Hotel & Restaurant Sector

'Implosion' of hotel revenues - Irish Hotels Federation

RTE Business– 07.10.2020

Hotel revenues have "imploded" across the country as a result of the Level-3 restrictions, limiting guests to staying within the county they live in over the next three weeks, according to the Irish Hotels Federation. It said over 1 million bed nights will be lost as a result of Covid restrictions during this period compared to last year. The IHF said it is having a disastrous impact on the ability of hotels to stay open, with many hotels now facing enormous uncertainty for the remainder of the year and having to decide on 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.

RAI calls for number of support measures in pre-budget submission

Hospitality Ireland– 02.10.2020

The Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) has revealed its pre-budget submission for 2021 in which it calls on the Irish government to implement a number of support measures for Ireland's restaurant and hospitality sectors. The RAI calls for a return to temporary wage subsidy scheme (TWSS) rates on a sectoral basis, an increase in the tourism budget from €186 Million to €300 Million; the creation of a small business recovery fund / a grant to cover local authority charges and keep businesses solvent; the introduction of a real time voucher scheme similar to the UK's "Eat Out to Help Out" discount scheme and a range of other supports.