Bangkok--25 Mar--GHC asia
TRIPADVISOR TRIPINDEX ROOM SERVICE: CAPE TOWN AND SHARM EL SHEIKH OFFER BEST VALUE FOR THAI TRAVELLERSTripAdvisor price-compares popular hotel amenities in 46 of the world’s key destinations
TripAdvisor?, the world’s largest travel site*, today unveils the inaugural TripIndexTM Room Service 2013 — a cost-comparison of common incidental items and services that many travellers will purchase when staying in a hotel, across key destinations around the world.
TripAdvisor’s TripIndex Room Service is based on the combined cost of a club sandwich ordered on room service, a bottle of water, peanuts, mini bottle of vodka and a can of coke from the mini bar and the dry cleaning of one shirt. All costs are taken from top TripAdvisor rated 4 star hotels in each featured destination.
“When planning a trip away, either for business or pleasure, we always know the cost of the hotel room itself, but what about the costs we often incur in the hotel? By comparing the cost of these popular items from hotels around the world, TripIndex Room Service gives travellers a useful snapshot of where their money will stretch the furthest,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson, Jean Ow-Yeong.
The most affordable destination for Thai travellers, when it comes to TripIndex Room Service, is South Africa’s Cape Town with a total TripIndex Room Service cost of ฿576, while Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh takes second place with ฿699. At more than four times the cost of Cape Town, Moscow in Russia topped the list as the costliest with a TripIndex value of ฿2,426, closely followed by Paris which totals which totals ฿2,020.
Affordable Africa, Save in Asia
Africa offers Thai travellers the best value for money when it comes to those all-important room service costs, the continent lays claim to three of the ten cheapest destinations including the best value overall, Cape Town. Sharm el Sheikh follows closely behind in second place and Marrakech in Morocco is ninth. It also seems Asia offers great value for money when you arrive at the hotel, claiming three of the ten cheapest destinations: Mumbai in India, Jakarta in Indonesia and Taipei in Taiwan ranked third, eighth and tenth respectively in the list.
Hotel amenities comparatively costly in Europe
Europe dominates the most expensive list with six of the top ten destinations, and Northern Europe leads the way in the costly stakes laying claim to three of them. Paris in France takes second place, while Stockholm (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Zurich (Switzerland) and Helsinki (Finland) come in third, fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively.
Thailand falls outside the ten most affordable destinations
According to TripIndex Room Service, Thailand falls outside the ten most affordable destinations globally, coming in fourteenth. With a TripIndex value of ฿1046, Thailand is close to 2 times more expensive than the most affordable destination, Cape Town. A club sandwich is ฿288, a bottle of water is ฿103, peanuts are ฿77, a can of coke is ฿112, a mini bottle of vodka is ฿255 and to dry clean a shirt is ฿211.
Similar items, vastly different prices across destinations
TripIndex Room Service shows significant cost differences between cities for all items.
- Club sandwich — The most expensive destination for this common hotel food order, is Zurich, Switzerland, where the average cost is ฿852 — over five times that of the cheapest in the list, ฿161 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Bottle of water — Oslo, Norway has the highest cost for a bottle of water at ฿239. In both Hong Kong, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia all the hotels contacted provided bottled water free of charge.
- Peanuts — At ฿364, Moscow, Russia is the most costly for peanuts taken from the mini-bar. The snack is over seven times cheaper in hotels in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at ฿47.
- Can of coke — A can of coke from the hotel mini-bar is most expensive in Oslo, Norway at ฿232 — over four times that of the cheapest in the list, ฿55 in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Mini bottle of vodka — The most expensive destination for a mini bottle of vodka from a mini-bar is Stockholm, Sweden at ฿528; nearly six times that of the cheapest in the list, ฿93 in Cape Town, South Africa. Moscow is the second most expensive destination at ฿505, perhaps surprising considering Vodka is Russia’s national drink.
- Dry cleaning of one shirt — Moscow, Russia has the highest cost to dry clean a shirt in a hotel at ฿517 — over six times that of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt the cheapest on the list at ฿83.
“For Thai travellers looking to save money on hotel amenities, it seems Asia and Africa are the best destinations to visit. For those looking to stay away from home, especially in Europe, there is a price to pay and that price is on average more than four times as expensive,” continued Jean Ow-Yeong.
TripIndex Room Service at a glance
Least Expensive:
Destination Club sandwich Bottle of water Peanuts Can of coke Mini bottle of vodka Dry cleaning of one shirt TOTAL
1 Cape Town, South Africa US$6.44 (฿188) US$1.87 (฿55) US$2.43 (฿71) US$1.87 (฿55) US$3.18 (฿93) US$3.95 (฿115) US$19.74 (฿576)
2 Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt US$6.72 (฿196) US$1.60 (฿47) US$3.06 (฿89) US$2.25 (฿66) US$7.47 (฿218) US$2.84 (฿83) US$23.94 (฿699)
3 Mumbai, India US$7.43 (฿217) US$2.11 (฿62) US$2.72 (฿79) US$2.33 (฿68) US$7.67 (฿224) US$3.20 (฿93) US$25.46 (฿743)
4 Istanbul, Turkey US$11.49 (฿336) US$1.25 (฿37) US$2.34 (฿68) US$2.14 (฿62) US$5.78 (฿169) US$4.40 (฿128) US$27.40 (฿800)
5 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico US$9.91 (฿289) US$3.00 (฿88) US$1.60 (฿47) US$2.71 (฿79) US$8.04 (฿235) US$3.07 (฿90) US$28.33 (฿827)
6 Budapest, Hungary US$7.27 (฿212) US$2.61 (฿76) US$2.62 (฿77) US$2.34 (฿68) US$7.42 (฿217) US$6.33 (฿185) US$28.59 (฿835)
7 Sofia, Bulgaria US$5.52 (฿161) US$2.00 (฿58) US$5.14 (฿150) US$2.62 (฿77) US$5.24 (฿153) US$8.28 (฿242) US$28.80 (฿841)
8 Jakarta, Indonesia US$9.42 (฿275) US$3.55 (฿104) US$2.47 (฿72) US$3.48 (฿102) US$5.15 (฿150) US$4.80 (฿140) US$28.87 (฿843)
9 Marrakech, Morocco US$10.48 (฿306) US$2.08 (฿61) US$2.03 (฿59) US$2.43 (฿71) US$9.47 (฿277) US$3.31 (฿97) US$29.80 (฿870)
10 Taipei, Taiwan US$10.33 (฿302) US$1.89 (฿55) US$3.95 (฿115) US$1.96 (฿57) US$5.74 (฿168) US$6.55 (฿191) US$30.42 (฿888)
11 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia US$11.61 (฿339) US$0.00 (฿0) US$3.03 (฿88) US$2.61 (฿76) US$7.11 (฿208) US$6.86 (฿200) US$31.22 (฿912)
12 Lisbon, Portugal US$9.90 (฿289) US$2.42 (฿71) US$2.98 (฿87) US$3.94 (฿115) US$7.84 (฿229) US$5.27 (฿154) US$32.35 (฿945)
13 Buenos Aires, Argentina US$8.47 (฿247) US$2.60 (฿76) US$5.11 (฿149) US$2.88 (฿84) US$6.26 (฿183) US$7.31 (฿213) US$32.63 (฿953)
14 Bangkok, Thailand US$9.86 (฿288) US$3.53 (฿103) US$2.63 (฿77) US$3.84 (฿112) US$8.73 (฿255) US$7.24 (฿211) US$35.83 (฿1,046)
US$1 = ฿29.20 as of 20 March 2013
Most Expensive:
Destination Club sandwich Bottle of water Peanuts Can of coke Mini bottle of vodka Dry cleaning of one shirt TOTAL
1 Moscow, Russia US$21.85 (฿638) US$6.65 (฿194) US$12.46 (฿364) US$7.15 (฿209) US$17.28 (฿505) US$17.70 (฿517) US$83.09 (฿2,426)
2 Paris, France US$21.64 (฿632) US$6.76 (฿197) US$7.66 (฿224) US$7.10 (฿207) US$13.52 (฿395) US$12.51 (฿365) US$69.19 (฿2,020)
3 Stockholm, Sweden US$21.22 (฿620) US$5.50(฿161) US$5.76 (฿168) US$5.50 (฿161) US$18.07 (฿528) US$12.84 (฿375) US$68.89 (฿2,012)
4 Oslo, Norway US$17.46 (฿510) US$8.18 (฿239) US$7.38 (฿215) US$7.93 (฿232) US$13.17 (฿385) US$13.46 (฿393) US$67.58 (฿1,973)
5 Zurich, Switzerland US$29.19 (฿852) US$5.28 (฿154) US$4.09 (฿119) US$5.01 (฿146) US$11.08 (฿324) US$12.41 (฿362) US$67.06 (฿1,958)
6 Helsinki, Finland US$17.58 (฿513) US$6.22 (฿182) US$5.41 (฿158) US$6.49 (฿190) US$11.36 (฿332) US$17.31 (฿505) US$64.37 (฿1,880)
7 Tokyo, Japan US$24.46 (฿714) US$4.02 (฿117) US$4.73 (฿138) US$4.15 (฿121) US$12.74 (฿372) US$8.66 (฿253) US$58.76 (฿1,716)
8 Singapore US$18.37 (฿536) US$3.80 (฿111) US$5.54 (฿162) US$6.34 (฿185) US$13.62 (฿398) US$11.09 (฿324) US$58.76 (฿1,716)
9 New York City, USA US$21.75 (฿635) US$4.38 (฿128) US$5.65 (฿165) US$4.63 (฿135) US$8.67 (฿253) US$11.58 (฿338) US$56.66 (฿1,654)
10 Brussels, Belgium US$19.89 (฿581) US$5.07 (฿148) US$3.22 (฿94) US$5.80 (฿169) US$7.98 (฿233) US$12.17 (฿355) US$54.13 (฿1,580)
US$1 = ฿29.20 as of 20 March 2013