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 Co. Donegal's five-star Lough Eske Castle hotel saw its earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increase to €850,000 last year as revenues rose from €8.6 million to €8.9 million.

 

Commenting on the figures, Nick Doherty, finance director of Lough Eske parent company Harcourt Developments, said, "2017 was a positive year of trading for Lough Eske with revenues increasing by 4% and occupancy growing by 8%.

 

 

 Images of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way will be viewed by a global online audience as the ‘Call of the Wild’ international social media campaign is launched today. ‘Call of the 

Wild’ is a joint initiative between the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland which asked local people on the Wild Atlantic Way to share images and video of their hidden gems.

 

 In total, over 4,000 images and videos of landscapes to food, known only to locals, but undiscovered by the rest of the world, were shared during the two-week campaign using #MyWildAtlanticWay. A selection of entries will now feature in a suite of videos that will be shared domestically and internationally via social media channels to highlight the beauty of the locality as a holiday destination.  Everyone who got involved had a chance to win a 2-night getaway along the Wild Atlantic Way and the overall winner of the ‘Call of the Wild’ campaign was Genevieve Callander from Galway (pictured).  

Property developer John Lally of MHL Hotel Collection has sold two Barnacles hostels in Dublin and Galway for more than €12 million – about €1 million more than the guide price.

The Dublin Barnacles hostel in Temple Bar, which made more than €8 million, includes 171 bed spaces across 35 rooms and three floors.

The new owners are Mm Capital, a real-estate investment and development firm founded in 2013 by Peter Leonard and Derek Poppinga.

The four-storey Galway Barnacles hostel, with 112 bed spaces at Quay Street and six more on Kirwan’s Lane, has changed hands for more than €4 million. The property was purchased by a company associated with the Burkeway Group and is to be rebranded as Snoozles. The company also operates the Nox Hotel at Headford Road and Snoozles hostel on Forster Street in Galway.

 

 

ETOA, the European Tourism Association and the United States Tour Operators Association, who together represent the inbound European and the American outbound tourism industries, have jointly written to Ireland’s Minister of Tourism and Sport calling for the Government to end plans to raise VAT levels on hotels by 50%.

  Currently at 9%, the Irish Government made an announcement at the end of October that VAT on Hotels will be raised to 13.5%, effective on 1 January 2019.

The two bodies argue that the VAT rise cannot be passed on to passenges who have already booked holidays in Ireland and will have to be absorbed by the hoteliers who have tight margins.