Irish hotel industry fastest in EU to bounce back from pandemic, data shows

Ireland is the only country in Europe which had a higher rate of hotel occupancy in the last 12-months than before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, according to data from leading commercial real estate information company, CoStar.

Room occupancy rose by 1 per cent year-on-year, bringing rate slightly above the average for 2019, the data shows.

As of February this year, Ireland boasted a 12-month running occupancy rate that was 102 per cent of the level in comparison to February 2019.

This seven-year high comes against the backdrop of significant struggles for the hospitality industry during the pandemic, when hotel occupancy rates in Ireland dropped as low as 24.6 per cent during 2020.

Trump’s tariffs: How will it hit me in my pocket and shopping trolley?

Migrant worker who worked up to 115 hours a week awarded €71,000 by WRC

Workers face reduced hours from this weekend at firms impacted by US tariffs, Ibec claims

Other than Ireland, the UK was the only other country in Europe which had an occupancy rate on par with their pre-pandemic levels, following a 1 per cent year-on-year growth in their figures.

Hotels in Italy, Spain and Greece, followed closely behind but are still a single percentage point shy of their respective 2019 occupancy levels.

The average daily rate for Irish hotel rooms over the past year has reached €169, 30 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels. By February 2019, the rate – an industry metric measuring the revenue generated by an occupied room per day – over the previous 12 months stood at €130.79.

During the pandemic, the average daily room rate dropped below €100 for much of 2020, the data shows.

[ Court suspends Dublin Airport passenger cap beyond summerOpens in new window ]

Overall, the European tourism market recovered slightly over the last year, with average hotel occupancy of 60 per cent in the past three months, representing annual growth of 2 per cent.

Ireland’s occupancy rate in February was 78.2 per cent but it is unclear if that data includes hotel rooms occupied by Ukrainian visitors or other refugees being housed under International Protection Accommodation ServicesIn the Dáil this week, however, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said more hotels around the State were “decanting” those long-term guests.