Irish hotel prices show the biggest fall in Europe

DUBLIN is now one of the cheapest places in the world to stay, with average hotel prices plunging 26% so far this year, to an average of less than €80 a night.

Figures from Hotels.com’s hotel price index reveal that Ireland has, in fact, experienced the steepest decline in prices throughout Europe.

Galway remains the most expensive city to stay in Ireland, with a hotel room costing an average €110 per night in the first half of this year.

According to the hotel booking website, it is actually more expensive to stay a night in Galway than in London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rome or Madrid.

In Cork, prices plunged 33% compared with a 17% drop globally, the most significant movement in prices seen in the hotel industry in the five years that the index has been published.

Ireland’s fall is followed by Norway and Austria where prices dropped 24% and 23% respectively.

European room rates were down 16% on average with every country experiencing a drop in prices.

Among the major cities, Dublin and Barcelona saw the steepest falls, as prices fell 27% in both cities.

Prices in Dublin fell to €76 per night from €105 for the same period in 2008. Cork was the second most expensive city in Ireland despite hotel prices falling 33% to €79.

Limerick remains the least most expensive city in Ireland with a hotel room costing €65 on average, a drop of 17% year-on-year.

In Belfast, room prices fell by 38% to €185.

President of Hotels.com, David Roche, the price fall means Dublin and Ireland offers “remarkably good value for travellers looking for stays within the eurozone.”

The index tracks the actual prices paid per hotel room rather than the advertised rates.