AllTheRooms Releases 2014 5-Star US Hotel Pricing Index

NEW YORK - Jan. 13, 2015 - PRLog -- New York, NY, January 13, 2014 - AllTheRooms, the world's most comprehensive lodging search engine, has released their data finds for upscale lodging from 2014, showing that rates grew 17% year-over-year which beat the overall U.S. economy during the last four quarters.

When is the best time to find the lowest rates?  Winter in general skews much lower, as stays from January through March were the least competitive over the entire year.  Even taking into the luxury properties in peak-winter destinations like Aspen and Miami skewing the results, the index rates on average were well over $100 less than during the summer months.

"If you look at cities like Boston or Seattle where the weather plays a higher factor the average rate of stay almost doubles during the summer seasons," Says Joe DiTomaso, CEO and Co-Founder of AllTheRooms.  "When people plan on indulging in a luxury hotel the pricing index proves it's wisest  to book during the early season."

The trend starts right at the beginning of the calendar year for 5-star hotels, as rates start from a low of around $427 before gaining a quick uptick around the February holiday season, then falling back to earth.  However, once April begins rates skyrocket and average over $500 for the rest of the year.

Overall summer was the peak time for these hotels and rates stayed consistent high ($550 or thereabouts) from mid-June through September.  From October through December rates stayed firm at above $500.  Surprisingly the busy holiday season didn't affect rates, as properties generally stayed consistent through Christmas, even while lower-tier hotels found a spike.

"More family travel would warrant such a disparity," DiTomaso said.  "Couples with children would likely stay at a more family-focused type of lodging.  If stays are more than a couple days price eventually becomes a factor in making a reservation. Perhaps these properties are trying to keep consistent rates to entice those debating on whether to spend $250 on a stay at a 4-star hotel or spend the extra $50 and stay at a Ritz-Carlton."

Visit http://alltherooms.com/5-star-hotel-pricing-index-2014 to view the graph and more information.

ABOUT ALLTHEROOMS

AllTheRooms is the world’s first and only complete room metasearch engine, combining hotels (Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia ) with home stays (like Airbnb, HouseTrip, 9Flats), secret deals (like Hotwire and Priceline Express), and all other types of accommodations (Couchsurfing, Hallst, Jetsetter). Existing hotel-focused metasearch engines never present travelers with all the rooms available in a given destination, forcing the consumer to visit dozens of sites. AllTheRooms save the customer time and money, by combining every room on the Internet into one well-designed and fast search engine.