Roberto Lora, general manager of the Savoy Hotel.

A PRICE war among top-end hotels to drive down their room rates has made it harder for three-star establishments to compete in the market.

In what has become one of the toughest times ever for Jersey tourism, the gap in price between a three and four-star hotel has narrowed and in some cases, a four-star is cheaper than a three-star.

The Savoy Hotel was upgraded from a three-star to four-star in 2008. Its general manager Roberto Lora said that the hotel could not have survived as a three-star in the current climate.

‘It’s very difficult to make ends meet when you are charging three-star prices,’ he said. ‘If we were still a three-star and had to drop our prices even more, that would be difficult. Three-stars can’t drop their prices because if they drop their margins any further they won’t break even. If it wasn’t for the fact we were a four-star, this year would be a complete disaster for us.’

• See Tuesday’s JEP for full story and more business news.