DALLAS, Nov. 1, 2011-- According to the hotels.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®), business travel to many of the world's economic hotspots increased in the first half of 2011, with hotel prices in many top business capitals rising year-over-year. These findings are consistent with the Global Business Travel Association's projection that worldwide business travel spending will rise 9.2% in 2011. However, while the average price of a hotel room around the world rose 3%, many major business cities watched hotel prices drop due to natural disasters and unforeseeable political revolutions.

The hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI) is a regular survey of hotel prices in major city destinations across the world. The HPI is based on actual bookings made on hotels.com and prices shown are those paid by customers (rather than advertised rates) for the first half of 2011. The report largely compares prices paid in 2010 with prices paid in 2011.

"We have been following the rebound of business travel closely, and were pleasantly surprised by the findings of our most recent Hotel Price Index," said Victor Owens, vice president of marketing North America for Hotels.com. "Prices in major business and convention cities, including New York, Chicago, London, Paris and Beijing increased year-over-year, confirming research that indicates business travel is rebounding."

Last year's Hotel Price Index found Asian cities to be gaining popularity amongst business travelers, a trend that is continuing. Average prices for hotel rooms throughout Asia fell by 8% from the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011, however individual markets in the region increased dramatically. Hotel prices in Singapore increased 18% year-over-year, and room rates in Hong Kong jumped 24%, from an average of $142 per night in 2010 to $176 in 2011.

Another part of the world that has attracted business travelers in recent years is the Middle East. However, this year's political and social unrest related to the Arab Spring had a significant negative impact on countries in the Middle East and beyond. Falling prices were seen throughout the region, even in areas not directly involved with the uprising. Average hotel room prices in Dubai, the golden city of the United Arab Emirates once touted for great promise in both the business and leisure sectors, fell slightly by 3%. Unsurprisingly, prices fell by 45% in Giza, Egypt, and 23% in Beirut, Lebanon , cities closely associated with the revolution.

Natural disasters also had a damaging effect on major business capitals. In Japan, prices dropped across the country due to the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated the region. Tokyo, a rising star from 2010, made a dramatic drop to twenty-sixth place from its eighth place position last year on the list of destinations most visited by Americans. Prices also fell 15% in Kyoto and 7% in Osaka, despite being nearly 400 miles from Sendai, the city closest to the epicenter of the earthquake.

When analyzing fluctuations in hotel room prices, one important factor to consider is hotel development. As demand for hotels has increased, so has supply, which acts as a brake on prices. According to the July 2011 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report, there are still nearly 6,000 new hotel projects in development around the world, adding more than 900,000 hotel rooms. Monitoring hotel development can help explain shifts in prices, especially in cities where business travel continues to rebound.

Following is a list of global cities popular with business travelers:
About the HPI™
The HPI tracks the real prices paid per room by hotels.com customers around the world using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets that hotels.com operates. The index started in 2004, and includes all bookings across all-star ratings across the approximately 140,000 properties in the more than 18,000 global locations that make up the sample set of hotels from which prices are taken.

About hotels.com
Hotels.com® is a leading provider of lodging worldwide, offering almost 140,000 properties in over 60 countries from national chain hotels and all-inclusive resorts to local favorites and bed & breakfasts. Hotels.com is the smarter way to book travel by offering  welcomerewards®, an industry leading loyalty rewards program; the real opinions of other travelers captured in 2.5 million Guest Reviews and;  a Price Match Guarantee, so that those booking with hotels.com can be assured they are getting the best deal, either online or by speaking directly to a travel expert at 1-800-2-HOTELS 24 hours a day. For more information, please visit hotels.com. Hotels.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE). Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hotelsdotcom and Twitter via www.twitter.com/hotelsdotcom or visit the hotels.com Travel Smart Blog for consumer and business travel information. Get clayed at http://www.clayyourself.com. Detailed Hotel Price Index data is available at: http://www.hotel-price-index.com, hotels.com, A Smarter Way to Book™.

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