Hong Kong travellers among the smartest consumers in Asia

HONG KONG - Hong Kong travellers have been very sensitive to hotel prices, and the smartness of Hongkongers made them one of the lowest spending populations on hotels in the region. According to the Hotel Price Index (HPI) report published by Hotels.com, Hong Kong travellers were paying an average of HK$1,075 per room per night when travelling abroad in 2014, which was only above Taiwan’s HK$1,010 in the report. The HPI report also revealed the “Luxury for Less” ranking, informing Hong Kong travellers about the destinations where the prices of luxury hotels dropped the most.

Fig. 1: Avg. hotel prices paid by Asia travellers when travelling overseas in 2014 (HKD)

Country

Avg. hotel prices

Taiwan

$1,010

Hong Kong

$1,075

Singapore

$1,089

South Korea

$1,109

Thailand

$1,131

Fig. 1

 

Hotel price of Hongkongers’ favourite travel destinations dropped – except to Japan
Hotel prices paid by Hongkongers in Taiwan have dropped by 5% to HK$828 in 2014. In Taipei, Taiwan’s capital city and Hongkongers’ favourite destination city for several consecutive years, Hongkongers have paid an average of HK$882 for a hotel room, down 4% compared to in 2013.

For South Korea, the rising star among Hongkongers’ top destinations, Hong Kong travellers shelled out an average of HK$890 for accommodations in 2014, down 7% compared to HK$954 in 2013. Changes for hotel prices paid by Hong Kong travellers in Seoul were in line with the country’s drop as they paid 5% less for hotels when staying in the South Korea capital, sliding from HK$944 to HK$892 over the last year.

Fig. 2: Avg. hotel prices paid by Hongkongers in 2013/4 (HKD)

Country

2014

2013

% change

Thailand

$884

$956

-8%

South Korea

$890

$954

-7%

Taiwan

$828

$874

-5%

Japan

$979

$944

4%

Fig. 2

 

Prices have generally fallen for hotels in Asia. Yet, according to HPI, Hong Kong travellers have spent 4% more for hotels in Japan. The top Japanese destinations have all seen increases in average hotel price paid by Hong Kong travellers, including Osaka (5%), Tokyo (4%), Fukuoka (4%), Naha (4%) and Kyoto (2%). The increase in hotel spending is possibly correlated with the surge in demand for travelling to Japan, which was driven by the depreciation of yen as well as the expansion of services by low-cost carriers (LCCs) between Hong Kong and Japan in 2014.

5-star luxury made available for less
While the word “luxury” has often been associated with high prices, luxury hotel rooms do not have to prohibitively expensive. The latest HPI report has put out a list of destinations where their luxury 5-star hotel room rate fell the most in 2014.

With the depreciation of the Russian rouble, Moscow appeared on top of the list with its 5-star hotel rates tumbling 25% to HK$1,775. Other big fallers include Singapore with an 18% drop to HK$2,359 and Melbourne falling 14% to HK$1,782. They are followed by two US cities: New York down 11% to HK$4,300 and Los Angeles losing 10% to HK$3,872.

Fig. 3: Where prices at 5-star hotels fell the most between 2014 and 2013

Destination

2014

2013

% change

Moscow

$1,775

$2,353

-25%

Singapore

$2,359

$2,877

-18%

Melbourne

$1,782

$2,079

-14%

New York

$4,300

$4,809

-11%

Los Angeles

$3,827

$4,255

-10%

Delhi

$1,438

$1,563

-8%

Guangzhou

$1,309

$1,377

-5%

Dubai

$2,726

$2,859

-5%

Taipei

$2,572

$2,687

-4%

Edinburgh

$1,867

$1,945

-4%

Fig. 3

 sourced:traveldailynews.asia