Given a choice, most business travellers would presumably prefer to always stay in five-star properties when on a work trip.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Higher costs and strict corporate travel policies often can mean five-star properties are passed over in favour of more reasonably priced midscale hotels.

Indeed, midscale hotels continue to be a mainstay for business travellers across Asia, as a poll of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific readers conducted last year indicates.

Asked which category of hotel you normally stay in for work trips, 50 per cent of you said midscale hotels, while 42 per cent said upscale/luxury. This left just 8 per cent that typically stayed in budget properties.

And cost tends to be a major factor in determining where travellers plan to stay. According a recent Skyscanner survey, which questioned some 800 travellers from Hong Kong, location and price were major factors for more than 80 per cent of respondents, while just under half cited the hotel’s rating as affecting their decision.

With this in mind, wouldn’t it be good to know the cities in which you can actually get a five-star experience for a three-star price?

These are the cities with the least (and the most) expensive five-star properties in the world. Who knows, on your next trip you may just be able to convince your travel manager to book you in somewhere a little more fancy than usual.

Least expensive five-star hotels in the world

Destination Average price per night (US$)
Kuala Lumpur $127
Istanbul $140
Warsaw $153
Ho Chi Minh City $153
New Delhi and NCR $166
Manila $166
Bangkok $191
Mumbai $191
Doha $204
Lisbon $217
Shanghai $217


Most expensive five-star hotels in the world

Destination Average price per night (US$)
Maldives $980
Amsterdam $662
Paris $624
New York $522
Tokyo $522
Cancun $522
Hawaii $510
Barcelona $484
London $484
Koh Samui $408

Source: Skyscanner 2018 data