Image: Latin America and US hotel markets are showing signs of strong recovery

The latest data on hotel rates has revealed a fragmented global picture, with Latin America and the US showing signs of recovery, while the Eurozone is still struggling.

According to the latest bi-annual hotel survey from Hogg Robinson Group (HRG), the strongest growth in hotel rates during the first half of 2012 took place in Latin America.

Mexico City reported the highest increase in room rates at 30 per cent as growth in demand, coupled with a lack of new openings, drove an aggressive increase in average achieved rates.

Across the wider Latin American region, the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo reported increases of 15 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.

Key destinations in the US – including New York and San Francisco – all saw average hotel room rates rise in the first half of 2012 as business activity increased in line with economic performance.

The financial crisis affected average room rates across the Eurozone, leading to rate decreases in key European cities – notably in Barcelona, Spain, where rates fell by 22 per cent. Madrid and Dublin also reported 2 per cent and 6 per cent rate decrease respectively.

Elsewhere, hotel rates in India were driven down by the country's economic slowdown and lack of capital for new investments. Mumbai showed an average room rate decrease of 7 per cent and Bangalore 21 per cent.

Stewart Harvey, group commercial director at HRG, said: "The results of the hotel survey present an intriguing picture of where businesses are channelling travel spend.

"Macroeconomic weakness and uncertainty are driving room rates down across mainland Europe, but the significant growth in room rates across the Latin American region indicates a shift in business priorities towards high potential destinations."

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