The Budget Hotel Report - Summer 2011

In its first Budget Hotel Report, Cheaphotels.org compared the average nightly rate of budget hotels (2 and 2.5 star hotels) in the month of August for the Top 30 United States tourist destinations.

Not surprisingly, rates are highest in New York City, where visitors spend an average of $147 per night. Boston ranks second with guests spending an average of $130 per night, and San Francisco registers third with an average of $125 per night. On the other end of the spectrum, Orlando visitors only spend an average of $69 per night.

In addition, Cheaphotels.org compared hotel rates in popular neighborhoods of six top tourist cities. These findings revealed significant pricing differences. In New York's Times Square area, budget hotels averaged $225 a night while Long Island averaged only $135. Budget hotels in L.A.'s top beach cities, Santa Monica and Marina del Rey, averaged $175 while L.A.'s Downtown district offered rates of only $90 a night.

Average Hotel Rates: Top 30 U.S. Tourist Destinations

Below you will find the average rates of budget hotels during the month of August 2011 for the Top 30 U.S. tourist destination cities.

Rank	Name of City	Avg. Rate
1	New York	$147
2	Boston	$130
3	San Francisco	$125
4	Washington, D.C.	$107
5	San Diego	$106
6	Seattle	$105
7	Philadelphia	$101
8	Baltimore	$96
9	Los Angeles	$93
10	Chicago	$92
11	Denver	$91
12	Miami	$88
12	San Antonio	$88
14	Minneapolis	$87
14	Austin	$87
16	Anaheim	$85
17	Indianapolis	$82
18	Houston	$81
19	St. Louis	$80
20	Nashville	$79
21	Las Vegas	$77
22	Charlotte	$76
22	Ft. Lauderdale	$76
22	Detroit	$76
25	Atlanta	$74
25	Dallas	$74
25	Kansas City	$74
28	Tampa	$73
29	Orlando	$69
30	Phoenix	$63

City Neighborhoods

Cheaphotels.org compared the average budget hotel rates in various neighborhoods in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Washington, D.C. The comparison revealed notable differences in pricing depending on location, proximity to tourist attractions, and business districts.

In New York, areas such as Times Square and Midtown showed the highest average prices for budget hotels, while areas farther from Manhattan like Long Island or near JFK Airport were significantly cheaper.

In Los Angeles, beachfront areas including Santa Monica and Venice Beach had the highest prices, while Downtown Los Angeles and areas near LAX Airport offered much more affordable options.

Similar trends were observed in Chicago, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Miami, where central tourist areas and waterfront districts typically had higher rates compared with suburbs or airport districts.

About the Methodology

The Budget Hotel Report is based on the hotel inventory of Cheaphotels.org, which equals the inventory of Expedia.

The study selected four dates in August (2–3, 13–14, 23–24 and 28–29) and used hotel rates for a standard double room of 2 and 2.5 star hotels in the Top 30 U.S. tourist destinations. Hotels were checked approximately one month in advance, and only rates of available hotels were used.

An average hotel rate was calculated for every date, and then those figures were averaged for the different dates in August to produce the final ranking.

For each destination, hotels in the actual city and surrounding vicinity were included. The vicinity was defined according to Expedia's definition, which includes suburbs, areas around airports, and neighboring cities.

For the neighborhood comparison, definitions were primarily taken from Expedia, although in some cases neighborhoods were merged or split. Only neighborhoods where at least five budget hotels were available were included in the analysis.