Co. Kerry's Ballygarry House Hotel has become the first hotel in Ireland to receive Failte Ireland's COVID-19 "safety charter" stamp.
Announced last week, the stamp can be displayed by hospitality and tourism businesses on their premises and websites to assure customers that their properties are safe spaces.
In order to be permitted to display the stamp, businesses have to adhere to Fáilte Ireland's health and safety guidelines, and all staff must undertake an infection prevention control programme.
"The Year Of The Irish"
Ballygarry House Hotel proprietor Padraig McGillicuddy stated, "This year is the year of the Irish. All business will be home grown and it's going to be largely based on a quality product with value for money. We got plenty of work done on creating a message to satisfy consumer confidence through social media videos. We launched a fun reopening video and we have had over 100,000 views which is a remarkable result. We also launched a video endorsing the measures we are taking to reassure the guests and instill consumer confidence in our COVID practices. Simple things like replacing the traditional Irish handshake with our 'hand on our heart' gesture, a symbol of our love of all things hospitality.
“This will be an exceptional year where the business will do well to breakeven, but the priority has been to keep our team together, trade out of it and look forward to a really prosperous year in 2021. The cost of the pandemic in lost revenue to the hotel is €4,000,000, some of which can be recovered, but it will be a challenge. Thankfully, we entered this shutdown in a very strong position, so we'll rise stronger than ever from it."
© 2020 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
