Hotels.com figures show prices on the move - are you paying too much?

Kiwis pay more on average in New York than other destinations. Photo / Babiche Martens

Hotel rates fell in Auckland last year in spite of a nationwide rise of 4 per cent, figures from a major booking site show.

The average price paid per room in Auckland, the most popular place for visitors, fell 3 per cent to $207 last year, according to Hotels.com.

Queenstown prices averaged $293 - up 3 per cent - while the big movers were Dunedin and Te Anau where prices went up 9 per cent to $181 and $205 respectively.

Hotels.com Asian Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Chan said a reason for the fall in hotel prices in 2018 compared with the year before was the lack of big events in the city.

Special events such as the World Masters Game in April and British and Irish Lions Tour in June and July helped lift occupancy in Auckland and across the board in 2017.

''Meanwhile, a lack of significant events, plus the fact that guests nights plateaued in 2018 - alongside a 95 per cent occupancy rate in peak months - may have also contributed to the falling rate.''

There have been more new hotels opening in the city and new hotels in Wellington, such as the DoubleTree by Hilton, had meant occupancy had plateaued in that city.

The data is drawn from bookings made on the hundreds of thousands of accommodation options on the Hotels.com websites worldwide.

More competitive airfares in the regions had helped boost prices outside the traditional tourist towns or entry points, Chan said.

''With international guest nights only continuing to rise, the future looks promising for the local travel accommodation market."

The Hotel Price Index also surveys what New Zealanders paid for rooms overseas and this rose 9 per cent an average last year.

Four of the top five most expensive destinations in the top 50 analysed were in the United States with Amsterdam in top tier also.

Continued strong growth in Kiwis going overseas showed they weren't being deterred by high hotel prices.

Highest price rises for Kiwis overseas
New York: $387 - 10%
Honolulu: $348 - 8%
San Francisco: $334 - 10%
Los Angeles: $284 - 13%
Amsterdam: $283 - 11%
Nadi: $274 - 4%
Rarotonga: $268 -2%
Vancouver: $266 - 3%
London: $253 - 7%
Paris: $253 - 20%

Buenos Aires, Argentina experienced the sharpest price drop, down 9 per cent to $122, followed by Port Vila, which dropped 5 per cent to $174.

Meanwhile, Siem Reap in Cambodia maintained the lowest price of the top 50 destinations for Kiwi holiday-makers, coming in at $77 per night, followed by Hanoi, Vietnam, at $96 per night.

Kiwis remained keen on Australia in 2018, with three Australian cities in the top five destinations by numbers of New Zealanders.

Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast ranked first, second and fourth respectively for popularity, with no change from 2017, while Honolulu and Bali took out the remaining two spots in the top five.

Istanbul was the highest riser in the international popularity charts, moving up 31 places to land as the 45th most popular destination. Istanbul also experienced the highest price increase for Kiwi travellers, rising 41 per cent to $127 per night, up from $90 in 2017.