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A leading hotelier has welcomed the extension of the 9pc Vat rate for the next 15 months as he insisted support for the hospitality industry is “vitally important”.
owever, Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) official and Kingsley Hotel manager, Fergal Harte, warned that the Irish hospitality sector will face a challenging year ahead even with the lower Vat rate given the sheer scale of the Covid-19 impact.
Mr Harte said that while the Vat move was welcome as part of the economic recovery package, it was always going to be necessary given how badly hit the entire hospitality sector has been by the pandemic.
“Every bit of good news is very welcome,” he said.
“It has been a very tough time for the industry.
“It is great to see hotels reopening but there is no doubt that some hotels are going to find it very challenging in the months ahead in terms of the recovery of business travel and even staff recruitment.
“But anything that encourages people to support hotels, restaurants, pubs and the Irish hospitality sector through their spending is vitally important.”
He said the importance of a lower Vat rate was underlined by how successful it was in supporting expansion of the tourism industry and job creation after the financial and property crisis back in 2008/2009.
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Staff outside the Kingsley Hotel in Cork
Mr Harte said The Kingsley Hotel in Cork was fortunate in that it remained open throughout the pandemic, providing key services to frontline healthcare staff and essential workers.
The hotel is located close to two major acute hospitals as well as universities and medical research facilities.
It has 131 bedrooms and management is hoping to take advantage of the June 2 hospitality reopening through special spa, city break, family and couples packages.
“I suppose we are one of the lucky ones in that we remained open for frontline healthcare staff and essential workers throughout – so we have a core team that remained intact and in place,” Mr Harte said.
“But I know other hotels have been struggling to get skilled staff back for the June 2 reopening, particularly chefs.”
The Kingsley will be recruiting 40 more staff to cope with predicted summer business.
He said it was crucial the Government now focus on supporting the recovery of business in the weeks and months ahead.
“I think the recovery of corporate spending is going to be critical,” he said.
Mr Harte added that hotels in major urban centres like Dublin, Cork and Limerick are hugely reliant on business travel – and will not necessarily enjoy the same level of ‘staycation’ bounce as facilities located in coastal resorts over the summer.
“The single most important thing for the Government is to make sure that we are not looking at any more lockdowns or business closures.”
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