Paris hotels push prices up after surge in US tourists and currency

Le Bristol Hotel is charging $50,000 per night for their top suite. Photo / File

Local Parisiens with a taste for luxury claim they have been priced out of the Ritz and Raffles by an influx of American tourists and their currency.

The Euro has fallen to an historic 20-year low against the US dollar this week. As if to compound this problem further, France has been visited by another indignity - smug Americans with even more spending money.

While Les Touristes Americains are a common source of ire, Paris' top hotels have been welcoming them back with open doors.

This summer, one of the French metropoles' most famous hotels, Le Bristol put up room rates by 20 per cent.

A night in their top suite will now cost an additional €5,000.

At €30,000-a-night ($50,000), a stay at the Imperial Suite costs the equivalent of a down payment on a house. It far eclipses Paris' previous most expensive room, Plaza Athénée's Mandarin Royal Suite, which upped rates to €20,000-a-night last year.

Le Bristo's rate increase has been seen across all rooms, down to the entry-level 2290 rooms - and is far above even the steep increase in energy costs, wages and expenses.

However this increase is modest compared to the 38 per cent increase seen across properties in the French capital, to an average of €198 a night.

Hoteliers say, unabashedly, this is about scalping inbound Americans who are happy to pay.

Catherine Hodoul-Baudry regional director of marketing for the hotel's owner, The Oetker Collection says that it is helping to make up for a difficult Pandemic.

"There's no price resistance [from customers]. Paris is benefiting from strong demand, so we took advantage of it after years of suffering," she told Bloomberg.

Paris hotels have been upping their prices by up 38 per cent to cash in on strong US dollars. Photo / Barthelemy de Mazenod, Unsplash

The Americans 'Saving Summer' in Europe

Since the removal of travel restrictions there has been a huge surge in pent up demand for European travel from the US.

In July an inflammatory CNN headline "How the Americans are saving Summer" was met with scorn online. French Twitter saw it necessary to remind them it was no longer 1944.

You’re welcome 😏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

— Daniel Carde (@DSCarde) July 22, 2022

Rising living costs in Europe's cities are a top concern for residents.

These increases reflect inflationary pressures in the Eurozone and the rising cost of living, but it is particularly felt in areas experiencing a tourism rebound.

Taunay-Bucalo, chief revenue officer for holiday management company TravelPerk said that the rates were being pushed up by demand.

"These rises are due to external factors that all parts of the travel industry are grappling with, including increased fuel costs, a labour shortage, and disruptions to the global economy," he told Schengen Visa News.

"However, it is also true that providers are seeing a surge in demand and looking to make up for the revenue lost during the pandemic."

Berlin has seen a general room rate increase 38 per cent, in line with Paris, to €130. Barcelona has seen the biggest hike in Europe, almost doubling at 48 per cent to €153.

Those spending currencies other than the USD will feel the room rate rise more keenly.