The Irish Hotels Federation has to do more to bring prices down, Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley has said.
He was speaking amid claims of price gouging ahead of St Patrick's Day, with some Dublin hotels charging up to €2,400 for single rooms.
This has led to a number of politicians and officials calling out the hospitality sector for damaging Ireland's global reputation.
Senator Dooley told Newstalk Breakfast price gouging in Irish hospitality seems to be getting worse.
"This is a practice that has been kind of emerging over recent years," he said.
"It's obviously intensified when you head into a weekend like St Patrick's Day.
Look at even where the mid-tier charging is: you take a five-star hotel at the minute in Dublin for Friday night, they're charging somewhere between €900 to €1,200.
"Four-star - we're not talking about high-end four star here - somewhere between €500 and €700 for a room.
"Even regular three-star hotels [are charging] €450 to €650, even some of the guesthouses looking for €700 up to €900 for a room with two or three beds.
"Some of the hostels having exorbitant prices [of] a bed in a dormitory [for] €550.
"I doubt many people will actually pay that, but the reality is it sends a really negative signal to people who want to come and stay in Dublin".
'Rally negative image'
Senator Dooley said people will be left with a negative image of Ireland.
"It's one thing trying to book something and discovering that it's full and there's no available space," he said.
"It's to see this exorbitant price, which you're not going to pay, but it leaves you with a really negative image of Dublin, of Ireland and of the Irish tourism market.
"I think the Hotel Federation are going to have to work much harder at encouraging their members to not sell the last six or seven rooms, or attempt to sell the last six or seven rooms, at exorbitant prices".
Room lights are seen outside rooms along a corridor in a hotel in 2017. Picture by: Stephen Barnes/Ireland / Alamy Stock PhotoSenator Dooley said the high prices charged by some Dublin hotels are damaging rural ones.
"The reality is there's the Dublin market and then there's the rest of the country," he said.
"There is a Dublin market, from a hotel perspective, that seems to be able to charge exorbitant prices... they have much greater opportunity.
"That's why I think there needs to be some way in segmenting those areas that can generate a regular supply of tourists, and at the same time you don't damage the efforts of those smaller hotels in more remote areas," he added.
Listen back to the full interview below:
