New data from estate agency Cushman and Wakefield has revealed that over 4,000 hotel rooms were in development in Ireland in the first quarter of 2019. This figure represents a post-crash high, according to the estate agency.
As reported by The Irish Times, 88% of these rooms are being developed in Dublin, where over 2,000 rooms are expected to come on stream this year, with a further 1,143 expected to follow in 2020.
New Hotels
Two new hotels were completed during the first quarter of 2019, one of which was the 202-bedroom Aloft in Dublin 8. The other was a 30-bedroom boutique hotel in Kilkenny called Avalon House Hotel.
Turnover And Transactions
Meanwhile, hotel turnover came to €106.7 million during the first three months of the year, with six transactions taking place. Turnover during the same period in 2018 came to €24 million.
The six transactions that took place in the quarter included the sale of Co. Wicklow's Powerscourt Estate to the MHL Group for €50 million, as well as the sales of The Heritage Hotel and Spa of Co. Laois and Sheen Falls Lodge of Co. Kerry.
Additionally, four hotels hit the market during the quarter, including Dublin's five-star Conrad Hotel.
"Encouraging"
The Irish Times quotes Cushman and Wakefield’s associate director of trading assets, Isobel Horan, as saying, "It is encouraging to see transaction activity increase in the first quarter of 2019, after a somewhat slow 2018. We envision this activity to continue rising with a pipeline of notable assets due to come to the market in the coming months."
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
