Dublin hotels reported a 3.7 per cent drop in occupancy to 78.3 per cent in November but the average daily rate - the total guest room revenue divided by the total number of available rooms - rose to a record high during the month.
New data from data and analytics specialist STR shows the average daily rate jumped 3.8 per cent to €121.03 in November, despite demand being 2.8 per cent lower.
Revenue per available room (RevPar), which is calculated by dividing a hotel’s total guestroom revenue by the room count and the number of days in the period measured, was unchanged at €94.80.
The latest figures come as a new report from the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) shows hoteliers are feeling upbeat about their prospects for 2017.
Nine out of ten hoteliers surveyed by the organisation said they recorded increased business this year, with a sharp increase in overnight stays from Irish people. The IHF stressed that the increase in the domestic market is coming from a low base.
Coming to the end of one of the strongest tourism years since the recession, the industry benefitted from an 11 per cent increase in overseas visitors to Ireland during the year, reflecting significant growth in key markets over the past eleven months. This includes individual market growth from North America, which was up 18 per cent, Britain, up 11 per cent and mainland Europe, up 9 per cent.
Not surprisingly, given the importance of British visitors to the tourism sector, hoteliers expressed concern about Brexit and the fall in the value of sterling. Almost a fifth of responders reported a fall in forward bookings from Northern Ireland, while almost three in ten are seeing a drop in bookings from Britain.
“It is heartening that our members are seeing growth on the ground from US, German and French visitors. There are good reasons to be optimistic about our key North America and European markets in the coming year as well. However, there are signs that growth is slowing out of the UK market,” said Joe Dolan, president of the IHF .
The survey shows that 57 per cent of hotels and guesthouses took on additional staff this year. With many hoteliers expecting increased business in 2017, some 89 per cent of survey respondents said they plan to reinvest in their properties in the New Year.
The study also shows business tourism is an area of growth. Of those hotels catering for corporate meetings and business events, 46 per cent said they had witnessed an increase in bookings over the last 12 months.
Separately, commercial property consultants CBRE Ireland said a total of 65 hotel properties, totalling a record of more than €800 million between them, were sold during 2016. This compares to €710 million for 63 sales last year.
In addition to the high volume of asset sales, a number of hotels around the country also traded as part of loan portfolios during the last 12 months.
“This was a phenomenal result boosted in no small part by the sale of some well-known Dublin hotel properties such as The Gresham, the Doubletree by Hilton and the Lifestyle Collection (The Spencer, Morgan and Beacon) as well as high-profile provincial hotels including Lyrath Estate in Kilkenny and Farnham hotel in Cavan,” said Lisa Keogh of CBRE.
The volume of hotel sales activity in 2017 is expected to ease somewhat compared to the record sales of the last two years, she added.
