Hotels grim over all-French final

Dublin hoteliers are holding their breath to see if a promised influx of French rugby visitors can offset the loss of business caused by the failure of either Leinster or Munster to make it through to the final of the Heineken Rugby Cup.

"It's an absolute disaster. We couldn't have asked for a worse outcome," was the verdict of Lansdowne Hotel manager Ms Margaret English on the failure of an Irish side to qualify for the final later this month.

Her disappointment is matched by a number of publicans and hoteliers and the caterers at the Lansdowne football club, who have been left calculating double-digit losses from corporate bookings alone after last weekend's defeats for the Irish provinces to French opposition.

To date in the competition, the French have proved reluctant travellers, with thousands of tickets returned by Perpignan and Biarritz for their quarter-final and semi-final clashes with Leinster in Dublin.

European Rugby Cup Ltd (ERC), which runs the competition, has insisted that 10,000 fans are likely to travel from France for the final. It has also promised a promotional blitz to fill the ground, the capacity of which will be reduced to 40,000, from about 45,000, by making the occasion all-seater.

However, publicans and hoteliers claim projected weekend takings for the event are a fraction of what they would have been if an Irish side had qualified.

According to Ms English, corporate bookings for the weekend of May 24th have slumped by 75 per cent and the hotel expects to take a hit of at least €60,000 on its normal earnings for a high-profile rugby event.

Jury's Hotel group anticipates a similarly glum weekend's earnings. Group sales and marketing director Mr Niall Geoghegan called the all-French match a "disappointment" and said the ERC's anticipated 10,000 Toulouse and Perpignan fans was "ambitious".

"I don't think that we can realistically expect more than 5,000 French fans," he said.

At the Lansdowne football club, the loss in revenue from the usual corporate entertainment is expected to top €20,000.

The club's spokesman, Mr Joe Leddin, said: "We are hoping to make up some ground by offering facilities to both of the French clubs at a cheaper rate but we won't make anything near what we could have made if an Irish side was playing."

The Hibernian hotel forecasts a slide of 60-70 per cent on lucrative corporate bookings but is optimistic that it can replace the business. Deputy manager Ms Patricia Varley said: "We believe we can make up for the loss on the corporate entertainment side with accommodation sales to the French fans."