CASH-STRAPPED Galway hotels are returning to the pre-Celtic Tiger practice of closing for the first two months of the year in an effort to ride-out the recession and stave-off closure.But in a major drive to drum up tourism business in Galway this month, 30 of the city hotels that are remaining open are offering 2010 rooms free of charge to holiday-makers on a first-come, first served basis for the remainder of January to celebrate the opening of the Galway to Dublin motorway.
The local Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) has confirmed to the Sentinel that several hotels in Galway have decided to close for January and February because of the lack of demand for hotel space in the city.
The practice of closing in the early part of the year, which was a regular occurrence in many hotels in the 1980s and 1990s but which was largely abandoned after 2000, is a sensible option, according to hotel representatives.
Last year, many hotels in Galway adopted a ‘wait and see’ strategy and closed during weekdays in January and February but have now decided to go ‘all out’ and shut temporarily to protect their businesses and jobs in the long run, according to Paul Gill, Chairman of IHF, Galway branch.
Mr Gill said many hotels in Galway used to close in the first two months of the year during the 1980s and were on three-day weeks when the September 11 terrorist attack in New York severely hit the industry, but he added that those hotels that temporarily closed their doors are still thriving and trading today.
“I know of several hotels that have decided not to open in January and February – I’m not going to get into how many or which ones but it is happening because the demand for rooms just isn’t there,” said Mr Gill, who admitted he considered closing his Claregalway Hotel for a number of weeks in the New Year but decided remaining open was better for the long-term interest of the business.
“There are hotels that are making these decisions in order to protect their business and they will do so depending on their cost base. For some it makes sense in the long term to close in January and February and for others it doesn’t make sense."
