The company that operates the five-star country house at Ballyfin in Co Laois returned to profit last year amid strong bookings from American and domestic visitors, and by by the impact of securing its first Michelin star.
Accounts for Ballyfin Demense Ltd show that revenues increased by 24 per cent to €8.1 million in the year to the end of December 2025. The hotel recorded a profit of €32,078 compared with a loss of €389,281 in 2024.
The hospitality company closed the year with accumulated losses of €37.6 million.
Seamus Crotty, managing director at Ballyfin Demense, described the profit as “modest” and said its revenues were boosted by its restaurant receiving its first Michelin star in February last year.
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“The Michelin star was good encouragement to get Irish business coming through. It helped quite a bit in terms of our domestic market,” he said.
Crotty said the US and domestic markets account for about 40 per cent each of its business, with the balance coming from the UK and elsewhere.
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“All the markets performed well for us last year, whether it was American, Irish and Britain and that has continued into 2026,” Crotty said.
Accommodation accounted for just over €5 million of its revenue, with food and beverage at €2.3 million and other income (generated from outdoor activities at the estate) at €774,521.
Staff numbers at the hotel increased by 10 in 2025 to 106 while its bill for wages and salaries rose by 20 per cent to €3.6 million.
Crotty said Ballyfin is fully booked for the period around the Ryder Cup, which is being hosted in Adare Manor in Co Limerick from September 17th next year.
“Ryder Cup next year will be great for us,” he said, while declining to discuss the rates it has achieved, except that it has “applied its 2027 rates”.
“We certainly haven’t gone adding significant increases. We’re lucky in Ballyfin in that quite a big part of our business is exclusive-use events. Someone taking the house for one day, two or three days, that sort of thing. We’ve used the Ryder Cup for that ... we have an exclusive use of it for the Ryder Cup.”
Located on 614 acres, Ballyfin has 21 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar and spa facilities, and also offers a range of outdoor pursuits, including archery, shooting and horse riding.
Its average occupancy rate is 60 per cent, Crotty said. “We see that growing over the next two to three years.”
It is also in the middle of a forestry project, planting 40 hectares with native Irish trees. It received grant income from the State of €48,492 for its “forestry assets” while the sale of timber generated income of €37,681 last year.
Crotty expects double digit growth in its revenues and another “modest” profit for 2026.
“March and April were a bit quiet, probably linked to what was going on in the world at the time but we’ve had very strong last-minute bookings into the summer, continuing into November and quarter four is looking good as well. Advance bookings for ’27 look positive too. So the curve is heading in the right direction.”
Ballyfin is owned by US-based brothers Jay and Liam Krehbiel, whose parents Fred and Kay bought the estate in 2002.
