The Best Western Index - Exclusive to Travelsnapz

From our World Traveller series.

An hour in the dentist's chair cost me $35 after I got the refund from my health insurer.

And then (unrelated) I had to get the plumber to replace the pressure valve in the water heater. It only took him 20 minutes and he was much less painful than the dentist. The cost - $155 and no insurance offset.

To ease the pain (of the plumber's bill) I started to think. I wondered about the relative value of the cost of things we do and things we have done.

I even asked myself a question (I do this a lot and sometimes, I even have an answer) - how can you measure value for your travelling dollar or crown, or dinah, or euro, or whatever you spend when you're at home?

I've heard of the Big Mac Index started by the Economist magazine in 1966 to give a light hearted guide to the value of various currencies around the world.

You'd reckon that something as simple as a hamburger would cost the same wherever you bought it. But no, a hamburger in Iceland for example costs 399 krona, the equivalent of $US4.14 at the current exchange rate, compared to a Big Mac price of $US2.49 in the United States.

So if you're on a budget and visiting Iceland, there's no hamburger with that, just the fries thanks.

But you can make up for it when you visit Cape Town. A Big Mac there will cost you just $US0.94.

Well, the BIG MAC INDEX has been around for a long time and has become respected as an indicator of relative value. But we do more than eat when we are travelling.

Introducing the BEST WESTERN INDEX (exclusive to Travelsnapz)

As a first attempt we have researched the cost of staying in a Best Western hotel in various cities around the world and converted the cost to USD. The hotel chain has standards that must be met and if you can get the same standard for less dollars, then it must be value. We have also added a column to give you an idea of how these cities rank in the Big Mac Index. We've divided our cities into three groups - Cheap, Good Value and Platinum . . .

OK, here's the serious stuff . . . .

Travelsnapz
Best Western Index

Economist
Big Mac Index

Cheap

Bangkok
Gaborone
Christchurch
Cape Town

Gaborone
Cape Town
Bangkok
Melbourne

Good Value

Jerusalem
Melbourne
Istanbul
Prague

Prague
Christchurch
Montreal
Istanbul

Platinum

(Take your credit card.)

Montreal
Rome
London
New York

New York
Jerusalem
Rome
London

So now you know where to get great value for your travel budget.

But don't think we are going to stop at this simple analysis. We have started advertising for a whole new department to take over this thing. Accountants, psychologists, fortune tellers, palm readers, industrial relations experts, cleaners, people to staff the canteen, valuers et al - WE NEED YOU.

Please send your application and resume for the position you think you could fill.

Include in your resume details about the cost of a night's accommodation for two at your local BEST WESTERN and how much a BIG MAC costs you down at the end of the street (we need to know you can handle the research).

Address your job application to bestwesternindex@travelsnapz.com and be quick, we are expecting a rush.

PLEASE DON'T APPLY IF YOU ARE A PLUMBER.

Best Western had nothing
to do with all of this!

The Big Mac Index
The Big Mac Index in UK Pounds at Travellers Guide

The Best Western Index
exclusive to Travelsnapz
Current as at October 2002.

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