Any impact on hotel demand due to a reduction in corporate travel post-pandemic, will be more than offset by the greater footprint of international businesses active in Dublin.
That's according to commercial property firm, CBRE, which estimates that the top ten technology employers will see their footprint in the city more than double in the next 24 months.
This will drive visits from international corporate customers and coupled with a rebound in the leisure sector will see demand for hotel rooms remain strong, it predicts.
"The factors that drive long term domestic consumer confidence appear strong in Ireland relative to its European competitors," said Dave Murray, Director CBRE Hotels in Ireland.
"Along with forecasted growth in population and high levels of household savings, domestic demand should prove strong in Ireland."
"From a corporate business perspective, the significant expansion in the size of the office market and the increasingly international nature of the city’s corporate occupiers will sustain corporate demand for Dublin’s city centre hotels into the medium term."
Traditionally, Dublin is undersupplied with hotel beds, the research claims, and new properties are required in a number of key locations in the capital.
The study also cites a Tourism Economics prediction that visitation levels to the city will return to 2019 levels by 2024, meaning Covid-19 disruption will be short-lived.
Another driver of demand will be the strong growth in high-skilled and high earning employment, as well as the record levels of household savings that should fuel domestic demand.
It also points out the impact of the cluster of pharma, financial services and ICT businesses in the city, as well as the attractiveness of the city as a place for firms to relocate post-Brexit.
But key, CBRE claims, will be the record levels of office space taken-up by multinational firms that in turn will drive increased corporate visits, the full effects of which have yet to be seen.
"What is most significant is that of the space committed to by these multinationals, 250,000 sq. m is not yet occupied and this will deliver an estimated headcount of just under 20,000 and a doubling of their footprint in Dublin," said Mr Murray.
But the report also says that capacity for Dublin hotels is growing substantially in both leisure and corporate sectors.
"The growth in leisure will come through population growth and returning connectivity from global markets and corporate business will exceed previous levels," the report states.
As a result, the authors conclude that while the next two years are likely to remain considerably challenging for hotel operators, the long-term prospects for growth in the Dublin hotel sector are there for all to see.
