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# get a room
Hoteliers riding on the back of tourists. Not literally though
Dalata Hotel Group reports income boost, buys another hotel.
ONE OF IRELAND’S largest hotel operators has recorded a big boost in income as a strong tourist trade delivers cash flows to the sector.
The Dalata Hotel Group today announced revenue of €35 million over the first six months of the year and forecast more growth in late 2014 on the back of good visitor numbers.
The figure was up 31% and coincided with the news it had completed another hotel purchase, agreeing to buy the four-star, 93-bedroom Tower Hotel in Derry for £4.375 million (€5.5 million).
Dalata’s income comes from running a mix of 13 owned or leased hotels and fees it earns for managing third-party-owned operations.
The visitors are coming
Dalata chief executive Pat McCann said improving market conditions had created opportunities for the company’s strong performance.
The sustained commitment of Government to the development and support of the tourist industry through a combination of investment, promotional and fiscal measures has revived confidence in the hotel sector,” he said.
“The solid growth in recorded visitor numbers in the first half is continuing into the second half.”
Since March this year, Dalata has gone one a hotel shopping spree – buying Dublin’s Maldron Hotel Parnell Square and Pearse Hotel, as well as partial stake in the Ballsbridge and Clyde Court Hotels in Dublin 4.
McCann said the company was “actively pursuing further acquisitions” as market activity sped up late in the year.
More tourists and more jobs
Central Statistics Office figures have shown a 9.9% year-on-year increase in the total trips to Ireland over the first half of 2014 and thousands more jobs in the accommodation and food sectors compared to the same time in 2013.
Business groups have credited the special VAT rate of 9% for operators in the food, accommodation and entertainment sectors, with helping to fuel the growth.
READ: Irish restaurants say cutting VAT has created more than 30,000 new jobs
READ: An average Irish hotel room is used about 220 nights of the year
