New research has revealed that the average cost of a hotel room decreased by 16 per cent during the first half of 2009, as UK hoteliers continue to slash prices in order to attract more customers.

According to Hotels.com's latest Hotel Price Index, guests paid an average rate of £83 per room per night compared with £99 during the same period of 2008, which is a trend being replicated at hotels across the world. The Hotel Price Index examined the real price of a room at 78,000 hotels in 13,000 locations around the world, rather than advertised rates, between January and June 2009.

Room rates at UK hotels have been cut by up to 33 per cent in some cases in a bid to maintain occupancy levels, with operators in Southampton and Belfast among those reducing prices the most. Hoteliers at seven UK destinations were reported to have cut prices by more than 20 per cent. David Roche, president of Hotels.com Worldwide, said: "These are by far the most significant movements in prices that we have seen since Hotels.com started the Hotel Price Index in 2004.

"Hotel prices have fallen across the UK, a reflection of just how deep hoteliers have had to dig in their efforts to maintain occupancy. We were expecting 2009 to be a year of dramatic price cuts, and so far it has been." The study also revealed that the average price of hotel rooms in Moscow, Russia (36 per cent); Mexico City, Mexico (23 per cent) and Marrakech, Morocco (20 per cent) were among the largest decreases.

However, there was a 35 per cent increase in the average cost of hotel rooms in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a 20 per cent increase in Tel Aviv, Israel.