European hoteliers reduce rates to attract Brits

www.trivago.co.uk

In order to entice British holidaymakers back to the continent, hotel operators in Europe have had to reduce their room rates in hopes of stimulating demand for city breaks that has been depressed by the weakness of the pound and the economic downturn.

Online comparison websites Trivago and Cheapflights found that hotel prices in Europe have fallen by as much as 25 per cent over the past six months, and feel that the rate reductions have been made to encourage Britons to visit the continent on more short breaks.

The pound’s weakness against the euro has seen the spending power of UK holidaymakers fall by as much as 20 per cent in eurozone destinations, prompting them to look elsewhere for their holidays – such as Egypt and Turkey.

“We are noticing an increase in searches for hotels further afield, but even with the weak pound it is still possible to find good hotel deals in Europe by comparing prices,” said Trivago’s Malte Siewert.

A Thomas Cook spokesperson said that the company was seeing a significant rise in bookings to Greece in recent weeks after hotel operators there decided to reduce their rates. Inghams recently cancelled its city-break programme for the summer, citing insufficient demand.

Thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.trivago.co.uk