London hotels still among the most profitable in Europe

London's hotels are still some of the most profitable in Europe, despite suffering falling margins for the third year in a row.

According to a survey from consultants Deloitte, London hotel profits fell by 13% during 2003.

This compares with an average 12% fall for Europe as a whole.

But London hotels still generated an average €26,103 (£17,238) per room in profit during the year.

The only city performing better was Moscow, raking in €27,934 (£18,449) per available room.

London hotels compare favourably to the rest of Europe largely because of their ability to convert revenue into profit.

On average 43 cents of every Euro is retained as profit, against just 30 cents elsewhere in the Eurozone.

Profitability is highest in Eastern Europe, where labour costs are lower.

In Moscow, the conversion rate is 49%, while in Prague it is 43%.

In Germany the figure was 29%.

The UK has some of the lowest labour costs in Europe, with payroll costs taking up just 29% of revenue - five percentage points lower than in Germany.

This is partly due to the lack of trade unions in the UK hotel industry, said Deloitte.

In the UK there was a marked variation in profitability rates from one location to another.

At Gatwick Airport profitability was 45%.

At Heathrow and Birmingham the figure was also above 40%.

Cardiff hotels fared worst, with a conversion rate of just 33%.

Buy this week's Caterer magazine for more industry news and analysis