Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester are leading the way in a European hotel revival, leaving London to play catch-up.
Chain hotels in all three regional cities have seen both occupancy rates and revenue per available room (revpar) improve steadily during 2003, but London managed to move into growth only during the first half of 2004.
However, delegates to the fourth annual European Hotel Finance and Investment Summit in London last week heard that the UK's overall combined performance had been enough to push the country to the top of the European league table.
Year-on-year occupancy rates are up 3.2 percentage points between January and July at 73.7% and revpar has surged to g83.40 (£56.70), up by 12%.
Colette Ambiehl, research director at MKG Consulting, said: "As of the middle of 2004 it's clear we're in the midst of a recovery. I expect this recovery to accelerate during 2005. The 2004 figures give real cause for optimism."
At the bottom of the list, Spain saw occupancy fall 1.7 points to 63.9% and revpar fell 9.2% to g57.30 (£38.90) in the same period.
Several speakers were concerned that the country would continue to suffer through chronic oversupply of bed space.
Chain Hotel Occupancy rates, Europe
| January to July |
2004 |
(2003) |
| UK |
73.7% |
(70.5%) |
| Austria |
69.5% |
(64.1%) |
| France |
66.6% |
(66.1%) |
| Italy |
64.0% |
(61.7%) |
| Sweden |
59.5% |
(59.3%) |
| Spain |
63.9% |
(65.6%) |