The most expensive Floridian destination, by far, is Key West. There hotel guests will have to spend $472 per night for the most affordable double room. That figure represents 161% more than they would regularly have to pay. In the other Florida Keys, the increase is more moderate, only 69%; however, travelers will still have to spend $270 per night.
MIAMI – End-of-year revelers who are looking for a hotel room at one of Florida’s top beaches for New Year’s Eve can expect to pay sharply more than usual. That’s according to a new survey from MiamiHotels.org, which compared hotel rates for 20 popular destinations in the Sunshine State. The time period of December 30, 2013 through January 2, 2014 served as the basis of comparison.
The most expensive Floridian destination, by far, is Key West. There hotel guests will have to spend $472 per night for the most affordable double room. That figure represents 161% more than they would regularly have to pay. In the other Florida Keys, the increase is more moderate, only 69%; however, travelers will still have to spend $270 per night.
Coming in second and third most expensive according to the survey are Miami Beach and Sanibel Island. At these popular destinations, the most affordable room will cost New Year’s celebrators $309 and $287, respectively. Miami Beach also happens to be the destination with the biggest percentage rate increase for New Year’s Eve: +178%.
Rates have also risen sharply in Fort Myers Beach (+157%) while they have gone up a bit more moderately in Fort Lauderdale Beach (+79%) and St. Pete Beach (+84%). Among the cities considered by this survey, rates in Orlando around Disney World have more than doubled (+114%), while in Tallahassee, Tampa and Jacksonville they have actually decreased. In these latter cities, New Year’s Eve revelers can find rooms that are –35%, –15% and –30%, respectively, less than usual.
The following table shows the 10 Florida destinations with the highest hotel rates over New Year’s Eve, as well as a comparison with regular rates. The rates indicated reflect the nightly price for the most affordable double room (minimum: 3-star hotel) for the New Year’s period spanning December 30 through January 2.
- Key West $472 (+161%)
- Miami Beach $309 (+178%)
- Sanibel Island $287 (+88%)
- Florida Keys $270 (+69%)
- Longboat Key $259 (+72%)
- Fort Myers Beach $252 (+157%)
- Miami Downtown $242 (+92%)
- Anna Maria Island $229 (+62%)
- St. Augustine $179 (+50%)
- Fort Lauderdale Beach $178 (+79%).
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
