Travellers in search of a cheap night's sleep on the continent could do no better than book into a Budapest hotel, where the average one-night rate was £60 in late 2005, new research showed today.
Hot on the heels of the central European leader were Berlin and Lisbon (both £61 on average), and Glasgow, where average prices were £64 in the period October-December, a drop of 11% against the same period in 2004.
Other good-value destinations included Hamburg (£64) and Orlando (£68).
Overall, European prices fell 8.7% in the last three months of last year compared with the same period in 2004, while American prices rose 2.3%.
Average hotel rates fell across the UK, with London beds dipping 12% to £81, with stays in Glasgow falling 11% to £64, Manchester 4% to £76 and Edinburgh rates dropping 5% to £87. Meanwhile, the Irish capital saw the average nightly price fall 11% to £75.
Based mainly on hotels in Europe and the US, the research by Hotels.com also revealed price rises across the Atlantic, with New York proving the most expensive city in the survey. Rates in the Big Apple leapt 13% to £160, and hotel beds in Washington DC rose 9% to £110 on average.
The next highest rates were to be found in Dubai, where average prices rose 2% to £150 a night.
David Roche, European managing director of Hotels.com, said: "European prices took a tumble in 2005, so we will watch with interest whether they recover in 2006, and whether spring city-breakers push prices up as they have in previous years.
"Meanwhile, we will also see whether the Americans can sustain the price increases we saw in 2005 - or whether prices have now topped out and falling demand will force them to come down once again."
Separate research for the British Hotel Guest Survey 2006 showed that the internet is the most used and most useful source for hotel information and search engines are used more than hotel chain websites.
The survey, undertaken by the BDRC market research company, also revealed that guests rated good food and room size far above cleanliness and minibar facilities when it came to luxury, and that the British domestic market had grown 4% in 2005.
