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Donegal-based B&B group hits back
11.01.08
GUESTHOUSE owners have
hit back at Fáilte Ireland which this week stated
that demand for B&Bs was significantly down in 2007.
The Donegal-based Town and Country Homes Association
(TCH), which represents almost 1,200 members
nationally, contradicted the State tourism agency
and said demand for Irish B&Bs was actually up, not
down.
TCH said reports to the contrary this week were
“highly misleading". |
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“B&B business is worth
over €300m to the Irish economy and in 2007 we
struggled to meet demand for our accommodation,”
said TCH chairperson Kate Burns. “Town and Country
were unable to accommodate more than 48% of 2007
booking requests. Some of this was in the tourism
hotspots - |
we have real difficulty
getting the tour operators to go off the beaten
track from the usual Kerry, Dublin and Galway
routes.
"Some demand could not be met because of a shortage
of B&Bs with live internet booking systems, a
situation we are tackling head-on at present.”
Ms. Burns admitted there was a decline in the
numbers of B&B operators due to retirement but she
said, this was not a problem, in itself.
"Our challenge is to restructure the sector towards
better online booking, quality products and
marketing, and to get better support for the
regions, where so many of our members are based.
"We need a good spread of top quality B&Bs,
specialising in the 'local' Irish tourism product,
representing the best of the home stay and themed
holiday experience and working through web based
booking systems," added Ms. Burns.
Meanwhile, she rejected claims that B&Bs were trying
to compete head-on with the hotel sector.
“To blame the closure of B&Bs over the last 10 years
on low cost hotels is just inaccurate. Over 70% of
B&B business is international, while 70% of hotel
business is domestic. There has been increased
competition for bed-space yes, but much of the
change in the B&B profile has been a restructuring
of the industry, with many closures due to
retirement. "
TCH also hit out at Fáilte Ireland’s refusal to
introduce classification for the B&B sector. “We
have appealed to them for years to put in place
mandatory licensing for the B&B sector and work with
us on classification, so we can ensure product
quality and they just refuse to help us. How can we
manage the development of a top quality B&B sector
if half the B&B’s are completely unregulated and
many are pulling the sector down?” |
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