From around 4,000 at the beginning of the year the number of rooms is set to swell to 5,500 in the next few years.

In the space of less than a decade Liverpool may have gone from having far too few rooms to too many.

Some hoteliers are concerned that standards will slip as prices fall.

There is no doubting though that increased competition means a better deal for visitors to the city, which should help bring inmore tourists.