The rise of the £1,000-a-night hotel room

As this surge in prices extends beyond the luxury sector, it offers little comfort to middle-income groups hoping to downgrade their accommodations

For many, the idea of staying at a luxurious hotel now implies exorbitant costs, with room rates reaching £1,000 or more. This shift is partly attributed to the pandemic, as hotel chains hoped to recover losses by banking on affluent travelers willing to pay whatever it takes to travel.

What they probably didn’t anticipate was that the public appetite for such inflated rates would continue. But it has, with the rate for a night at the neoclassical grande dame Hotel de Russie in Rome rocketing from £635 in 2019 to £1,699 this year — a rise of 168 per cent — while the entry-level price of a night at the Four Seasons George V in Paris has spiralled from £1,025 in 2021 to £2,146 in 2024, up 109 per cent.

Off the record, some luxury hotels admit that this strategy has led to dramatic drops in occupancy, with some running at about 30%, half the usual figure for this time of year. But rather than being a cause for concern, this can work in a property’s favor. It’s easier to maintain standards in the face of enduring staffing shortages by welcoming fewer guests who are paying, effectively, double or more to stay.

Get the full story at The Times