Bristol hotels continued to struggle during May with room rates falling according to monthly figures released yesterday by a consultancy service to the trade.

Occupancy across the city's hotels fell by 3.3 per cent year-on-year from 71.2 per cent last year to 68.9 per cent this year.

The room rate dropped by 7.4 per cent to £69.39 as hoteliers looked for ways to attract visitors. As a result, rooms yield fell by 10.5 per cent from £53.39 last year to £47.81 this year.

Bristol did not fare as badly as some regional cities, with Reading posting a 33.2 per cent drop in rooms yield from £44.36 last year to £29.63 in 2009.

Equally, Cardiff had a difficult month with occupancy down by 2.4 per cent and room rate down by 19 per cent.

Neil Dimes, partner in charge for PKF's Bristol office, said: "The story continues in May on a similar vein to April.

"The economic climate means hoteliers are having to reduce their rates to attract the visitors and this is affecting rooms yield.

"However, we would hope to see a more positive picture unfolding with the influx of visitors to the incredibly popular Banksy exhibition, plus the summer holiday season beginning so hopefully we may see some better results if families, as predicted, choose to holiday in the UK this year."