Record high hotel prices will continue if planners keep pushing developers to build houses instead of hotels, according to a Wicklow hotelier.

It comes after the Average Daily Rate (ADR) of a hotel room in Dublin reached a new record high of €209 in May.

The figures from property agent CBRE Ireland show that prices are now 3.5% above the previous peak.

Hotelier Lorraine Sweeney told The Pat Kenny Show politicians are telling hoteliers to build apartments instead of hotels – but many hotel owners disagree.

“It's all very fine for people to tell us that there are not enough bedrooms and you're charging too much money, but there's a huge shortage of hotel bedrooms,” she said. 

“If we don't have enough room in the city, how can we meet the demand of 11 million tourists?"

The hotelier said Dublin City Council recently rejected plans for an Aparthotel on Francis Street and told the developers to turn the building into apartments instead. 

“I don't think it's appropriate that politicians are objecting to investors,” she said. 

Buildings along Batchelor's Walk reflected in the River Liffey in Dublin. Image: Anne-Marie Palmer / Alamy Stock Photo

Ms Sweeney agreed there is a serious problem with housing in Ireland – but hoteliers should not receive the blame. 

“It’s a failing of successive governments,” she said. “We are entrepreneurs - we want to develop the hotel industry.” 

Hotel room shortages

Air and Travel Editor Eoghan Corry said the shortage of hotel rooms isn’t as “dramatic” as previously thought. 

“Things are getting better in Dublin,” he said. “393 beds arrived from the Travelodge Plus on Townsend Street, and you could see almost immediately the impact on short term rates.” 

Despite that, investors have withdrawn somewhat from Dublin due to restrictions on expansions, according to Mr Corry, which does not help room shortages. 

“The decision to turn down a hotel in Portobello because there were too many rooms in the area is not really good for making up that shortfall,” he said. 

Hotel room pricing

Ms Sweeney said the reported average price of hotel rooms reflects the seasonal pressure hotels face.

“Rooms are only used about 220 nights out of the year,” she said. “It’s the high season [now], but there’s peaks and valleys, and we have to trod our way through when it’s quiet in the winter.” 

She also said hotels housing Ukrainian refugees only account for 14% of hotels in Dublin and have not hugely affected occupancy rates. 

“Mostly those 14% are two and three-star hotels,” she said. “It’s our lesser rooms that are off the market and that’s not having a huge effect.

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