Crowe’s hotel, tourism and property specialist, Mairea Doyle Balfe, took part as a panel speaker at the Bank of Ireland Hotel Sector event which took place in the Intercontinental Hotel on 28 November 2019.
Gerardo Larios Rizo, Head of Hospitality Business Banking in Bank of Ireland, wo hosted the event discussed their commitment to the sector and commended the Irish hospitality sector around service and innovation.
Mairea outlined the importance of conducting detailed feasibility and sensitivity analysis for any hotel owners looking to expand. As the hotel market is cyclical it is important to not only look at future projections in an upward trajectory, but also the impact of declines in occupancy, rate or other revenues and how these will impact cash flow.
A key challenge facing the sector in 2020 is around attracting and retaining staff in order to meet growth targets. Mairea emphasised the importance of making the industry attractive to secondary school and university leavers as a viable long-term career option.
Paul Kelly and Jenny DeSaulles from Fáilte Ireland discussed the importance of the continued development of hotel supply to cater to the continued and projected demand growth. Their focus on ‘regionality’ and ‘seasonality’ highlighted the potential growth in demand across Ireland. There is significant development in visitor attractions across the country, which is very positive for regional development.
Sarah Duignan from STR discussed the new supply entering the market and the impact this is having in Dublin, with compression nights reducing in 2019 versus 2018. Dublin however is still strong and October YTD is leading the occupancy table in a European context.
Weldon Mather of Colliers provided some information into the evolving hotel market in Ireland and gave some insight into the changing food and beverage landscape for hoteliers.
The panel discussion provided insight from leading figures in the industry: Pat McCann, Dalata; Brian McGettigan, The Address; Isobel Horan, Cushman and Wakefield, Mark Scott-Lennon, Fitzpatrick’s Hotel Killiney and Mairea Doyle Balfe, Crowe.
For more information about how Crowe’s dedicated hotel, tourism and leisure team can assist you with any hotel of hospitality project, contact a member of our HTL team.
