As the weaker pound has meant the prices paid by UK travellers to Europe have risen, Hotels.com is expecting to see more British holidaymakers considering a break to non Euro zone destinations in 2009, where they can expect more for their money.

The Hotels.com Hotel Price Index has shown price rises of up to 32% in many European destinations: Monte Carlo has seen a staggering hotel price hike of 31% to an average of �176 per room per night, whilst Geneva has seen a huge 32% price rise to �136. Similarly, the popular German city of Munich has seen hotel prices rise by 13% to �111.

Instead, UK travellers would be wise to consider going the long haul to destinations such as Iceland, Morocco, Thailand, Australia, or South Africa, where the costs of a break aren�t affected by the rising cost of the dollar and the Euro. The Hotel Price Index has shown that hotel prices in Iceland�s capital, Reykjavik, are down to just �87 per room per night on average for British travellers. Similarly, Brits can expect to pay just �79 for a night in Marrakech, a favourite winter sun destination. For those prepared to travel further afield, a night in Sydney will set you back just �85, whilst a night in Auckland will cost a mere �57. Similarly, average hotel prices in Bangkok, recently hit by protests, are just �61 per room per night. Cost of hotels in Euro zone v non Euro zone destinations Destination Average price per room per night for British travellers in Q3 2008 Euro destinations France (Monte Carlo) �176 Switzerland (Geneva) �136 Germany (Munich) �111 Spain (Barcelona) �102 Non Euro destinations Turkey (Istanbul) �93 South Africa (Cape Town) �90 Iceland (Reykjavik) �87 Australia (Sydney) �85 Morocco (Marrakech) �79 China (Shanghai) �67 Thailand (Bangkok) �61 New Zealand (Auckland) �57

Alison Couper, Director of Communications at Hotels.com, says: �There has never been a better time for Brits to venture further afield to places where hotel prices are falling and the pound is still strong. However, for travellers preferring to stay closer to home there are still some fantastic deals to be found. Sites such as ours are currently offering savings of up to 50% on hotels in Europe.�

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For further information visit http://www.hotels.co.uk/press/hotel-price-index.html

For more information or to request interviews: Please email press@hotels.co.uk or call

Alison Couper on 020 7019 2360 Cordy Griffiths on 020 7019 2268 Amanda Mills on 020 7492 0914 Amy Freeman on 020 7492 0903 Alice Vaughan on 020 7492 0996

About Hotels.com Hotels.com is the world�s most visited hotels bookings site* and the global hotels specialist. Operating in all major markets with dedicated staff, Hotels.com offers 80,000 quality hotels worldwide. If a customer can find the same deal for less on a prepaid hotel, Hotels.com will match it. Hotels.com also has one of the largest hotel contracting teams in the industry negotiating the best rates for its users, plus user-contributed reviews of its properties. Travellers can book online or by contacting one of the multi-lingual call centres on 0871 200 0171.

* Hotels.com website is the most visited in the �Hotels/Accommodation provider� category, according to comScore Media Metrix (Jan-Dec 2007).