London Investment:The Chelsea Bridge Hotel, being built near the Thames, is one of London's first buy-to-let hotels, writes Fiona Tyrrell

The buy-to-let hotel room concept has been long established in the United States, and now the model is being introduced to the London market.

The idea of invest-hotels was popularised in the US by Donald Trump and even The Plaza on Fifth Avenue, New York, is now operated as a "condo hotel".

There are a handful of such schemes in London and investors are attracted to the model because it is considered "hassle-free" - administration, day-to-day running and bills are handled by the hotel management.

As the owner you are entitled to a set number of days in your hotel room and a proportion of the profits the hotel makes by renting out your room.

The latest offering in London is the Pestana Chelsea Bridge in London - a four-star 218-bedroom hotel taking shape on a site close to the River Thames, next to Battersea Park and opposite the Battersea Power Station.

It is being offered by an experienced hotelier (Pestana Hotel and Resorts operates 82 hotels worldwide, some of them invest-hotels), which will run the hotel itself.

Now 66 of the 218 hotel rooms, now under construction, are being offered to investors on a sale-and-leaseback basis (the lease is for 999 years).

The rooms cost £295,000 (€397,436) plus Vat and come fully furnished. They measure 30sq m (322sq ft) and include a small kitchen with sink, storage area, fridge and microwave.

Pestana has projected a room rate per night of £130-£160 (€174-€214).

The hotel will manage the rent of the room and share the rental income with the owners on a 50:50 basis after costs. From this, 2.5 per cent is taken from both the owner's income and the hotel's income and put into a sinking fund to cover maintenance and renovation of the room.

Owners will be entitled to use their room for 30 days of the year at a cost of £30 a night (€40.20).

Owners will have access to on-site facilities which will include restaurant, bar, health and beauty club with gym, spa and indoor pool. Concierge services will also be available.

Pestana is offering a 6 per cent guaranteed return for the first two years if the room is not used by the owners, and a 5 per cent return if it is.

In addition owners at The Chelsea Bridge Hotel can use 15 of their 30 days at any of Pestana's hotels.

A big factor in the success of an invest-hotel scheme is hotel occupancy rates.

The developers of The Chelsea Bridge Hotel are bullish about London's occupancy rates pointing to a Deloitte report published last November which said the city's hotels had an 83 per cent occupancy rate in 2007.

Premier Resorts, tel: 0044 208 9409406; www.pestana-chelseabridge.co.uk