HOTEL SALES IN the first quarter of this year are up a whopping 150 per cent, with positive trends set to continue in this part of the market, according to one estate agency.
Savills said today that 13 hotels worth almost €85 million have been sold so far this year in Ireland. This compares to a total of six, worth €34 million, in the first quarter of last year.
The agency said that while the volume and value of sales so far are already ahead of last year, the figures do not factor in the number of hotels that are also now sale agreed.
Significant hotel sales in the first three months of this year included the Hilton Hotel Dublin for approximately €30 million and the former Clarion Dublin Hotel Airport Hotel, and Doonbeg Golf Resort, both in the region of €15 million.
Tom Barreett, Head of Hotels and Leisure at Savills said the recent IPO by Dalata Hotel Group and the emergence of funds targeting hotel acquisitions should continue to drive demand for hotels in prime locations.
“Combined with a steady flow of hotels coming for sale, we expect the volume and value of hotel transactions in 2014 to exceed the €200 million of sales last year,” he said. “Based on the first three months and our visibility of what is coming to market, we expect sales to exceed €300 million this year.”
The company said the recent overseas visitor numbers are also a positive indicator for the hotel property market with an 11.3 per cent increase in the total number of trips to Ireland between December 2013 and February 2014 compared to 12 months earlier.
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