IHF Survey Reveals Hotel Occupancy Levels For July And August

By Dave Simpson
IHF Survey Reveals Hotel Occupancy Levels For July And August

A new industry survey conducted by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) has shown hotel occupancy levels of 23% and 26% for the peak summer months of July and August, respectively, based on confirmed bookings.

This compares to an average of 90% for the same period last year.

Meanwhile, occupancy for September currently stands at 22%.

A Critical Time

IHF president Elaina Fitzgerald Kane said that hotel and guesthouse owners have been heartened by the strong support from people who are taking a staycation this year. However, she said that this continues to be a critical time for the tourism industry and the almost 270,000 livelihoods it supports.

Fitzgerald Kane stated, "Time and again, tourism has proven itself as a hugely successful engine for economic growth, particularly in regional Ireland. In the aftermath of the last recession, tourism created 90,000 new jobs. Last year alone it generated over €9 billion in revenue. We are committed to working closely with the government and with Minister Catherine Martin to safeguard tourism, Ireland's largest indigenous employer, so that it can play a key role again and be a significant lever in the country's economic recovery. However, this requires specific sectoral supports now in relation to liquidity and competitiveness."

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Calling For Measures

The IHF is calling on the government to implement the following measures as a matter of urgency:-

  • the continuation of the Wage Subsidy Scheme and the inclusion of seasonal employees;
  • the linking of the size of gatherings to venue capacity;
  • a reduction in tourism VAT to 5% until December 2021 followed by a permanent restoration to 9% to assist recovery and secure a viable and sustainable future for tourism;
  • liquidity measures tailored to the specific challenges facing tourism to help businesses survive and restart;
  • and an extension of the three-month waiver period for local authority rates and charges for tourism businesses to coincide with business interruption due to COVID-19 and for a minimum of 12 months, after which the IHF said that payment of local authority rates should be based on reduced levels of activity due to the crisis.

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