A select number of newlywed couples who avail of 'exclusivity' wedding deals at the five-star Dromoland Castle hotel are paying the hotel up to €250,000 to have their wedding celebrations at the venue.
As part of the ‘exclusivity deals', the couples can buy up the 97 bedrooms at the luxury hotel for their wedding weekend where rooms can usually cost guests €800 per room per night on average during peak Summer months of July and August.
In an interview, Chief Financial Officer at the luxury Co Clare hotel, Joe Hughes said that this year the hotel has had exclusivity deals with four couples staging their wedding at Dromoland Castle.
Mr Hughes said that the hotel has hosted two weddings last month and this month where couples availed of the ‘exclusivity deals’ on offer "where the wedding party take over the hotel for three or four days".
He said: "You give the guest the experience they are looking for."
Mr Hughes said that exclusivity deals don’t tend to be taken up by Irish newlyweds and this year have come from North America and the UK.
Mr Hughes said a trend is that couples are spending more on their weddings now compared to previous years which has increased demand for exclusivity deals.
Mr Hughes said that couples getting married approach the costs of ‘exclusivity' differently.
He said: "Some couples we will cover the first €250 cost of the room per night and the guests will pay the balance and some couples depending on their budget will say ‘we will cover the whole lot of it’."
Mr Hughes said you are talking a €250,000 ballpark hotel bill to the couple at the end of their wedding weekend after availing of the exclusivity deal.
Mr Hughes said that the €250,000 represents the total hotel bill to the couple for the weekend and not just the accommodation costs.
Mr Hughes said that it can include an open bar at the wedding, a rehearsal meal the night before the wedding, the wedding itself and ‘Day Two’ celebrations at the Dromoland estate.
He said that typically an exclusivity deal would involve the booking of 40 rooms at the hotel on the Friday night and all 97 rooms on the Saturday and Sunday nights.
Mr Hughes said that Dromoland Castle is now more focused on pursuing exclusivity deals with wedding couples.
He said: "It suits our business model and is something we actively go after."
Mr Hughes said that Dromoland Castle has purchased the five bedroomed Dromoland Lodge for €1.5m and this is now available for smaller parties of people to stay at including for example the bride’s family for a wedding event.
Dromoland Lodge is located beside the 13th hole on the estate’s golf course and is, according to Mr Hughes, available at up to €25,000 per week during high season.
He said: "We have added it to our existing offering. There is a market for that and we have been out to the marketplace and it has been very well received."
Mr Hughes said that guests at Dromoland Lodge can have their own private entertainment where the hotel will provide chefs and waiting staff.
Last year, the Dromoland group that includes the adjoining Inn at Dromoland recorded pre-tax profits €2.45m.
This followed revenues at Dromoland Castle Holdings Ltd increasing by €15.78m or 130pc from €12.16m to a record €27.94m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
