A new study released by Hotels.com shows that Portuguese hotels are the cheapest of any major destination in Europe. With the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, Portuguese hoteliers acted quickly and lowered their rates. The average rate during the fourth quarter of 2008 for a hotel room in Portugal was 77 euros a night, down 12 percent from the same period in 2007.
Hotels.com has a regular survey of prices for major destinations around the world, its Hotel Price Index, or HPI. The HPI tracks real prices paid per room for a range of hotels, weighted to represent every star category in each destination. The survey uses some 68,000 hotels from around the world to provide the data.
All Portuguese cities recorded a drop in prices according to the survey, with Lisbon and Porto reporting the largest price cuts. Lisbon hotels are still the costliest in the country, with an average rate of 90 euros per night, while Albufeira has the least expensive rates with an average of just under 50 euros per night.
Despite showing the largest drop in Europe, the UK still has most expensive hotel prices with an average nightly rate of 116 euros. Following Portugal at the low end of rates were the Czech Republic, with an average price of 78 euros, Poland, at 85 euros, and the Republic of Ireland at 89 euros per night.
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