The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has refuted claims made by Web Summit organisers in relation to hotel accommodation during the event, despite one prominent hotel search website reporting a 31% increase in room prices.
During his interview on RTE's 6.1 News earlier this week, the event's co-founder Daire Hickey again stated that high Dublin hotel prices around Web Summit week have been an ongoing issue for organisers.
Hickey maintained that visitors can book a four night stay in the event's new home in Lisbon next year for under €200, compared to the same price for just one night in Dublin hotels this year.
Despite the comments made by the organisers, the IHF said industry evidence shows that hotel room rates in Dublin are "highly competitive for the event".
The average room rate charged by hotels Dublin-wide on the busiest night of this year's Web Summit (Tuesday 3 November) was approximately €155, at a time when occupancy levels reached 95 per cent, the IHF added.
However, hotel search website trivago.com today (6 December) released figures showing that hotel prices in Dublin during the Web Summit reached €191 on Wednesday 4 November, adding that prices during the event cost an average of €190 per night, 31% up on the November monthly average of €145.
Trivago said the €191 peak on Wednesday represented a 43% price hike on the following Wednesday, 11 November, when prices are €134.
On Thursday, the IHF revealed that towards the start of 2015, it initiated direct contact with senior members of the Web Summit team seeking to provide support for hotel bookings in advance of this year's event.
"We met and corresponded with the organisers, proposing full access to a dedicated facility for block booking rooms across Dublin. The facility would have provided the organisers with access to advance booking rates for thousands of hotel rooms at very competitive prices," said an IHF statement, adding that on this occasion "the Web Summit, for its own commercial reasons, decided not to avail of this facility and dealt separately with hotels on an individual basis".
(* Pictured is Paddy Cosgrave, Web Summit CEO and a former employee of Hospitality Ireland)
