HRG global survey finds megacities rule

Megacities like New York rule with hotel room rates

The Middle East and West Africa and Asia have seen ARR growth, while Europe, The Americas and Africa have once again seen ARR move backwards.

Greater control over corporate hotel programmes in an increasingly complex and fragmented market will be crucial for clients looking to secure the best possible room rates this year, according to findings from the latest Hotel Survey from HRG, the global travel management company.

Average Room Rate (ARR) increases continue to be driven by ‘megacity’ growth as regional and national trends diminish, replaced by the economic and industrial strengths and weaknesses of individual cities. 

Room rates in 37 of the top 50 cities increased when measured in local currency, however much of this growth has been driven by significant movements in exchange rates.

The Middle East and West Africa and Asia have seen ARR growth, while Europe, The Americas and Africa have once again seen ARR move backwards. However, once again cities within each region continue to see large disparity in terms of ARR movement, reinforcing the trend of increasing ‘megacity’ performance. 

Margaret Bowler, HRG director global hotel relations, said, "In a market driven by micro trends, what works in one city is not necessarily going to work in another. It is increasingly important for clients to not only maintain control over the overall hotel programme, but to adopt flexible policies based on what is happening in individual markets.

“Our advice is that they need to concentrate and focus their efforts on directing business to preferred proprieties, not simply with preferred groups. In some circumstances this will mean limiting the number of properties in some cities.

"By driving compliance, capturing data and benchmarking against city averages, clients will be in a better position to fine tune their policies and get the best results from their hotel programme.”