FOUR OUT of five hoteliers are concerned about the ability of their business to survive the coming year, according to the Irish Hotels Federation.
While the latest figures show tourism revenue for 2011 up on 2010, the federation said closer examination shows that hotels in some regions are still having to cope with falling occupancy rates.
The federation, whose annual conference opens today in Kilkenny, has said room rates in some regions are among the lowest in Europe, yet wage rates for new recruits are among the highest in the EU. Tourism revenue was up slightly in 2011 (€4.77 billion) compared with 2010 (€4.6 billion), but the increase in business is not evenly spread.
While room occupancy rates in Dublin, the southwest and the west are up 2 per cent, 5 per cent, and 4 per cent respectively, they are unchanged in the Shannon region and are down in the east and midlands (1 per cent), the southeast (1 per cent) and the northwest (3 per cent). Federation president Paul Gallagher said any attempt to reintroduce the Joint Labour Committee system on staff pay would destroy any chance of reaching the Government’s target of 15,000 new jobs in the sector by 2015.
Under that system, which lapsed last July, adult hotel employees earned at least €9.09 per hour, compared with the current minimum wage of €8.65 per hour. The Government intends to reintroduce such a system.
The federation said many hotels and guest houses in areas outside the major tourist spots are less than half full, despite rooms being offered at break-even rates.
Chief executive of the federation, Tim Fenn, said the industry remained in a fragile state. He pointed out that overall growth of 7 per cent in visitor numbers in 2011 masked a near collapse of overseas visitors in 2010 due to the Icelandic ash cloud. Federation members were offering prices that gave very little return, “but in the current climate it is the only option to stay in business”, he said.
A survey conducted for the federation found that 80 per cent of hoteliers were concerned about their survival in the coming year, while 36 per cent had experienced difficulties in accessing standard credit facilities.
There were 27 fewer hotels and 22 fewer guest houses in 2011. The figures represent a loss of some 1,500 hotel bedrooms and 195 guest-house rooms. There are still more than 60,000 hotel and guest bedrooms in the Republic.