According to the hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI), Florida cities were among the most popular US destinations for domestic and international travelers. Orlando ranked third most popular travel destination for Americans, and Miami was the eighth favorite among US travelers and sixth most popular travel US destination for international travelers.

Steve Dumaine, senior director of merchandising at hotels.com, said: "Cities up and down the coasts of Florida, from the least expensive cities like Tallahassee to the most expensive like Panama City, are experiencing deep cuts in hotel rates across the board and some of the lowest prices in the country can be found throughout the South, not just in Florida."

Florida and Georgia experienced the greatest drop in lodging prices among southern states with a 14% decrease in both states over a year. SouthCarolina was not far behind with a 13% fall.

Knoxville, Tennessee, had the lowest average price per room in the South at $83, placing in the top five least expensive cities in the country. Conversely, Panama City, Florida, had the highest average price per room in the South at $154, landing in the top five most expensive cities in the country. 
 
The latest HPI showed six Florida cities - the most in any one state - were among the top ten US cities with the greatest drop in hotel rates. These cities included Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Naples, three of which - Orlando, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale - also ranked among the most popular destinations for US travelers.

In addition to Florida destinations, Southern cities Atlanta and New Orleans also placed in the top 20 US destinations for Americas at positions 11 and 14, respectively.

Orlando hotels ranked tenth in the US for lowest rates. Other Southern cities with the lowest rates included Knoxville, Tennessee, Tallahassee, Florida, Pensacola, Florida, and Lexington, Kentucky.

Mississippi had the lowest average price per room per night among southern states, dropping 11 percent from last year.

The hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room rather than advertised rates, using a weighted average based on the number of rooms sold in each of the markets in which hotels.com operates. The HPI report issued today examines hotel prices paid at 78,000 hotels across 13,000 locations around the world for the period January to June 2009, compared to the same period the year before.

The international scale of hotels.com in terms of both customers and destinations makes the HPI one of the most comprehensive benchmarks available, as it incorporates both chain and independent hotels, as well as specialty lodging options such as vacation rentals and bed and breakfast properties.