For travellers paying in US dollars, hotel rates in Dubai fell 25 per cent in 2009 from their level the year before, said a report.

Rates in Abu Dhabi also dropped for those buying rooms with US dollars, falling by 17 per cent year-on-year, lower than for any other currency, according to the latest annual Hotels.com Hotel Price Index released globally.

For UK visitors paying for hotel rooms in sterling, room rates in Dubai dropped a more modest 10 per cent year on year, and rates for UK travellers to Abu Dhabi fell by 5 per cent.

For visitors paying in euro, the year on year room rates in Dubai dropped by 25 per cent whilst Abu Dhabi rates in 2009 were down by 13 per cent compare to 2008, the report said.

The visitor profile to Dubai also changed during 2009 with the business and convention market not as buoyant as the previous 12 months.

On the flipside, 2009 proved to be a great year for the leisure market as travellers were tempted to the Emirate by falling hotel prices enabling them to take advantage of luxury for less.

Italian and Scandinavian travellers particularly benefited from new direct flights introduced in 2009, whilst the French and German markets continued to bring holiday makers to the Emirate.

While the average price of a hotel room around the world fell by 14 per cent in 2009 driven by price drops across every continent, towards the end of the year the rate of falls started to level off.

The average price of a hotel room on a global level fell by 7 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2009 compared to 14 per cent in Q3, 17 per cent in Q2 and 16 per cent in Q1.

In fact across the year room rates fell lower than the level set in January 2004, when the Hotel Price Index was started.

Across the world prices for hotel rooms in 2009 in North America were down by 14 per cent, with rates in Europe dropping 13 per cent during the same period.

Latin America was hardest hit with rates down 21 per cent overall in 2009 compared to 2008. Asian hotel rates, which had been holding up better than those in the US or Europe in late 2008, dropped an average of 16 per cent year on year.

'Step inside the time machine, turn the dial back to 2003, and compare hotel prices around the world then and now,” said David Roche, president, Hotels.com, part of the Expedia group.

“What's changed? Not much. Our latest Hotel Price Index, covering all of 2009, shows that prices fell globally by 14 per cent on already weak 2008 figures, bringing consumer prices back to levels not seen since 2003,” he added.

“Despite some possible first signs of hotel prices recovering in Europe and the US in the last quarter of 2009, the promotions and great value look set to continue for some time yet. 2010 promises to be another great year for the traveller,” Roche concluded. – TradeArabia News Service