Hotel occupancy in Border area for December at just 16%

Hotel occupancy rates for December in the Border region is expected to be 16%, according to the latest industry survey.

While this is the lowest rate in the Republic, the rest of the country fairs little better as the figures compiled by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) reveals that hotel and guesthouses are reporting occupancy levels of just 22% nationally for December, as bookings plunge compared to December 2019.

Chair of the IHF Mourne, Boyne and Lakes branch, Ross Mealiff says that with inter-county travel prohibited until December 18, hotels continue to operate under severe restrictions resulting in historically low room bookings in the lead up to Christmas. This is having a knock-on effect on food and beverage revenues and comes at a time when bookings for corporate events and Christmas parties have been wiped out due to Covid restrictions.

Following a 91% drop in revenues in November, hotels nationally are now projecting a 72% drop on average for the first three weeks of December with 44% expecting falls in excess of 75%. Despite these record drops in revenue for December, hotels will be excluded from the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme, as people are not being restricted from entering a hotel, they are simply being restricted from ‘leaving their county’ in order to enter a hotel.

According to the IHF, accommodation providers are specifically excluded from qualifying under Level 3 restrictions even where they meet the required 75% drop in turnover criteria.

Mr Mealiff called on the Government to review the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) as a matter of urgency as many hotels project revenue drops in excess of 75%.

“Currently accommodation providers can only accept bookings from within their county, which represents only a very small proportion of hotel accommodation at this time of year," said Mr Mealiff, who also owns the Hotel Kilmore. "The result is that, in order to comply with Government restrictions, accommodation providers are required to restrict the vast majority of their usual customer base from accessing their premises. This is having an enormous impact, leading to a collapse in turnover. Surely a 75% reduction in turnover due to the Government specifically not allowing people leave their county is exactly the type of devastating situation that the CRSS was intended to support?

“Public health is the number one priority, and we support the Government’s aim of reopening the country safely. However, hotels and guesthouses continue to be disproportionately impacted by Government restrictions with disastrous implications for revenue and related employment within our sector. We are seeking a level playing field and are calling on the Government to reconsider their approach to the operation of the CRSS so that further damage is not done to the sector. Pre-Covid, tourism in Cavan and Monaghan, of which hotels are a key component, supported 4,800 jobs and generated €138m in local revenues,” says Mr Mealiff.