The
average hotel room rate for business travelers in Moscow during 2013 was the
world's most expensive at £259, the tenth consecutive year topping the list, according
to HRG. Based on rates booked by the travel management company's U.K.-based
customers, the Russian capital retained the top spot in spite of a 0.8 percent
year over year rate decline as measured in Sterling. In local currency,
Moscow's average rate increased 0.6 percent.
Seven
other cities among the 55 tracked by HRG had 2013 average rates above £200 per night:
New York ($369 in local currency), Geneva, Zurich, Lagos, Paris, San Francisco
and Rio de Janeiro. Overall, however, the Sterling amount paid by HRG clients
dropped in 23 cities versus 2012. "Rate increase for the hotel industry
generally remains slow but steady, with Europe and the Americas leading the
way," according to the TMC's report. HRG also noted a tendency for larger rate
increases in cities that are financial centers as the global banking sector
continues to recover.
In
local currencies, the largest rate rise worldwide was in Munich, up 21 percent
to €147, which HRG attributed to the city's exceptionally strong year for
convention and trade fair business. Next largest was in Aberdeen, up 19 percent
to £134, with demand driven by the city's thriving oil and gas business. "Despite
new hotel openings, demand continues to outstrip supply, though this is likely
to flatten over the course of 2014-15," according to HRG.
The
other top five climbers were Barcelona, Cape Town and Tokyo, each up 13 percent,
although significant exchange rate fluctuations meant the average Sterling
price paid fell 7 percent in Tokyo and 2 percent in Cape Town.
The five
largest rate declines as measured in local currencies were Abu Dhabi (12 percent),
Berlin (9 percent), Düsseldorf (8 percent), and Madrid and Mexico City (both 7
percent). Oversupply caused by new hotel openings accounted for the drops in
Abu Dhabi and Berlin, whereas Düsseldorf in 2013 staged fewer fairs than usual.
In both Sterling and local
currency, average rates rose in all but one of the eight U.S. cities tracked by
HRG. The exception was Philadelphia, down 2 percent to $198. The largest
average rate increase in the country occurred in Houston, another oil and gas market
with limited supply, up 12 percent to $204. It was followed by Seattle (up 9
percent to $210) and Washington D.C. (up 7 percent to $282). HRG reported that Washington
"saw a flurry of activity around the [presidential] inauguration and
Seattle saw a particularly busy leisure season which left less room for
business travelers, particularly when combined with a dearth of new bed stock."