Hotel prices in major cities down in first half

Hotel prices in major cities, including Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, fell in the first half of this year even as destinations like Goa, Kochi and Bangalore saw a hike in rates.

Of the 10 major destinations, Chennai saw the steepest fall in prices by losing eight per cent to an average of Rs 5,861 during the first half of this year compared with Rs 6,353 in the same period in 2012, says the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com.

Pune was the second major destination that saw a decline in prices by five per cent to Rs 5,383 compared with Rs 5,650 last year, mainly due to excess supply. Prices in Delhi and Jaipur fell four per cent each.

Hotel prices in

Delhi declined to Rs 6,511 against Rs 6,797, and in Jaipur the prices went down to Rs 4,646 (Rs 4,839).

Kolkata saw a decline of three per cent during the period under review at Rs 6,269. Mumbai and Hyderabad witnessed a decline of two per cent to Rs 7,971 and Rs 5,454, respectively.

However, destinations like Goa, Kochi and Bangalore noticed a rise in hotel prices, the report said.

Kochi saw a rise of four per cent to Rs 5,123 compared with Rs 4,931 and Goa noticed a rise of three per cent to Rs 5,225.

Bangalore recorded a marginal rise of one per cent to Rs 6,133 compared with Rs 6,067 in the same period last year, the report said.

The first half of 2013 witnessed fluctuations in the value of the rupee and it gave a boost to domestic tourism as the government made efforts to attract international travellers, the report added.

Prices paid by hotel guests across the country rose 1 per cent in the first six months of the year to an average Rs 6,025.