Hotels.com has officially published the results from its 2025 Hotel Price Index™, which reveals that luxury is more accessible abroad, domestic nightly rates are falling, and 4-star properties consistently offer the best value.
In case you weren’t aware, the Hotel Price Index is a tool designed to analyze global year-on-year average daily rates from bookings on Hotels.com across the most popular international and domestic destinations, while simultaneously delving into pricing trends and differences between star ratings.
Talk about the given report on a slightly deeper level, we begin from how it discovered that international hotels are, on an average, 27% cheaper than their U.S. counterparts. As for specific locations, a fair amount of deals under $200 can be found across cities like Hanoi, Pattaya and Auckland.
Next up, we must dig into the fact that U.S. travelers upgrading from 3- to 4-star hotels pay 38% more to up-star, whereas jumping from a 4- to 5-star property cost 118% more on average.
Another detail worth a mention relates to the reduction in US hotel prices, reaching $174/night. On the other hand, international rates rose (+4%) to $228/night.
Talk about the given hotel pricing dynamics on a slightly deeper level, some U.S. cities, such as San Francisco (-9%), Austin (-7%) and Atlanta (-6%) saw declines in hotel prices. On the flipside, high-demand destinations like Chicago (+7%) experienced an increase.
On an international note, Toronto (-3%), Amsterdam (-3%) and Istanbul (-2%) would go onto experience small decreases in average daily rates, with average prices going up year-over-year in Kyoto (+13%), Tokyo (+12%) and Madrid (+12%).
As for travelers looking at affordable trending destinations that are growing in popularity, they were advised to try Bogotá, Colombia (ADR of $97 a night) and Benidorm, Spain (ADR of $127 a night), each offering highly rated accommodations at a fraction of the price.
However, if we talk about value stays, they included Las Vegas, Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Denver, and Houston, all of which have rates under the 4-star average of $226 a night.
The survey also discovered that, during the course of 2024, perks which hotels.com travelers received most from VIP Access properties included food and beverage credits, spa credits, free beverages and bottles of wine. To give you some context, VIP Access perks can total more than $250 in value, which happens to be more than the average cost of a night at a 4-star hotel.
The hotels deemed to offer the most valuable perks included Equinox Hotel New York: a property that offers complimentary Cryotherapy spa treatment for 2 guests.
Next up, we have One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos offering $175 in credits to the spa and golf course. Alongside that, there would be Gili Lankanfushi Maldives with its 20% off airport transportation, $100 resort credit, and a complimentary bottle of wine.
The Retreat Collection at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach also made it to the list on the back of its $250 resort credit and free breakfast.
Rounding up highlights would be Sandblu Resort Santorini, which offers $100 food and beverage credit.
“For price-conscious travelers in today’s economy, the Hotel Price Index offers a rare, data-driven lens into where your money goes furthest. It’s like a travel cheat sheet — revealing where to splurge, where to save, and where luxury quietly costs less,” said Melanie Fish, VP of Global PR, Hotels.com. “Cities like Bangkok, São Paulo and Mexico City stand out for offering top-rated stays across all star levels, proving that great travel doesn’t have to come with a high price tag. And for those travelers looking to stretch their dollars even further, programs like Hotels.com’s VIP Access can add unexpected value.”
