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For Indians Travellers Planning a Sojourn Abroad this Summer, Sofia Offers Best Value Hotel Stay Combined with Room Service

TripAdvisor releases TripIndex Room Service – a cost comparison report of hotel room rates and incidentals in 48 popular destinations around the world

Apr 01, 2015   14:59 IST 
New Delhi, Delhi, India

Sofia, Bulgaria offers the best value for Indian travellers this summer when it comes to the common incidental costs while staying in a hotel, according to a cost comparison report released today by TripAdvisor, carried out across 48 destinations selected to be included in this study.

 

The results are taken from the third annual TripAdvisor TripIndex Room Service report, which compares the cost of hotel room service items in 48 popular destinations around the world. The study takes into account: the cost of a one night stay in a four-star hotel, a club sandwich ordered through room service, the dry cleaning of one shirt as well as refreshments from the mini bar.

 

“Hotel prices can vary a great deal across destinations even when comparing like-for-like amenities, so it pays to shop around to find the best deal. Hotel room rates, for example, can vary between travel agents hence using the price comparison tool on TripAdvisor can be a great way to find and book a good deal,” commented Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India.

In Sofia, the combined cost of a night in a hotel, based on availability on TripAdvisor, along with room service comes to an average of INR 6068.36more than four times cheaper than at the costliest destination, New York, where the average hotel price on TripAdvisor, plus room service amenities, totals INR 26317.03.

 

Head to Eastern Europe for a bargain

This study highlights the wide range of prices that can be found in destinations around the world, for example, from the destinations included in this study, Europe boasts six of the world’s 10 best value destinations (Sofia, Kiev, Warsaw, Budapest, Prague and Moscow), yet is also home to six of the world’s 10 most expensive, with Scandinavian cities dominating in particular.

 

London revealed as third priciest destination in the world

Despite the fact that many London hotels offer bottled water complimentary to guests, the 2015 TripIndex Room Service report places the capital third place in the most expensive destinations league table, after New York and Zurich.

 

In London, on average a club sandwich will set travellers back INR 1497.83, a mini bottle of vodka costs INR 805.12, a can of cola is INR 263.54, a packet of peanuts is INR 380.56 and it will cost INR 601.29 to dry clean a shirt. However, it’s the cost of the room itself that makes London such an expensive destination compared to its global rivals. One night’s stay in a four-star hotel costs an average of INR 17541.97 in London – the second most expensive destination in the world for hotel rates after New York City.

 

How does India fare on the global scale?

Our very own Mumbai ranks 19th among the least expensive cities with the combined cost of a night in a hotel, along with room service coming to an average of INR 9919.90. Beijing, Cape Town, Istanbul turn out to be less expensive than Mumbai where the cost of a room night would be INR 7975.25.

TripIndex Room Service at a glance

 

From the least expensive to the most expensive (GREEN and ORANGE indicate least and most expensive destinations for each item respectively):

* Prices are based on averages amongst ten hotels selected within each destination listed above

TripIndex Room Service 2015 best value and most expensive destinations:

 

For those planning to take a trip to any of the top five best value or most expensive destinations according to TripIndex Room Service 2015, here are some of the best rated hotels that are available to book on TripAdvisor and have availability during the summer period (1 June – 31 August 2015)*:

 

TripIndex Room Service 2015 best value destinations:

 

1. Sofia – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Sofia, summer 2015: INR 4627.28

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Suite Hotel Sofia, 4.5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 4167.14 per night.

 

2. Kiev – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Kiev, summer 2015: INR 5729.62

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Oselya Kiev, 4.5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 5778.82 per night.

 

3. Jakarta – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Jakarta, summer 2015: INR 5355.48

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Kosenda Hotel, 4.5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 4757.96 per night.

 

4. Warsaw – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Warsaw, summer 2015: INR 5025.16

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Regent Warsaw Hotel, 4.5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 6245.96 per night.

 

5. Sharm el Sheikh – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Sharm el Sheikh, summer 2015: INR 6212.89

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Domina Coral Bay Prestige Hotel, 4.5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 7267.76 per night.

 

TripIndex Room Service 2015 most expensive destinations:

 

1. New York – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in New York, summer 2015: INR 22222.78

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Casablanca Hotel Times Square, 5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 23516.77 per night.

 

2. Zurich – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Zurich, summer 2015: INR 17383.41

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Hotel Europe, 4.5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 19243.07 per night.

 

3. London – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in London, summer 2015: INR 17541.97

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Artist Residence London, 5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 21546.42 per night.

 

4. Toronto – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Toronto, summer 2015: INR 14949.31

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Drake Hotel Toronto, 4.5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 13977.06 per night.

 

5. Paris – Average nightly rate on TripAdvisor for hotels in Paris, summer 2015: INR 15606.11

Highly rated hotel currently available to book on TripAdvisor:

Le 123 Sebastopol – Astotel, 5 bubble rating - bookable on TripAdvisor for INR 17627.59 per night.

 

Full list of destinations included in the study is available upon request.

 

Notes to Editors:

The international TripIndex destination list is comprised of key destinations from 48 of the 50 countries which receive the largest number of international visitor arrivals (data compiled by the UNWTO, 2013).

 

Within each hotel selected for the study and where the item was available, the prices of the following items were identified by telephoning the hotel and asking for prices of:

 

Room service:

  • Club sandwich

 

 

Mini bar:

  • Bottle of water

  • Peanuts

  • Mini bottle of vodka

  • Can of cola

 

 

 

 

 

Dry cleaning:

  • One shirt

 

 

Prices shown specify the average cost (taken from a minimum of four hotels and up to ten hotels within each destination), collected from the top ten rated four to five star hotels in each destination featured on the TripAdvisor website. The top ten rated hotels were ranked according to the TripAdvisor Popularity Index. Hotels were selected from the TripAdvisor Popularity Index between 30th January and 6th February 2015.

Prices of all basket items were sourced from each hotel whenever possible, before average prices were calculated. Costs include sales tax and service charge, where applicable.

Prices were taken in local currencies between 5th February and 11th March 2015 and currency conversion rates were taken from xe.com on 3rd March 2015.

 

Room service: Room service prices specify the average cost of a club sandwich or the closest substitute item.

Mini bar: Mini bar prices specify the average cost of one 500ml bottle of water (if not available pro rata costs were calculated), one packet of peanuts or the closest substitute item, one regular can of cola or closest substitute and one mini bottle of vodka or closest substitute (pro rata costs were calculated if mini vodka was not available).

*Please note – none of the hotels contacted in Riyadh serve any alcoholic drinks.

Dry cleaning: Dry cleaning prices specify the average cost to dry clean one shirt or the closest substitute (such as wash/iron shirt).

Hotel room rates: Room rates specify the average cost of one night’s stay in 4 and 4.5 star hotels in each destination between 1st June – 31st August 2015, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.

*Great value hotels have a minimum four out of five TripAdvisor bubble rating and currently have availability between June 1 and August 31, 2015. Hotel pricing is based on TripAdvisor data for June 1 through August 31, 2015, aggregated from booking partners, including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travellers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from travellers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 315 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 200 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4.5 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 45 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com and www.iens.nl), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, www.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn. 

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, December 2014

**Source: Google Analytics, average monthly unique users, Q3 2014; does not include traffic to daodao.com


 
 

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