Hope for Cork hotels: Bookings boost for July and August
Fergal Harte, general manager of The Kingsley Hotel and chairman of the Cork branch of the Irish Hotels Federation. Picture: Eddie O Hare
Roisin Burke
A NEW industry survey from the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has suggested that hotels in Cork are beginning to see an uplift in bookings for July and August.
It follows the Government’s recent announcement that it will look at the reopening of hotels and guesthouses in June.
Booking levels nationally are averaging 23% for July and 21% for August.
In the South West region, including Cork and Kerry, booking levels are at 35% for July and 33% for August.
IHF: Industry Is Still Behind Where It Was Even This Time Last Year. That s despite the findings of a new IHF survey which says that bookings in the southwest are above the national average.
Speaking to RedFM news, Fergal Harte of the IHF said that hotels are working hard to address the needs of their customers, who are planning to staycation in Cork this year. There s still a lot of work to do, you know, even with the kind of positivity around the figures that we saw last week. 20% occupancy and things like that are far behind last year, not to mind before this crisis. So there s certainly a huge amounts of work to do there. But hotels are working hard to to address that, and to ensure that their products and their facilities are set up in such a way that they can accommodate this type of business.
“There was an issue over some types of skilled workers such as chefs even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.”
Ireland has now lost an estimated 150,000 hospitality jobs as the Level 5 pandemic control restrictions cost the €9bn industry two of its biggest annual spending events – New Year and St Valentine’s Day. Both St Patrick’s Day and Easter are also set to prove a wipe-out.
In desperation, thousands of hospitality workers have sought employment in other sectors – with no guarantee they will transfer back once the Covid-19 restrictions are eased. “It is an issue of concern for the IHF and other industry groups. Skilled staff are a crucial part of the sector’s recovery.”
John Burke, the managing director of the Armada Hotel and the first Clare person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, is never one to shy away from a challenge.
Just six months after the Spanish Point business clinched the Hotel of the Year and Best Wedding Venue accolades at the Gold Medal Awards, Burke had to temporarily lay off staff when the coronavirus pandemic hit Ireland. The initial lockdown was fairly severe, on myself and everyone who worked for me, he says.
Once Burke had come to terms with the hotel s closure and disappearance of its spring wedding business, he decided to put the hotel s hibernation to good use. By May, he had launched the first in a long series of initiatives aimed at giving a sense of purpose to remaining staff and generating fresh income streams - a cocktail delivery service called the Blend Box. It includes Mist+Moss, a gin brand the Armada had set up a couple of months earlier, scented candles (since replaced by QR codes for playlists) and garn
John Burke, the managing director of the Armada Hotel and the first Clare person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, is never one to shy away from a challenge.