London is the top city in Europe for the highest value per hotel room, says a new survey by HVS International.

The average London hotel room is valued at £328,000, which is up from £293,000 in 2003. Paris was knocked into second place at £310,000 and Milan third with £281,000.

In addition to London, Paris and Milan, hotels in Zürich, Geneva, Rome, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Prague and Munich also claim values per room that are above the European average of €222,000 per room. At the lower end of the scale, Istanbul has gained a notch, leaving Warsaw at the bottom, with values per room averaging €97,000 in 2004, down from €112,000 in 2003;

In contrast to 2003, the majority of the European markets surveyed experienced an increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR), which was mainly led by an increase in occupancy. However, in many cities average room rates remained under pressure and approximately half of the markets experienced a decline;