The year 2015 saw hotel rates soar in China, the US and APAC, according to the Hotel Price Radar report published by HRS. From Shanghai (+28.6%) to New York (+28.2% to 264 euros), from Washington (++21.2%) to Seoul (+11.5%), business travellers have suffered widespread rate increases over the past twelve months. "As many analysts predicted, the Asian hotel industry has now clearly entered an inflationary phase, particularly under pressure from its domestic market," points out Emmanuel Ebray, Director of HRS France. He adds: "A similar observation could be made for the American market and, to a lesser extent, the European market. Global hotel rates are likely to rise in 2016, and the search for direct savings will continue to be essential for global companies.
At European level, Paris is the exception in a hotel landscape that is also seeing a rise in rates. As expected, the Paris hotel industry was hit by the terrorist attack in 2015, with the average rate falling by 0.7% to 138 euros in the capital, despite the organisation of major events such as COP21, which helped to limit the fall. Emmanuel Ebray nevertheless notes that "The Paris hotel industry seems to have held up well at the start of 2016, and business travellers have picked up at a very steady pace". Conversely, destinations such as Budapest (€78 / +8.3%), Amsterdam (€134 / +6.4%), Berlin (€91 / +5.8%), Copenhagen (€144 / +4.4%), Warsaw (€93 / +4.1%) and Stockholm (€134 / +3.1%) all saw their rates increase last year.
