Queenstown stay costlier than Paris

The average price for a night in Queenstown in the first half of this year rose 14 per cent. Photo / Chris Gorman

Website survey shows hotel prices in New Zealand have climbed an average of 9% this year.

New Zealand's most expensive accommodation is in Queenstown, with a night's stay costing an average of $226, a survey has found.

The average price for a night in the South Island tourist hotspot in the first half of this year rose 14 per cent for users of the Hotels.com website over the same time last year.

And a 21 per cent decrease in the price of a night in Paris to $211 over the same timeframe means it's cheaper for Kiwis to spend a night in the city of love than New Zealand's adventure capital, when booked through the website.

At the other end of the spectrum, bargain hunters who spent a night in Invercargill between January and June this year would have paid an average of $119 a night, a 12 per cent increase on the same period last year.

Overall, New Zealand hotels cost an average of $171 a night over the first half of 2015 - up 9 per cent.

The biggest increase was in Auckland, where the average price of a room booked through the website jumped 16 per cent to $171 per night.

A Hotels.com spokeswoman said the rise across New Zealand was driven mainly by a higher demand for accommodation during events such as the Cricket World Cup.

Areas where matches were played included Dunedin, which saw a 4 per cent rise to $158, Christchurch, up 2 per cent to $167 a night, and Wellington, up 10 per cent from $148 to $164.

Other New Zealand cities with strong increases included Queenstown (14 per cent to $226), Te Anau (11 per cent to $158) and Palmerston North (12 per cent to $133).

Blenheim was the only region to experience a decrease in hotel prices, down 1 per cent to $166.

Across the ditch, Cairns hotel prices fell 16 per cent to $155 a night. Brisbane also saw a decrease, of 12 per cent to $176 per night.

The cities with the biggest price hike for Kiwis booking accommodation through the site were Washington DC, up 25 per cent to $273 a night, Nadi up 20 per cent to $255 and Shanghai, up 20 per cent to $255.

In San Francisco the price of a room jumped 17 per cent from $266 to $311 a night.

A spokeswoman for Hotels.com would not say how many hotels could be booked through the website either in New Zealand or worldwide.

But a quick count online revealed that Invercargill alone had at least 31 hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, serviced apartments and motor lodges available.