New Year’s Eve: Room rates jump highest in NYC, Minneapolis, Cleveland

Hotels in New York City always increase room rates on New Year’s Eve. But this year unexpected U.S. places such as Minneapolis, Cleveland and San Francisco show big leaps in room prices — more than 50% higher than a week before — for a Dec. 31 stay.

Still, the destinations with the biggest increase in hotel costs may not see the most visitors. Only New York City makes it into the top five places where travelers have made hotel reservations for New Year’s Eve.

Hotel search website Trivago crunched the numbers on hotel rates as of Dec. 8 in 25 of the largest U.S. cities. New York leads the pricey pack with an average room price of $576, more than double what a room would have cost a week earlier on Christmas Eve.

Using the same week-to-week comparison, Minneapolis shows an average room price of $196 (up 61%) for New Year’s Eve; Cleveland, $235 (up 59%); San Francisco, $258 (up 54%); and Denver, $200 (up 51%) among large cities.

Las Vegas too increases from an average $93 a night to $285. Los Angeles shows a more modest 27% increase, or $49, according to Trivago’s statistics.

Looking outside the country, a room in Sydney, Australia, will set you back on average $547 a night, a whopping 250% increase from the week before. London costs $384 a night (70% increase), and Paris, $289 a night (55% increase).

Where are there better deals? Cities with price changes of 10% or less include Phoenix at $109 a night; Orlando, Fla., at $194 a night; and Sacramento at $119 a night.

Online travel booking site Priceline reports more people have booked rooms for Las Vegas this year than any other U.S. destination.

Here are the top 10 cities Priceline says travelers will be going to ring in 2015:

1. Las Vegas
2. New York City
3. Miami
4. New Orleans
5. Orlando, Fla. (which appears to be a good deal from the looks of Trivago’s numbers)
6. San Francisco
7. Chicago
8. Orange County, Calif. (which includes Disneyland in Anaheim)
9. Atlanta
10. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

San Diego came in at No. 11, and Los Angeles at No. 15.