Marriott completed its merger with Starwood to create the world’s largest hotel company. Members of both loyalty programs can now access 5,700 hotels and 1.1m rooms in 110 countries including 30 of the world’s most popular brands, like The Ritz Carlton, JW Marriott and W Hotels.
The last time Fáilte Ireland and the hotel industry sat down to sort out the star rating system, it took three years to negotiate from 2003 to 2006. By all accounts the process of bringing that rating system up to date (wifi is not included in the standards, for example) is not going to be as complex and will be concluded by December. The only changes so far relate to one star which came into effect on August 1. Hoteliers negotiating a new three to five star matrix were unhappy with proposed conditions for five star status that were posted on the Fáilte website and hurriedly withdrawn again. Some of the conditions were out of date, and new ones have to be fit for purpose, the federation says. Fáilte is currently awaiting the views of the IHF. IHF president Joe Dolan says that star ratings are still important in the era of Tripadvisor as it serves as a bench mark for tour operators and as a measurement standard for hoteliers themselves. We await the sound of the bellhop.
Latest STR data shows that RevPAR grew by 11pc in Dublin in August and is up 19.4pc in the year to date.
The 42-bedroom former Lynam’s Hotel on O’Connell Street is for sale with a guide price of €4m.
The Irish Hotels Federation Hotel Barometer Survey reported 87pc of hoteliers saw an increase in business. Level of debt is estimated to be around €5.3bn.
