New Report Reveals COVID-19’s Impact on Hotel Rates

Hotel rates at international vacation destinations have dropped by upward of 17 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to the 2020 Accommodation Price Index report released by Dertour, one of the largest tour operators in Germany and Austria.

The index, which analyzed hotel rates in 75 cities, noted that the destinations experiencing the most significant drop in rates were Amsterdam (-51.6 percent), San Francisco, (-39.2 percent) Vancouver (-37.1 percent), Phuket, Thailand (-33.8 percent) and Bangkok (-34.6 percent) respectively.

The cities with the highest median hotel rates were, from high to low, Zurich, Los Angeles, New York, Geneva and Venice.

Rates in those cities dropped by 10 percent, 19.4 percent, 31.3 percent, 12.4 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively.

Interestingly, the index said that Germany, “which had relatively low COVID-19 cases compared to other European countries and actively encouraged local tourism, has four cities where holiday stays increased in price since 2019.”

Dresden’s rates rose 5.7 percent, Lubeck’s 5.4 percent, Baden Baden’s by 1.6 and Konstanz by .8 percent.

The report also found that “for 85 percent of the cities included, vacation rentals are more expensive than three-star hotels, reflecting how travelers in 2020 have favored domestic stays in self-catered accommodation, where they can control the food and cleanliness.”

The research for the index was conducted July 29 – Aug. 10, 2019 and Aug. 3-15, 2020, with cities determined primarily based on the markets Dertour serves.