Birmingham hotels slash prices in a bid to fill rooms

Dec 13 2008 by Harriet Alexander, Birmingham Mail

Across the country, the average price for a hotel room was £97, a four per cent drop on last year. Bath was the most expensive city for hotels, with the average room costing £142 per night, while London was second at £116.

Birmingham was the second -cheapest of the 22 cities polled, with only Nottingham cheaper at £65 a room. Leicester, Blackpool and Aberdeen were all more expensive.

However, not all hotels have been forced to offer discount deals.

Stephen Cresswell, manager of the City Inn at Brindleyplace, said 2008 had been a successful year for his hotel.

“We’ve not seen the level of demand drop at all and our average occupancy and room rate has actually increased,” he said.

“We’ve had a major refurbishment and worked hard to improve our service and facilities and, as a result, are doing well.

“But we do know that there may be difficult times ahead. A large percentage of guests are corporate clients and we know things will not be easy for us.”