Ireland’s largest hotel group Dalata today reported a positive outlook for the summer period.
Trading in the first four months of the year has been “a little ahead” of expectations, chairman John Hennessy is to tell the company’s annual meeting today.
He is due to say that revenue per available room (revpar) growth at hotels in Dublin has been only “marginally ahead” of expectations while properties in the Irish regions are seeing growth in line with expectations.
Hotel data firm STR has reported weaker market conditions in the UK for the first quarter, “but we are delighted to report that we continue to outperform the market in terms of revpar growth and the performance of our UK properties is in line with our expectations,” Hennessy is to tell the meeting at Dublin airport.
“Management is very satisfied with the trading performance of the group’s hotel portfolio in the first four months of the year. The outlook for the first six months of the year is positive.”
In an update on hotel developments, he will say that the Maldron Hotel Belfast City opened ahead of schedule on March 13 and is trading well.
An additional 106 rooms at Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport will open next month while Maldron Hotel Kevin Street Dublin will open in the first week of July.
Construction of Clayton Hotel Charlemont Dublin in November, Maldron Hotel South Mall Cork in December and Maldron Hotel Newcastle set for next February all remain on track to open on time and within budget.
Extensions underway at Maldron Hotel Sandy Road Galway, Clayton Hotel Ballsbridge Dublin and Maldron Hotel Parnell Square Dublin also remain on schedule and within budget.
“We remain very encouraged by the quality and number of potential new developments that we are currently reviewing,” according to Hennessy.
“We completed a large proportion of our annual capital refurbishment programme in the first quarter of this year and this has been well received by our customers.
“Our investment in technology continues apace. The rollout of our new procurement systems is being extended to additional suppliers this month, we completed the installation of the Opera property management system across our portfolio in March while we continue to invest in our website customer journey.
“It continues to be a very exciting time for the group and management remains focused on delivering excellent returns for our shareholders.”