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Go Ireland:We have far more rooms than we need and too much poor service, often at hotels kept open for tax reasons. With even the best places to stay feeling the pinch, one way to survive is by going even further beyond the norm. Bridgestone editor John McKennaknows what to look for

WE HAVE a problem with hospitality in Ireland. For some crazy reason, and despite the fact that tourism has been a mainstay of our economy for several decades, we persist in the belief that hospitality is an instinct. We think it’s something we just have, like freckles, red hair or the inability to finish sentences without saying “like”. And we love to compare ourselves and our instinct with those who don’t have this instinct: the English, the Dutch, the French.