Ireland the cheapest country in Western Europe for hotel room rates

Ireland is the cheapest country in Western Europe for hotel room rates, according to Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).

The current average rate of a hotel room in Ireland fell by 4 per cent (to an average €79) year-on-year according to the latest HPI.

Despite the continued fall in Irish hotel prices, globally hotel prices increased by 2pc in 2010. While the Irish hotel market appears to be taking longer to recover than other countries, the rate at which Irish prices are falling is beginning to stabilise compared to 2009 which saw room rates drop 21pc year-on-year.

Irish hotel room rates have been in decline since 2008. This further decrease now makes Ireland the least expensive destination in Western Europe and the fourth most inexpensive in Europe. The Czech Republic (€77), Poland (€74) and Hungary (€69) are now the only three destinations in Europe cheaper than Ireland.

The HPI is based on bookings made on Hotels.com across 130,000 and 18,000 destinations, and prices shown are those actually paid by customers (rather than advertised rates) in 2010 compared to those paid in 2009.

Hotel room rates in the capital fell 6pc year-on-year from €78 to €73 making Dublin one of the best value city destinations in the world. Dublin experienced a higher drop in prices than any other Western European city making hotel prices significantly lower than destinations such as London (€135), Paris (€120), Amsterdam (€115) and Rome (€113).

Despite experiencing significant price falls (19pc), Kilkenny is still the most expensive destination in Ireland at €112 (down from €138 in 2009).  Wexford (€109) and Killarney (€96) also experienced double digit percentage drops of 12pc and 11pc respectively but still managed to make it into the top five most expensive Irish destinations. Waterford is the least expensive city in the country with rooms averaging at €56 (down 8pc) per night.