# Do hotels charge different prices depending on what country you're in? Arbitrica price-check data

Published 2026-11-01 by Arbitrica research. Canonical: https://arbitrica.com/blog/hotel-prices-by-country-data.html

## Key findings
- 4 of 10 hotels had a lower total price from another country than from the UK, by 1.5% to 33.6%.
- Biggest gap: White House Hotel Istanbul, 4 nights, $1,066 searched from the UK vs $708 searched from India ($358, 33.6% less).
- Booking all 10 hotels at the lowest location instead of the UK price: $7,349 instead of $8,028 ($679, 8.5% less).
- No single country was lowest: India, Mexico, New Zealand and the US were each lowest for different hotels.
- Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore on Google Hotels (Oct 2024): lowest seller 20.8% (US), 25.7% (UK), 25.5% (India) below the hotel's own site; the highest seller charged more than twice the lowest.

## Data: 10 hotels, 2 to 7 search locations each (stays 27-31 May 2024, totals in USD)
| Hotel | Locations checked | UK price | US price | Lowest found (location) | Lower than UK by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ostay Vermillion Namba, Osaka, Japan | 5 | $148 | not checked | $148 (UK) | 0.0% |
| The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, India | 5 | $1,210 | $1,149 | $1,066 (New Zealand) | 11.9% |
| White House Hotel Istanbul, Turkey | 3 | $1,066 | not checked | $708 (India) | 33.6% |
| Ravel Hotel Trademark Collection by Wyndham, New York, USA | 3 | $948 | not checked | $783 (Mexico) | 17.4% |
| Grand Mercure Puka Park Resort, New Zealand | 2 | $621 | $622 | $621 (UK) | 0.0% |
| Hotel NYX Cancun, Mexico | 7 | $558 | $632 | $558 (UK) | 0.0% |
| Hyatt Regency Koh Samui, Thailand | 2 | $670 | not checked | $670 (UK) | 0.0% |
| Vibe Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour, Australia | 3 | $791 | $779 | $779 (USA) | 1.5% |
| The Crane Resort, Barbados | 2 | $836 | $873 | $836 (UK) | 0.0% |
| The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort, Maldives | 2 | $1,180 | $1,191 | $1,180 (UK) | 0.0% |

Full data: https://arbitrica.com/blog/arbitrica-hotel-price-check-2024.csv

## Method
Same hotel, dates and guests for every location; searches run with a VPN set to each location in May 2024 (10 hotels) and October 2024 (1 hotel, 32 locations); total stay price recorded as displayed.

## FAQ
### Do hotels charge different prices depending on what country you're in?
Often, yes. In Arbitrica's check of 10 hotels searched on the same dates from 2 to 7 locations each, 4 hotels showed a lower total price from a country other than the UK, by 1.5% to 33.6%. The other 6 showed the same or a higher price elsewhere. Independent research by NordVPN in 2024 found gaps of up to 70% for travellers searching from the US.

### Which country gives the lowest hotel price?
No single country. In this data the lowest price came from India for a hotel in Istanbul, from Mexico for a hotel in New York, from New Zealand for a hotel in Mumbai and from the US for a hotel in Sydney. The lowest location changes with the hotel, the dates and the seller.

### How big is the price difference for the same hotel?
The largest gap in Arbitrica's check was 33.6%: a 4-night stay at White House Hotel Istanbul cost $1,066 searched from the UK and $708 searched from India. Within one country, the same room on Google Hotels showed seller prices ranging from about 21-26% below the hotel's own site to more than double the lowest price.

### Is the hotel's own website always the lowest price?
No. In this data the hotel's own website was higher than the UK search price in 2 of 4 cases (up to 15% higher for The Taj Mahal Palace) and lower in the other 2.

### Does using a VPN get you a lower hotel price?
Sometimes. Changing your location can show a different price, but you have to check many countries and sellers by hand, and the lowest location changes from hotel to hotel. Arbitrica searches the same hotel from 195 countries at checkout instead.