A new report on the hotel industry suggests that Dublin is experiencing a major shortage in hotel rooms and there is an urgent need for an additional 3,000 rooms to satisfy demand.
The research, which was conducted by professional services firm JLL, claims that a failure to address this supply shortfall could have a significant negative impact on the Irish economy.
The report states that Dublin city is serviced by around 19,000 hotel rooms, with fewer than 300 additional rooms set to come on stream by the end of next year, which will result in a serious shortfall.
Meanwhile, so far in 2015 occupancy levels in hotels in the capital have risen by 4.6% to over 84%, with the average cost of a Dublin hotel room rising 17% on an annual basis to €127.
The JLL report cites a number of factors to be considered to address the urgent issue of Dublin hotel development, such as shortage of suitable development sites, lengthy planning processes, and a lack of competitive development finance.
Since the financial crisis, hotel development in and around Dublin has slowed, with just three significant additions since 2010 - 252 rooms at The Gibson, 187 rooms at The Marker, and 52 new rooms at the Dean earlier this year.
Commenting on the report, Senior Vice President of Hotels at JLL Daniel O'Connor said: "Improving levels of corporate and leisure bed night demand in Dublin City are fuelling the demand for new hotel developments.
"Such is the strength of the Dublin hotel operating market, we estimate that average occupancy levels in the city would still remain at a healthy 80%, even if 3,000 additional guestrooms were to come online today," he added.
