Nearly €900 million worth of Irish hotel transactions were completed in 2024, making it the strongest year for the market since 2006.
This is according to commercial property specialist CBRE, which has released its Outlook 2025 annual report, containing predictions for each sector of the Irish property market in the year ahead.
CBRE claims that transactional activity in the hotel sector will remain strong this year, with a similar level of transactional volumes forecast for the market in 2025.
While occupancy rates in Dublin remained strong, at over 80%, in 2024, average daily room (ADR) rates declined marginally, and CBRE believes that this is likely to come under further pressure in 2025, as 1,500 hotel rooms are due to open therein.
The commercial property specialist noted that developers and investors are beginning to recognise a gap in the Irish market for purpose-built tourist hostels. It referenced the recently completed sale of Jacobs Hostel, in Dublin 1, to the Azora group for a price reported to be over €45 million, while Clink, a 600-bed hostel, opened on Abbey Street.
Firethorn Trust and SW3 Capital also recently acquired a development site at Sackville Place, with planning permission for a 588-bed hostel. CBRE noted that there have also been a number of sites granted permission for the development of tourist hostels – at Macken, Foley and Chancery Streets – in Dublin.
