News

Vouchers for Kerry Staycationers

A new initiative is encouraging Kerry people to holiday locally in an effort to save the county's €400m tourist industry. kerry

Vouchers worth €100 are being sent to some 56,000 households in Kerry to encourage people to explore the far corners of Valentia or the cliffs of Ballybunion.

The vouchers are redeemable for overnight stays "within the county of Kerry only" and the small print states they are "not transferrable to persons who do not reside in the county".

The vouchers are the brainchild of the Kerry Tourism Industry Federation and aim to resurrect the old practice whereby people from south Kerry holidayed in Ballybunion and Ballyheigue, and those from Listowel and Tralee came to Killarney, Kenmare and Iveragh.

PREM Upgrades Osprey ballroom

The PREM Group owned, Osprey Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare has unveiled its €1 million new ballroom which was designed by architect and star of RTE’s’ Home of the Year’, Hu osprey gh Wallace of Douglas Wallace Architects. Stretching to almost 6,000 sq ft the function room, located just off the main lobby area has been a popular venue for many years for weddings, local events, conferences, and post Punchestown racing festivities. PREM Group wanted to completely revamp the space in order for it to become more attractive, particularly for weddings.

Deliveroo seeks Zero VAT

Food delivery company Deliveroo, alongside 57 of the restaurants it works with, has called on the Government to ban commercial evictions and cut the VAT rate for restaurants to zero per cent in a bid to help the sector recover from the Covid-19 crisis.

A letter from the company’s chief executive and founder Will Shu has been sent to the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party and the Oireachtas special committee on the Covid-19 response looking for several measures to help the restaurant sector.

The measures proposed include a moratorium on commercial evictions as long as social distancing measures are in place, a reduction in the VAT rate for the restaurant sector to zero per cent on food, a change to planning laws to permanently allow restaurants operate as takeaways and an extension of the wage subsidy scheme.

Hostelworld raises €15.2m

Hostel booking company Hostelworld has raised £13.8 million (€15.2 million) after selling new shares in the company. hotelrm0818

The company said a total of 17.6 million ordinary shares were sold at a price of 72p per share while an additional 1.45 million ordinary shares have been subscribed for by an existing shareholder.

Hostelworld said that the move has raised gross proceeds of about £13.8 million, subject to it being completed. The placing price represents a 7.1 per cent discount to yesterday’s closing price.

The company on Wednesday night outlined its plans to raise funds as it expects net revenues this year to fall by about 80 per cent.

Hotels want seasonal worker support

As hotels and guesthouses across the country get ready to reopen on Monday next, 29th June 2020, the Irish Hotels Federation is calling on the Government to expand the timfenn0218

current Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) to include seasonal tourism employees. Due to COVID-19 safety guidelines tourism and hospitality businesses, including hotels, will be operating under significant constraints this summer. Tim Fenn, Chief Executive, IHF says: “Seasonal tourism businesses will find it difficult to re-employ many of their experienced people this summer without Government support. These jobs are vital for many families living in regions where tourism is the only major employer. These people should not be left behind.”