24% drop in cost of a hotel room

LONDON hotel prices fell by nearly a quarter last year as managers struggled to fill rooms during the downturn.

Visitors have found it increasingly easy to secure discounts on advertised room rates, data from Hotels.com suggests.

The website's price index showed British travellers paid on average 12 per cent less for a room at £111 in the final quarter of last year than in the equivalent period of 2007. Foreign visitors have enjoyed a 24 per cent fall in costs thanks to favourable exchange rates for the US dollar and euro.

David Roche, president of Hotels.com Worldwide, said: "The silver lining for hoteliers is that the low prices are proving a boost to British tourism." The index tracks the real prices paid for a room rather than advertised rates.