Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I accept that Fáilte Ireland is doing all it can. One reason I asked the question relates to the fact the IHF’s statement made no mention of anything its members are doing to combat that. It stated that“60% of hoteliers report that forward bookings from Great Britain are still down on pre-Covid levels” and that circumstances are also challenging for the rest of Europe. Is reputational damage starting to kick in as a result of the overcharging that we have seen? I was aghast that Ms Campbell did not make reference to what the federation has done within its organisation. Mr. Kelly referred to compression nights but I disagree fundamentally. If a hotel is booked to 90% occupancy and it rips off people for the remaining 10%, that will be part and parcel of what is doing the damage. As I said, the public have little sympathy for hotels at this stage. I was just amazed the IHF representatives did not make reference to what it is doing about this.

Mr. O'Mara Walsh pointed out that the latest data show the average daily rate for an hotel room in Ireland is €143, or €150 in Dublin. Where did he get those figures? When I carried out an online check, leaving aside anecdotes, few hotels have rooms for under €143 or €150 in Dublin or elsewhere in the country, respectively. There might be hostels and lodgings for under that but there are very few. I return to the fact that, while the impact on the tourism industry is compounded by the crisis in Ukraine and by hotels renewing their contracts, which is entirely their decision, there is a double-whammy arising from the reputation being damaged and the lack of value for money for both domestic and international tourism. I have spoken to people who are going to come from England for a wedding party. None of them will book an hotel because they checked and were astounded at the prices. They said there was no way they would pay that money. I say this because Ms Campbell stated that for 60% of hoteliers, the number of forward bookings had reduced. Has reputational damage been done, and if so, is there any way we can reverse it for the sake of tourism in Ireland as opposed to for the benefit of greedy hotel owners?