Report: Charlotte’s become a more popular travel destination

A new report ranked Charlotte a more popular travel destination than Raleigh, Myrtle Beach and Charleston in 2014, and found average hotel prices in Charlotte were cheaper than the national average.

The cost of a Charlotte hotel was $115 a night in 2014, up 5 percent from 2013, according to a biannual hotel price report released this week from travel site Hotels.com. Charlotte moved up two places in its popularity ranking from 2013 – the biggest year-over-year improvement of the top 25 cities – to No. 24 and was ranked just above Tampa, Fla., and just under Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The U.S. average price of a hotel in 2014 was $137 a night, according to the report, representing a rise of 5 percent. The most popular destinations were Las Vegas and New York, with average nightly hotel costs of $116 and $271, respectively.

“Growing consumer confidence and lower gas prices contributed to a number of U.S. destinations reporting record visitor numbers in 2014,” said Neha Parikh, vice president and general manager of Hotels.com North America.

Raleigh was ranked No. 36 most popular city with a hotel price of $103 a night in 2014, according to the report. Myrtle Beach, where hotels cost $136, ranked No. 30 in popularity in 2014 and Charleston ranked No. 44 and had an average hotel price of $159 a night.

Nashville, the No. 21 most popular U.S. destination, saw the biggest price change among top destinations. Travelers paid an average of $164 a night, a 15 percent increase in a year that saw the highest-ever tourism numbers.

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 7:20 AM with the headline "Report: Charlotte’s become a more popular travel destination."