Average achieved room rates in UK hotels fell by 6.2% in 2009, according to an annual survey by hotel consultants PKF.
The Hotel Britain 2010 report also revealed a fall in rooms yield (room occupancy multiplied by the average achieved room rate) of 4.7%, to £108.74.
The report reviewed the performance of 559 hotels representing over 93,449 rooms across London and the regions.
Robert Barnard, hotel consultancy services partner at PKF, said: "Hoteliers had no choice but to reduce their rates in order to attract visitors."
The reductions in room rate reflected the state of the UK economy as well as the global downturn, according to the report, but bad weather and swine flu also affected hotels' performance.
But, there is still an overall trend of growth, according to Barnard: "Despite the mostly negative results for 2009, over the last five years UK hotels have achieved a positive compound annual growth rate in rooms yield (also known as revenue per available room), up 2.2%, demonstrating the strength of the industry in recent times."
Overall, London performed better than the regions. "London remains resilient, although this was the first year for the capital to report a decline in rooms yield. Overall for 2009, occupancy was up 1.1% on 2008 to 81.1%.
"The fall in rooms yield, by 4.7% to £108.74, was as a result of the 5.7% drop in average achieved room rate (AARR) to £134.09. However it should be noted that this is still a relatively high AARR," said Barnard.
Meanwhile, hotels in the regions were hit hard, said Barnard, with rooms yield down 12.2% from £55.16 in 2008 to £48.42 in 2009. "This was a result of an 8.4% drop in AARR to £70.80 and a 4.2% fall in occupancy from 71.3% in 2008 to 68.4% in 2009."
The outlook for 2010 remains uncertain, said Barnard, "as economic recovery is expected to be relatively slow plus it is an election year, the result of which is very close to call".
As a top business destination, London continues to attract visitors, he added, especially as the pound remains relatively weak against the euro and the US dollar.
www.pkf.co.uk