DALLAS, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the hotels.com Hotel Price Index(TM) (HPI(TM)), Florida cities were among the most popular U.S. destinations for domestic and international travelers. Orlando ranked third most popular travel destination for Americans, and Miami was the eighth favorite among U.S. travelers and sixth most popular travel U.S. destination for international travelers.
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"Cities up and down the coasts of Florida, from the least expensive cities like Tallahassee to the most expensive like Panama City, are experiencing deep cuts in hotel rates across the board," said Steve Dumaine, senior director of merchandising at hotels.com®. "And some of the lowest prices in the country can be found throughout the South, not just in Florida."
Florida and Georgia experienced the greatest drop in lodging prices among southern states with a 14 percent decrease in both states over a year. South Carolina was not far behind with a 13 percent fall.
Knoxville, Tenn. had the lowest average price per room in the South at $83, placing in the top five least expensive cities in the country. Conversely, Panama City, Fla. had the highest average price per room in the South at $154, landing in the top five most expensive cities in the country.
Some of the notable findings about destinations in the southern region in the latest HPI report include:
-- Six Florida cities - the most in any one state - were among the top ten U.S. cities with the greatest drop in hotel rates. These cities included Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers and Naples, three of which - Orlando, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale - also ranked among the most popular destinations for U.S. travelers.
-- In addition to Florida destinations, Southern cities Atlanta and New Orleans also placed in the top 20 U.S. destinations for Americas at positions 11 and 14, respectively.
-- Orlando ranked tenth in the U.S. for lowest hotel rates. Other Southern cities with the lowest rates included Knoxville, Tenn., Tallahassee, Fla., Pensacola, Fla. and Lexington, Ky.
-- Mississippi had the lowest average price per room per night among southern states, dropping 11 percent from last year.
The hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room rather than advertised rates, using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets in which hotels.com operates. The HPI report issued today examines hotel prices paid at 78,000 hotels across 13,000 locations around the world for the period January to June 2009, compared to the same period the year before.
The international scale of hotels.com in terms of both customers and destinations makes the HPI one of the most comprehensive benchmarks available, as it incorporates both chain and independent hotels, as well as specialty lodging options such as vacation rentals and bed and breakfast properties. For more information on the HPI please visit http://hotels.mediaroom.com/HPI.
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hotels.com® is a leading provider of lodging worldwide, offering an extensive selection of more than 85,000 properties ranging from traditional hotels and vacation rentals to bed and breakfasts and all-inclusive resorts. hotels.com serves as an advocate for guests before, during and after their property stay. To help travelers choose the right property for each trip, the company provides a variety of tools and features, including property descriptions, rate calendars, maps, virtual tours, and more than one million guest reviews. hotels.com offers additional value for guests through its Price Match Guarantee, Risk-Free Booking(TM) and welcomerewards(TM) programs. For more information, please visit hotels.com or call 1-800-2-HOTELS. hotels.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE).
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