NEWTON, Mass., March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor^®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced its inaugural TripIndex™ Room Service, a cost-comparison of common incidental items and services that many travelers will purchase when staying in a hotel, across 60 popular global destinations.

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The TripAdvisor TripIndex Room Service is based on the combined cost of a club sandwich ordered from room service, a bottle of water, a mini bottle of vodka, peanuts, a can of soda from the mini bar, and dry cleaning for one shirt.  Prices were quoted from top-rated, 4-star hotels on TripAdvisor in the featured destinations.

Worldly Ways to Save

• Among the featured cities, Denver is the most affordable spot in the United States, coming in with a total TripIndex Room Service cost of $40.
• Cape Town, South Africa rang up as the most affordable city in the world for U.S. travelers, with a TripIndex Room Service total of $20.
• U.S. travelers looking for an affordable international excursion can head south of the border to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which has a TripIndex price tag of $28.
• Claiming three of the top 10 value destinations worldwide, Asia offers significant savings with Mumbai (#3), Jakarta (#8), and Taipei (#10).

Pricey Places

• Honolulu is the priciest U.S. city, with a TripIndex cost of nearly $65.  Las Vegas was a close second at just over $64.
• Moscow ($83) is the priciest global city for travelers, followed by Paris ($69).
• Europe bends budgets with seven of the 10 costliest destinations: Moscow takes the top spot, followed by Paris (#2), Stockholm (#3), Oslo (#4), Zurich (#5), Helsinki (#6), and Brussels (#10).

Travel for Peanuts in New York City

New York City is often perceived as one of America's most expensive destinations, but when it comes to common costs while staying at a hotel, TripIndex Room Service reveals there is at least one item travelers can take home on the cheap. At $5.64, travelers will shell out less for peanuts in the Big Apple than in any other U.S. city measured on the TripIndex. However, with the highest dry cleaning price ($11.58) for a shirt, travelers should try to avoid any spills in the city that never sleeps.

"While travelers are well aware of the wide range in prices for accommodations, they may be surprised to know that in-room amenity charges can also vary significantly from city to city," said Brooke Ferenscik, director of communications for TripAdvisor. "By comparing the cost of popular hotel items and amenities, TripIndex Room Service gives travelers an inside look at destinations where their money will go the farthest."

TripIndex Room Service

U.S. Cities:

Best Value International Cities:

Most Expensive International Cities:

The full TripIndex list of U.S. cities is available at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/InfoCenter-a_ctr.RoomServiceUSlocal

The full TripIndex list of international cities is available at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/InfoCenter-a_ctr.RoomServiceUS 

Notes to Editors:

The international TripIndex Room Service destination list is comprised of key cities which receive the largest number of international visitor arrivals (data compiled by the UNWTO). The U.S. TripIndex list consists of 15 popular editorially selected cities, focused on large and popular tourism markets.

Prices shown specify the average cost (taken from three to five hotels), collected from the top 10 four-star hotels in that city. The top 10 hotels were ranked according to the TripAdvisor Popularity Index between January 21 and January 23, 2013.

Prices were taken between January 21 and February 5, 2013 and converted to local currencies on February 6, 2013.

Where one of the specified items was not available, the nearest equivalent was used as an alternative (e.g. cashews were used when peanuts were not available).

Room service: Room service prices specify the average cost of a club sandwich.

Mini bar: Mini bar prices specify the average cost of a bottle of water, peanuts, can of soda and a mini bottle of vodka. Size/volume of items may vary, but are the standard option as sold by each hotel used in the study.

Dry cleaning: Dry cleaning prices specify the average cost to dry clean one shirt.

About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 200 million unique monthly visitors**, and over 100 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn. 

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, January 2013

**Source: Google Analytics, worldwide data, January 2013

©2013 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved. 

SOURCE TripAdvisor