Fáilte Ireland writes to all hotels about long-term damage likely to be caused by soaring prices

FÁILTE Ireland is writing to all hotels warning them of the damage to tourism caused by the continued “price spike”.

he term refers to the tendency to double, triple or even quadruple standard hotel rates when the date coincides with a major concert or sporting event, especially in cities where a standard stay in the capital already costs more than €200 a night.

Paul Kelly, chief executive of Fáilte Ireland, told a Dáil committee today that the body was writing to all hotels warning them of the reputational damage likely to be caused by repeated spikes.

He said he and Fáilte Ireland knew from “bitter experience” that if Ireland’s image abroad was damaged by stories of price gouging “then it will take many years to recover”.

All businesses should be aware of the long-term effect of excessive prices, he told the Tourism Committee.

Christy O’Sullivan TD said ‘extortionate prices’ had previously tarnished the industry, but claimed they were more common among international hotel chains in Ireland than family businesses.

Eoghan O’Mara Walsh from the Confederation of the Irish Tourism Industry said average hotel night prices in September this year were €179 across the country and €202 in Dublin. Prices increased by 22% compared to 2019.

He said increasing the VAT rate from 9% to 13.5% would make the industry uncompetitive.

Denise Campbell of the Irish Hotel Federation said the increase had been 18% since 2019, compared to increases of 34% in Budapest, 35% in Athens and 34% in Paris over the same period. Dublin’s hotel inflation was comparable to that of London and Lisbon, she said.

Mr Kelly said the number of state-chartered tourist accommodation for refugee accommodation suggested a “significant increase” in tourist accommodation prices to come in 2023.

It was “not a good solution for them (the refugees), nor for tourism”, he said. He pointed out that a foreign visitor spent €2.50 elsewhere in the locality for every €1 spent on accommodation.

Mr O’Mara Walsh said he expected a drop in tourism next year due to the share of hotel beds occupied by Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers.

State allocation of hotel beds for this purpose amounted to almost a quarter (24 per cent) of all accommodation in Dublin, and 28 per cent nationally if Dublin were excluded .

Less tourism would mean “inevitable job losses” within the wider economy, he suggested.