December 30, 2011 End-of-year celebrators who plan on ringing in the New Year in Paris better dig deep in their pockets if they haven’t already secured a hotel room. According to a recent survey compiled by ParisHotels.net, the City of Light is charging last-minute guests up to 500% more than usual for a New Year’s Eve stay.
Waiting until the eleventh hour won’t prevent visitors to the French capital from scoring a hotel room on December 31. Indeed, around 10% of Paris hotels are still posting vacancies for the night of December 31 into January 1st. Those who put off booking a room, however, are going to pay for their procrastination with considerable price increases.
The average New Year’s Eve rate hike in the city by the Seine is 98%, but a select few hotels are gouging guests by substantially more. Two cases in point are the Hotel Suites Unic Renoir and the Hotel de Nemours, both of which are increasing their rates by over 500%.
The former, a 3-star accommodation in the Latin Quarter, has upped its regular rate of 115 Euros to 698 Euros, while the latter, a 2-star hotel in Paris’s Bastille neighborhood has skyrocketed to 750 Euros. That figure represents a 525% spike over the usual 120 Euros.
To be situated in the central neighborhoods near the main tourist attractions, Paris visitors will have to spend at least 200 Euros. Hotels around the Champs Elysees, the Latin Quarter and the Bastille District are all posting room rates at or exceeding that amount. And for primer real estate close to the Eiffel Tower, a hotel guest can be prepared to spend 400 Euros or more this New Year’s Eve.
Does that mean budget travelers should kiss their dreams of ringing in the New Year in Paris goodbye? Not necessarily. In the outer neighborhoods of Paris (La Villette in the north, Menilmontant in the northeast, and Montparnasse and Place d'Italie in the south) rooms are still going for around 100 Euros.
Granted, guests at these budget-friendlier accommodations will have a hike to the central New Year’s Eve festivities. The Paris metro, however, will run 24 hours that night and will get them to the city center in less than 30 minutes.
The following table shows the ten hotels with the biggest rate increases for New Year’s Eve in Paris.
| Name of Hotel |
Stars |
Location |
Regular Rate |
New Year's Eve Rate |
| Hotel de Nemours |
2.5 |
Bastille |
120 euros |
750 euros |
| Hotel Suites Unic Renoir |
3.0 |
Latin Quarter |
115 euros |
698 euros |
| Belambra City Hôtel Magendie |
2.0 |
Gare d'Austerlitz |
95 euros |
500 euros |
| Hotel de la Gare du Nord |
3.0 |
Gare du Nord |
100 euros |
500 euros |
| Hotel Du Prince Eugene Paris |
2.0 |
Republique |
104 euros |
450 euros |
| Coypel |
2.0 |
Place d'Italie |
95 euros |
400 euros |
| Hotel St. Georges Lafayette |
2.0 |
St. Georges |
137 euros |
400 euros |
| Champs Elysees Mac Mahon |
3.0 |
Arc de Triomphe |
218 euros |
560 euros |
| L'Empire Paris |
4.0 |
Louvre |
250 euros |
580 euros |
| Hotel Lutetia |
3.0 |
St-Germain-des-Prés |
190 euros |
440 euros |
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About the survey:
The survey was conducted on December 28, 2011. Available hotels in Paris and their rates for the cheapest available double room on New Year’s Eve were established based on a search of the leading hotel-booking sites: Expedia, Booking.com and Orbitz. For comparison, the rates for the same rooms from January 7 to 8 were established and determined as “Regular Rates.”
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