RTÉ set to spend €350k on hotels – but celebs will have to buy their own alcohol

RTÉ is set to spend an estimated €350,000 over two years on a string of five-star and four-star hotels around Dublin to accommodate celebrities and other contributors appearing on the station.

The Merrion, Conrad and Dylan hotels have beaten off competition from other five-star hotels around Dublin to secure a place on a hotel panel to accommodate celebrities and guests appearing on RTÉ.

In addition, a number of four star hotels – the Ballsbridge Hotel, Clayton Hotel, Camden Court Hotel, Radisson Blu St Helen's Hotel at Stillorgan and the Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan – have also secured a place on a four-star panel.

Final figure

The tender stated RTÉ had about 1,150 hotel bookings in 2018, but pointed out that this figure can fluctuate annually and is not an indication of booking numbers.

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Celebrities are expected to pay for their own drinks however, with the tender stating that no alcoholic drinks or bar items are to be charged to RTÉ by the hotels and no additional charges or services are to be charged to RTÉ.

A spokesman for RTÉ stated on Friday that the estimated €350,000 spend “is an accurate estimate for a two-year period. However, it is an estimate”.

The spokesman stated that the final figure “is dependent on RTÉ’s broadcasting schedule and RTÉ’s events programme for the year, which have not been finalised”.