Chapter 3: How Much Was Your Room?!

Big Apple means Big Spending

New York City, hometown of the 2012 Super Bowl champs, tops the charts once again as the most expensive city in the U.S., hitting just above the $200 average daily hotel rate mark, showing a 5% increase from last year. Travelers not afraid of spending a wad of cash can also travel to Honolulu, where they can retrace George Clooney’s steps from his Oscar-nominated film “The Descendants.” They can also expect to splurge on rooms for about $175 per night.

Beach lovers looking to spend a pretty penny can head south to Miami or west to Santa Barbara to get a tan, and those following the campaign trail can seek out their favorite candidate in Washington, D.C., which was ranked as the eighth most expensive city in 2011. Other popular cities that topped the chart included New Orleans, San Francisco and Chicago.

	Most Expensive U.S. Cities Rank City (DMA) 2010 2011 YoY ADR 1. New York, NY $194 $204 5% 2. Honolulu, HI $159 $175 10% 3. Boston, MA $155 $165 6% 4. Miami - Ft. Lauderdale, FL $139 $153 10% 5. Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - San Luis, CA $143 $147 3% 6. New Orleans, LA $132 $146 11% 7. San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose, CA $126 $143 13% 8. Washington, D.C. $140 $142 1% 9. Panama City, FL $132 $139 5% 10. Chicago, IL $134 $139 3% 11. Idaho Falls - Pocatello, ID $133 $138 4% 12. Monterey - Salinas, CA $132 $138 4% 13. Anchorage, AK $124 $137 11% 14. Providence, RI - New Bedford, MA $130 $136 5% 15. Burlington, VT - Plattsburgh, NY $127 $131 3% 16. Charleston, S.C. $89 $130 46% 17. Bangor, ME $120 $130 8% 18. Portland - Auburn, ME $126 $129 3% 19. Philadelphia, PA $127 $129 2% 20. Seattle - Tacoma, WA $123 $129 5% 21. Ft. Myers - Naples, FL $124 $129 4% 22. San Diego, CA $123 $128 4% 23. Juneau, AK $130 $127 -2% 24. Palm Springs, CA $119 $127 7% 25. Pittsburgh, PA $116 $126 9% 26. Austin, TX $117 $125 7% 27. Los Angeles, CA $116 $125 7% 28. Denver, CO $119 $124 4% 29. Utica, NY $121 $124 2% 30. Albany, NY $118 $120 2%