THE Gold Coast has taken the mantle as Australia’s budget hotel capital after another weak quarter on the tourism strip.

The latest Hotel Price Index,  showed average room rates on the Coast fell four times more the national average in the six months to June. While average room rates across Australia fell 2 per cent during the first half, the Gold Coast suffered an 8 per cent fall.

This makes it the cheapest hotel destination in Australia with an average rate of $123 a night.

The Gold Coast’s loss was far north Queensland’s gain as room rates in Cairns – formerly the country’s cheapest stay-over market – rose 8 per cent during the same period. Cairns and Sydney (up 4 per cent) bucked the national trend and were among only a handful of cities around the world to see a rebound in room rates.

Sydney is now the most expensive hotel market in Australia, taking over from Perth in the latest quarterly survey. The Hotel Price Index is measured in Australian dollars and gauges the prices of hotels for Australian travellers.

It showed that hotel room rates globally edged 2 per cent higher in the June quarter, compared to a year earlier. It is the first time room rates have risen in almost two years, but  still lower than in 2004.