Government to Address "Extortionate" Hotel Room Rates in Upcoming Budget

As the world's football fans poured into Dublin for a series of high-profile matches, hotels in the city hiked prices to extortionate rates, with some rooms costing as much as €650 per night. Not all hotels inflate prices, but when they do, it sends out a bad message for Irish tourism, according to Enterprise Minister Peter Burke. The minister has vowed to address the issue in the upcoming budget, but the details of how this will be achieved are still unclear.

Key Takeaways:

• Hotel room prices in Dublin can reach extortionate rates, with some rooms costing as much as €650 per night.
• Enterprise Minister Peter Burke has vowed to address the issue in the upcoming budget, but the details of how this will be achieved are still unclear.
• Not all hotels inflate prices, but the practice is considered unacceptable by Minister Burke.
• The Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) has called for a permanent restoration of the 9% VAT rate for hospitality businesses, but the reduction would not have the same impact for hoteliers.
• The average price of a hotel room in Dublin in the first seven months of the year was €172, which is 1.7% lower than the same period in 2024.
• Dynamic pricing, where costs increase with demand, is only applied to the final 10% of hotel rooms in Dublin.

Statistics:

• Hotel room prices can reach as high as €650 per night in Dublin.
• The average price of a hotel room in Dublin in the first seven months of the year was €172.
• The average price of a hotel room in Dublin in the first seven months of 2024 was €173.20.
• Only the final 10% of hotel rooms in Dublin use dynamic pricing.
• The Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) represents roughly 25,000 hotel rooms across Dublin city.

Sources:

• Sarah McGuinness, political correspondent for THE, citing comments from Enterprise Minister Peter Burke.
• Paul Gallagher, chief executive of the Irish Hotel Federation (IHF), speaking to news@dailymail.ie.