The average price of a standard double hotel room in Europe is £93 (US$140.91) this month, a drop of 7 percent compared to last year’s price of £100 (US$151.50), according to the Trivago Hotel Price Index.
Prices have dropped in 34 of the 50 European cities analyzed by the index. There is, though, some good news for hoteliers in London, where prices have increased by 6 percent to £126 (US$190.86), making it the most expensive city in the United Kingdom, according to the index.
STR Global announced today it will begin reporting on 25 new markets.
“We are delighted that the increase in our sample size, which now tops 39,000 hotels worldwide, has allowed us to report on a number of much-anticipated destinations,” said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global. “This is a clear indication that hotel owners and investors are seeing the true value in the timely and reliable market information STR Global provides”.
Read "STR Global reports on 25 new destinations."
So you think a mobile platform for your company isn’t essential? Better think again, reports HotelNewsNow.com’s Patrick Mayock.
The growth of mobile usage among the traveling public is increasing at an astonishing rate.
Forty-one percent of leisure guests and 54 percent of business guests that have mobile phones with a data plan have used their phones for travel-related purposes, according to Forrester Research data. Ten percent of hotel guests who have mobile phones with data plans have used their devices to reserve a room. Furthermore, mobile bookings are expected to increase to more than US$1 billion in 2010.
Read “Mobile-friendly sites essential as usage grows.”
Federal officials plan to auction off a loan for the W Hotel in Atlanta next month, according to BusinessWeek.
The loan is part of more than US$1 billion in assets taken from failed banks. Loans for the 237-room, US$80-million W came from Silverton Bank and numerous community banks. The loan for the construction of the hotel was made in April 2008. The property was developed by Atlanta-based Barry Real Estate Companies and managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
The hotel ‘s occupancy was about 60 percent. It opened in January 2009.
Tennessee is considering putting a tax on free breakfasts offered by hotels, according to WTVF in Tennessee.
The state says such a tax could bring in an extra US$10 million a year. The Tennessee Hospitality Association said the tax would be unfair.
I guess there's no such thing as a free breakfast, either.
Compiled by Shawn A. Turner.
