The high volume of hotel sales in recent years has resulted in a significant increase in the number of branded hotels in Ireland.  According to a new report from Savills Ireland, over 25% of all hotel bedrooms in the Republic of Ireland now carry the brand of a hotel chain. 55% of the hotel bedrooms associated with these brands are located in Dublin – with Clayton (1,426 rooms), Hilton (1,310) and Maldron (997) accounting for 48% of these bedrooms.

Outside of Dublin, Carlson Rezidor (1,187 rooms) and Great National (1,144 rooms) are the largest brands. With the pending merger of Marriott and Starwood, this new group will have four hotels in Ireland – two from each brand group (795 bedrooms).

Tom Barrett, Director of Hotels & Leisure at Savills Ireland, commented:

“We are now witnessing an inflow of major local and international hotel brands attracted by Ireland’s rebounding economy and flourishing tourism sector. In the past 18 months, The Burlington Hotel has been renamed as DoubleTree by Hilton, Dalata rebranded eight hotels under the Clayton brand, and the InterContinental Hotels Group has accelerated Dublin activity with its takeover of the Four Seasons in Ballsbridge and the soon to be opened Holiday Inn Express on O’Connell Street.”

With more hotels due to come to the market in 2016, Savills expects this trend to continue – with a particular focus on the country’s main streets. In addition, new hotel development – particularly in Dublin – will be fronted by brands looking to fill the shortfall in bedrooms.

Savills’ Director of Research John McCartney noted that external economic conditions will continue to be supportive of hotels’ trading performance;

“Due to robust growth in the US and UK, the weak Euro, and the effects of cheap oil on travel costs, overseas visits to Ireland rose by almost one million trips in the Jan – November period compared with the same period in 2014.  Reflecting this, the value of inbound tourism increased by 19% year-on-year to €1.6bn in Q3 2015”