'One million bed nights wiped out by Level 3' says hotels group

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) is calling on the Government to provide urgent support for the sector, saying that the move to Level 3 restrictions has "wiped out" one million bed nights over the next three weeks.

Under the new restrictions, people are being asked to remain within their own county, and the IHF said this will have a devastating impact on hotels nationwide, many of which are now having to decide whether or not to close.

Hoteliers are calling for emergency intervention by the Government in the form of immediate additional supports directly targeting tourism and hospitality businesses.

"There is very little difference between Levels 3 and 5 for hotels," said Tim Fenn, chief executive of the IHF.

"Our industry is swimming against the tide and in desperate need of a lifeline from the Government.

"Hotels and guesthouses have effectively been left with empty properties and next to no ability to generate revenues.

"This is nothing short of a disaster for our industry and the hundreds of thousands of jobs supported by tourism across the country. This must be recognised by the Government with substantial supports in the upcoming budget."

Mr Fenn said that, before the pandemic, the tourism and hospitality sectors supported the livelihoods of almost 270,000 people - one in ten jobs - with 70% of these located outside Dublin.

He said 100,000 of these jobs have been lost already, and a further 100,000 are at risk.

"Additional sector-specific measures are urgently required around employment supports, local authority rates waivers, reduced tourism VAT and grants to help businesses survive until the industry can start up again," he argued.

"The existing supports for the tourism industry are wholly inadequate given the restrictions.

"A failure to support the industry now will have ramifications for the future of Ireland’s tourism offering and for the economy that could take decades to remedy," Mr Fenn concluded.