Dublin could support a doubling in hotel room capacity over the next seven years, according to a new report.
That is according to consultants Crowe, who state that, based on planning and developer appetite, 3,000 hotel rooms could be opened in Dublin by 2023 in addition to the 699 rooms currently under construction and ready to be delivered for Dublin by 2020.
Crowe made its forecasts during the course of a submission made on behalf of hotelier Brian McGettigan, who is seeking to construct a seven-storey, 65-bedroom hotel at Parnell Street and Capel Street, through his company Vision Wave Ltd.
In the submission, Crowe state that in spite of significant increases in demand, the level of supply in Dublin over the past decade has been maintained at about 150 hotels and 19,000 rooms.
The consultants anticipate that 2019 will be “another year of growth”. “However, we do not anticipate it will be at the same levels as previous as new supply entered the market and as the current hotel supply absorbs some of the VAT increase.”
Crowe points out that Dublin currently has 149 registered hotels with 19,381 rooms, of which 44 per cent are located in Dublin city centre.
Stabilisation
The consultants state that typically a hotel will take two to three years to stabilise within its local area but that in the case of new Dublin city-centre hotels, “stabilisation should be reached sooner as demand is so strong”.
Crowe says Mr McGettigan already owns four hotels in Ireland – the Ambassador in Cork; the Kingswood Hotel in Dublin; and North Star Hotel and the neighbouring Address property, opposite Connolly train station in the capital.
Dublin City Council has put Mr McGettigan’s plan on hold and has requested the applicant to submit revised plans.
The council is seeking a significant reduction in the height of the proposed development. It has stated that a reduction in the main parapet height along Parnell Street to four storeys would be more in keeping with the architectural character and building height along that section of Parnell Street and on Capel Street.
The council has also requested the applicant to address conservation concerns expressed by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to the project, as the developers are proposing to demolish number 59 Capel Street behind a retained facade.
The department says the building is of architectural significance and dates from about 1725, having been refaced in 1900.
