According to commercial property and investment management services firm JLL, year-to-date hotel occupancy in Dublin was down by 50% year-on-year at the end of September to 34%.
This news follows the release of data from hotel industry market data company STR last week that indicated that occupancy at Irish hotels decreased by 58.4% year-on-year in September to 37%.
New Hotel Bedroom Forecast
As reported by The Business Post, the adverse impact that the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has had on the hotel sector has caused JLL to lower its forecast of how many new hotel bedrooms it expects will open in Dublin by the end of 2022.
Before the pandemic hit, JLL forecast that a little over 5,000 new hotel bedrooms would open in Dublin by the end of 2022. Now the firm is forecasting that 3,850 new hotel bedrooms will open in the capital by the end of 2022.
Last Three Months And Temporary Closures
Hotel occupancy rates in Dublin in the last three months have reportedly been 20% in July, 30% in August and 23% in September. These rates apply to hotels that have remained open and trading, and do not account for hotels that are temporarily closed.
Almost 11,000 Dublin hotel rooms, or nearly 50% of hotel rooms in the capital, were temporarily closed at the start of April. The number of temporarily closed hotel rooms fell to approximately 1,800 in mid-September before rising again to 2,400 as of Wednesday October 21, which was the day before level five COVID-19 restrictions were implemented in Ireland.
Temporary closures are expected to increase while occupancy rates are expected to decrease further in the final quarter of 2020 due to increased business restrictions to attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Long-Term Outlook
However, JLL noted that in the long-term, the outlook for Dublin hotels remains bright due to the capital being a top destination for tourists and business visitors.
© 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.
