<div id="subtitle">Average hotel room price drops 17 pct in first half of 2009, according to Hotels.com Index</div><div><p>The average price of a hotel room worldwide dropped 17 percent in the first six months of 2009 over last year, according to a Hotels.com Hotel Price Index.</p><p>The drop in the average was driven by drops on all continents. In North America, prices were down 17 percent. Prices in Europe fell 16 percent.</p><p>The index tracks prices paid by customers of 78,000 hotels at 13,000 locations around the world. Hotels.com has been tracking the index since January 2004.</p><p>Hotels.com is part of Expedia Inc. Its shares rose 21 cents to close Monday at $23.27.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=58807037&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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