Occupancy was down in six cities and profit fell in eight of the 10 European cities surveyed, but the figures are distorted by the Easter holidays arriving in March this year compared to April in 2007.

“The hotels in our European sample are primarily city centre four and five-star business hotels and although they may attract some leisure demand during the Easter holidays, it tends not to compensate for the losses in rate and volume from the corporate market,” said Jonathan Langston, managing director, TRI Hospitality Consulting.