the Victorian capital on top last year, with Sydney dropping to second place, Gold Coast third and Cairns fourth.
Adelaide rose three places to fifth, ahead of Perth, Brisbane and Port Douglas.
Darwin and Canberra rounded out the top 10.
Mr Svanstrom said domestic travellers had voted with their wallets, given average hotel prices rose 16 per cent in Sydney last year to $168 a night.
By comparison, average hotel prices in Melbourne were broadly unchanged at $146 per night.
"What helped Melbourne scoot up to No.1 over the course of last year was the particularly fast rise in prices in Sydney," Mr Svanstrom said.
"Clearly, when prices go to very high levels and are perceived to be high, people start looking elsewhere."
The news was not all bleak for Sydney, which retained its clear lead in terms of the favourite Australian destination for overseas visitors, ahead of Melbourne and Cairns.
Mr Svanstrom said talk show host Oprah Winfrey's recent visit was "ridiculously" positive for Australia.
While it would give the local tourism industry a boost, he cautioned that the impact was unlikely to be long term.
"Over this period say since last summer and probably spilling into now, you definitely have had a positive affect," Mr Svanstrom said.
"How long that lasts, I think you need to replace that with something else at some point."
The eight-year-old index is based bookings and prices paid by customers on Hotels.com and the sample size covers about 110,000 properties in 18,000 locations around the world.
