Canadian Hotel Rate Report for March 2012 Revealed By Hotwire

Up three spots from last month, Victoria tops the list with a 12 percent price drop. Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, announced the results of its March 2012 Hotwire® Canadian Hotel Rate Report, which features the top five cities in Canada where hotel rates have dropped the most. When combined with Hotwire.com's already discounted prices, the Hotel Rate Report helps guide customers to the destinations that can maximize their travel dollars so they can take more trips. Up three spots from last month, Victoria tops the list with a 12 percent price drop. As the capital of British Columbia, Victoria's tourism flow is known to be steady throughout the year. However, over the past few months, the city has reported some of the coldest weather in recent history, causing visitation to decline. As a result, the city is a great value destination this month for travellers looking to take advantage of Victoria's natural beauty. For the second consecutive month, Banff holds a spot in the top five cities with a 10 percent price drop. As a common vacation spot for residents of Edmonton and Calgary, Banff is a town known for its great skiing and national parks. For several months now, the city's temperatures have been frigidly cold, prompting great snowfall, but also deterring the less avid ski enthusiasts. As a result, demand has suffered, causing hotel prices to fall. Winnipeg, Calgary and Montreal round out the top five this month. New to the Hotel Rate Report, Winnipeg appears at third place with a nine percent price drop as it experiences one of its warmest winters. A city known for snow time fun, many attractions have actually had to manufacture snow to bring back their winter traditions. Montreal, on the other hand, is experiencing slow convention business, which in turn drives prices down in this lovely city, creating a great deal environment. And like other more Western parts of Canada, a bitter cold has also caused prices to continue to drop in Calgary."This time of year typically has many popular cities across Canada seeing plenty of visitors, but the topsy-turvy winter has certainly affected tourist traffic, prompting hotel prices to fall in many places," said Pierre-Etienne, vice president, operations of the Hotwire Group. "If you're willing to adapt to Mother Nature's interesting pattern this year, then you can take a trip to some of our most popular destinations at a fraction of the typical cost." Hotwire is able to find great deals because it works with hotels, airlines and car rental companies to fill unsold inventory. This means customers can find incredibly low deals on Hotwire, especially in cities like those on the Hotel Rate Report where prices are unseasonably low. About the Hotwire Hotel Rate Report The Hotwire Hotel Rate Report will run results during the first week of each month. Results are calculated by looking at Hotwire stay dates for select regions in the current month, and comparing prices in the current month against Hotwire prices in the same month in the prior year. Prices are compared within the same star rating categories for consistency, and the percent change in price for each region is generated as an overall average of the changes in those categories. The prices in the chart above are examples for a particular star rating category within that market, and actual prices may be higher or lower than the example that is provided.