While airplanes remained groundedas a result of the unexpected eruption of Mt. Eyjafjallajokul in Iceland, hotel prices reached a new peak. Hotel price comparison site trivago.co.uk investigated the change in overnight accommodation prices by examining the prices during the week of April 15 to 22, when the flight embargo was in force, and comparing these results with the findings of the trivago Hotel Price Index for April. The conclusions are undeniable – significant price hikes in Europe’s major cities during the flight interdiction. In Milan, which also hosted the Football Championship League Semi-Finals on April 20, average room prices soared to £ 200 – a 90 percent increase over the previously reported April average of £105. An overnight stay in London during the airline grounding averged out to £205 a night, compared to April’s expected average of £138, this represents a climb of 49 percent.

Other European cities were also affected by this sudden change. Stranded travelers in Berlin faced surcharges of 63 percent, seeing prices rise from £84  at the beginning of the month to £137. In Amsterdam, the cost of a standard double room rose 26 percent from £133 in early April to £167. Hoteliers in Madrid raised prices 46 percent as a result of the travel crisis, while their counterparts in Barcelona increased room costs by 12 percent from £127 to £142 . Those travelling or trapped in Paris were also forced to dig deep into their pockets – room prices rose by 27 percent, from £138 at the beginning of the month to £175.

The prices and analysis are based on trivago.co.uk’s hotel price index. The results of the April tHPI were used in comparison with prices taken during the period of April 15 to 22, when the air travel was banned. The tHPI shows the average overnight accommodation prices for the most popular European cities on trivago. Prices for a standard double room are calculated on the basis of 160,000 daily price inquiries for overnight hotel stays generated through the trivago hotel price comparison service. trivago stores all hotel enquiries for each month and therefore gives an overview of hotel accommodation prices for the upcoming month. The tHPI reflects the hotel prices within the European online hotel market: The overnight accommodation prices of 53 online travel agents and hotel chains create the average hotel prices for cities, regions and countries within Europe.