Travel Smart with GoEuro’s Accommodation Price Index
They say you have to “Spend money to make money” but as an entrepreneur you know that simple cost cutting measures can go a long way in balancing your books. Business travel, often key to making connections and establishing yourself, can be a huge expense. With flights, restaurants and hotels and the alluring idea of extending your business trips into private ones the costs can be astronomical. In their recent Accommodation Price Index study, Berlin based travel search engine, GoEuro, ascertained that accommodation costs were the culprit for these expenses, reportedly topping prices for food and transportation by more than 20%.
Armed with this knowledge you can make better choices about where and when to travel but maybe most specifically the kind of place that you choose to stay. GoEuro breaks down price points according to 1-5 star hotels, hostels and AirBnB locations. Prices for hotels fall in line with their star ratings, low rating hotels are obviously less expensive. The inclusion of hostels and AirBnB in the list shows more surprising results.
A night at a five star hotel in London might cost you £274, a night in a 2 star hotel £78, a night in an AirBnB apartment, however, is somewhere in the middle about £100 per night. The savvy traveller knows that you get what you pay for in terms of accommodation: a highly rated hotel will offer other services (WiFi, breakfasts, larger rooms) while you may get dinged for the same services at cheaper hotels. AirBnB offers perks without the price. Stay the night, or the week, in a fully furnished apartment complete with kitchen, living room and internet and pay less than you would for a smaller room in a fancy hotel.
The list rates cities 150 cities from most to least expensive and the UK has two cities in the top 20: London and Liverpool. Prices for 1-5 star hotels and hostels are averaged out: the average night in London is priced at £83 and £75 in Liverpool. Compared with their counterparts on the list these are relatively inexpensive. GoEuro’s survey revealed that the average night in New York (the #1 most expensive city on the list) would cost £157. When you take into account the more than £400 five star hotel and the £40 hostel, even the highest prices in the UK seem reasonable.
On average the least expensive cities to visit in the UK are Leeds, Belfast and Birmingham, but some of the UK’s biggest cities will surprise you with the affordability of their AirBnB prices. GoEuro’s Accommodation Price Index proves to be a valuable resource for travellers, business and pleasure alike. Before booking your next hotel, a glance at this price index might give you a useful frame of reference for price points and also help you decide whether a splurge on a 5 star hotel is worth it when you could rent an apartment for half the price. Smart travellers do their research, in this case GoEuro has done it for you.