Much of the talk during and after the ash drama in Europe in mid-April centred on the cost to the airlines – IATA last estimated $1.7 billion – but what about hotels?
Impossible to say in many respects, except the results of two reports released by hotel sites paint a very different picture as to what hotels in Europe have done since the crisis.
Pan-European hotel price comparison site Trivago says there were “significant price hikes” in major cities during the no-fly period across Europe, singling out Milan in particular which saw average room rates increase by 90% from existing prices in early April.
Other opportunistic hoteliers were also apparently in evidence in Berlin (up 63%), London (up 49%), Paris (up 27%), Amsterdam (up 26%) and Barcelona (12%). Trivago says the massive rise in Milan may have been due to a major football tournament also taking place over the same period.
However, contrary data to this cash register-filling view comes from metasearch engine, Hotelscombined, which says data from hotel prices displayed on its site indicate a completely different picture.
The average daily room rate across Europe in the days leading up the spread of the ash cloud was $120, but this figure dropped to $96 during the no-fly period.
General manager Michael Doubinski says:
“European hoteliers showed incredible support to the global community when they dropped rates significantly to help lessen the burden for travelers who were not able to return home when planned.”
[...] Mixed messages over hotel prices during European ash cloud crisis [...]