THE ECONOMIC downturn has led to many attractive hotel offers but reports of an offer from D4 Hotels group led to a deluge of complaints yesterday.
D4 Hotels group took over the Berkeley Court, Jurys Ballsbridge and The Towers after they closed in 2007.
On Wednesday, D4 manager Sarah Curran told RTÉ's Today with Pat Kenny Show that all rooms in the hotels would cost €20.09 for January and February in a special new year offer.
Asked by presenter Pat Kenny if it applied to all rooms, she said "every single room" and confirmed that this included the penthouse suite if it was available.
However, the programme received dozens of e-mails from listeners complaining that no rooms were available at the €20.09 rate and rooms cost from €69 upwards.
Yesterday Ms Curran returned to the programme and said the offer only applied to "all the rooms that belonged to the €20.09 rate".
"We already sold in excess of a thousand rooms," she said.
She denied that she had misled listeners but later said "Apologies. If that's what was perceived, that wasn't the intention".
She then offered rooms to disappointed listeners at €50.09. However, in the current competitive climate, that is not the cheapest offer available in the area.
The Bewleys Hotel group, including Bewleys Hotel, Ballsbridge, is currently running an offer of €50 per room per night.
Irish Hotels Federation chief executive John Power said that there were some very attractive offers and consumers would definitely benefit during this downturn.
Dromoland Castle and Ashford Castle have come together to offer two nights bed and breakfast for €87.50 per person per night, with a third night thrown in for free. That offer is open until March.
The five-star Radisson SAS St Helen's Hotel in Dublin is offering a January shopping package including a €20 Dundrum Centre shopping voucher from €80 per person sharing.
The Lynch Hotel group, which has hotels in Clare, Mayo and Limerick, is offering 500 rooms at €1 per room, subject to booking a second night for €99.
In Wicklow, the Marriott Druids Glen Hotel is offering rates from €65 per person sharing per night, including breakfast.
The Louis Fitzgerald Hotel at Newlands Cross is offering 1,000 rooms at a €10 rate but these rooms are not available every day. They are available periodically between now and March 31st. The Irish Hotels Federation website www.irelandhotels.com has a section on special offers from hotels all over the State.
Fáilte Ireland will soon begin an aggressive marketing campaign to encourage people to take more holidays at home.
Last year, Irish people accounted for two out of every three hotel bed nights.
New Fáilte Ireland research has suggested that people will cut back on overseas holidays much quicker than home breaks.
