Moscow has world’s most expensive hotel rates

Moscow retained its ranking for the sixth year running as the city with the most expensive average hotel room rate in the world, a survey by business travel agency Hogg Robinson Group showed.

The average room rate in the city is £256.83, Hogg Robinson said in its report today. Geneva followed as the second-most expensive city at £199.11 and Hong Kong at £197.61.

The hotel market in Europe and the U.S. “appears to be stabilising,” with cities including Amsterdam, Stockholm and Zurich showing increases in average room rates, according to the report. Hotels are recovering after struggling to attract business over the past two years as the global recession deterred holidaymakers and forced companies to cut budgets.

“Globally, the hotel industry has shown signs of recovery in the first half of 2010,” Hogg Robinson spokeswoman Margaret Bowler said in the report. “Moscow yet again retains its place as the city with the highest average room rate for the sixth year, despite a fall of 12 per cent when measured in local currency.”

Average room rates advanced by 13 per cent in Stockholm, seven per cent in Zurich and five per cent in Geneva during the six months, Hogg Robinson said.

Room rates in Abu Dhabi showed the highest average rate reduction, falling 25 per cent, due to a drop in occupancy and new hotel developments. Rome, Copenhagen and Dubai also showed reductions of seven per cent, 10 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

London’s average room rates advanced by one per cent, after a “significant” increase in corporate occupancy levels and “buoyant” demand from leisure travelers, as well as the weakness of the British pound against other currencies.

U.S. room rates were “flat or marginally lower,” except for San Francisco, where average rates fell by 11 per cent.

A drop in demand and oversupply in places contributed to the fall in prices in Bangalore, Belfast and Beijing, where rates fell 21 per cent, 12 per cent and 19 per cent in British pounds, while currency fluctuations caused most of the rise in prices in British pounds in Australia and South Africa, the report said.