London hotels saw revenue per available room (RevPar) fall during the first half of September, according to figures released by research firm STR Global.

The report, which compares figures with the same period last year, showed that RevPar fell from £135.94 to £118.87 during the week to 14 September, after a 20.8 per cent fall the week before.

Occupancy rate was also down for the period, with hotels experiencing a 10.3 per cent fall in guests. Average room rate dropped by 5.5 per cent to £144.80, in the second week of September, from £153.34 in 2007.

A spokesperson for STR Global said: "London's weekly performance is down compared to the same week last year, which is also due to the Defence Systems & Equipment International 2007 Fair which took place in September 2007.

"Overall, while occupancies starts to come under pressure, ADR is still strong in London and the level of occupancies achieved is still around 80%."

STR Global is a new company born from the merger of hospitality research firms Smith Travel Research (STR), Deloitte’s HotelBenchmark and The Bench.