Top 4 Destinations for Holiday Hotel Bargains

Travelers may feel like their wallets are always getting thinner, but this holiday season, that may not be the case. In its preliminary forecast for the 2011 holiday season, Bing Travel estimates that rates at three and four-star hotels will be flat compared to last year and rates at five-star hotels will decline 8%. If you’re looking to cash in, here are the four cities where hotel prices* are expected to drop the most.   *Prices shown represent a combined average of rates at three, four and five-star hotels in the area

4. Washington, D.C. Average nightly rate in 2010: $382.10 Average nightly rate in 2011: $339.85 As lawmakers in Washington look to cut costs, hotel rates in the nation’s capital are reducing rates. Booking a hotel in the Washington Metropolitan area will cost you 11.1% less on average than it did this time last year.

3. Cancun Average nightly rate in 2010: $142.66 Average nightly rate in 2011: $125.27 If winter weather has you fleeing for warmer climates, consider heading to Cancun, where average hotel rates are estimated to fall 12.1% from last year.

2. New York Average nightly rate in 2010: $489.14 Average nightly rate in 2011: $417.98 Sleeping in “the city that never sleeps” will cost you less than it did last year. Hotel rates are estimated to be 14.6% lower than they were this time last year.

1. Las Vegas Average nightly rate in 2010: $189.65 Average nightly rate in 2011: $159.82 If you plan on spending Christmas at the slots, you may be in luck. The city with the biggest drop in hotel prices this holiday season is Las Vegas, where rates are expected to be down 15.7% from last year.