HOTELS BODY WANTS SPEEDY CLOSURES - A report earlier this week saying that Ireland had among the cheapest hotel rooms in Western Europe led to some claims that hotels being run by the National Asset Management Agency were ruining others' business, forcing prices down to keep its properties open.
In its defence, last evening NAMA's chairman Frank Daly said that of all of the hotels in Ireland, 83 hotels were used as security for loans with NAMA, three of these have been closed, and that the agency has no interest in sustaining 'zombie hotels'.
Paul Gallagher of the Irish Hotels Federation said it was not NAMA's fault that hotel prices were falling, blaming the 22,000 hotel rooms that were added between 2005 and 2008.
He said it was questionable whether tourists would ever visit some of the locations in which these hotels were built. Asked whether the IHF had ever 'shouted stop', Mr Gallagher said his organisation asked at the time for the capital allowances scheme to be shut down, but it was extended for another year, leading to a further glut of hotels.
He said a recent report said there was a particular excess hotel capacity on the western seaboard, in places such as Limerick and around the M50 in Dublin.
Mr Gallagher said current occupancy rates were 50%, but to be sustainable hotels needed around 60%. He said the sector was a 'long way off being sustainable' and now was the time to close hotels.
***
CURRENCIES - On the currency markets, the euro is trading at $1.4160 and 86.56p sterling.
