THE HOTEL and restaurant sectors saw the Christmas party trade fall by anything from 20 to 60 per cent this year, but some establishments have said they boosted trade by offering special deals and better value menus.
The Restaurants Association of Ireland said the Christmas party business was down by about 20 per cent, but not by as much as had been predicted in early November.
Its chief executive Adrian Cummins said restaurateurs had noticed a much higher proportion of late bookings compared with previous years. “People were booking at the last minute. And they might book for 30 people, but then it goes back to 20, or 15. Then restaurants are left with all these empty tables,” he said.
“And this is one of the busiest times of the year for restaurants. They have to get enough cash reserves to keep them going through January and February.”
He said restaurants had noticed that the amount of money spent at these functions was significantly down. “I’d say that the spend is back by 20 to 30 per cent on 2008,” he said.
The three Ely venues in Dublin city centre had a good Christmas but they worked very hard to achieve that, said Erik Robson, co-owner of the Ely winebar, Ely chq and Ely hq.
He said the chain had sourced better value wines and offered good value menus in a bid to satisfy customers. They were offering a three-course dinner for €40, compared with €47.50 last Christmas. “But we didn’t cut corners to get people in.”
He said the “big corporate spend” had disappeared. Diners still enjoyed their nights out “but there was no silliness . . . the vulgarity is gone”.
Isaacs in Cork was also pleased with its pre-Christmas trade. Co-owner Michael Ryan said that while turnover was down, "expenses are down by even more". He had just left a meeting with his accountant when he spoke to The Irish Timesand said "the bottom line is that we are better than last year".
Staff and management were working harder, suppliers were providing product at keener prices and the restaurant was sourcing better value wines.
“Christmas is happening. It’s just that they are not spending it on Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s more normal now.”
The Irish Hotels Federation said 2009 had to be “the worst year” for the hotel industry. Its chief executive John Power said Christmas trading varied across the country.
“Corporate entertaining was down by in many cases 50-60 per cent, and that would have been a big part of the food and beverage trade. In the country, the trade would be down more than in Dublin,” he said. Mr Power said businesses did not want to be seen celebrating in the current climate.
“On the other side of it, there are fantastic [room] offers out there for Christmas, and they’re selling really well. On our own website, the purchase of hotel vouchers is ahead of last year, which is encouraging.”
Individual hotels did not respond to questions about their Christmas trade. The Irish Timesasked about 10 hotels how their Christmas party trade went, and just one responded. Adare Manor in Limerick said Christmas weddings, rather than parties, were a key market for the hotel, and this business was holding up quite well.
“Weddings are down by about one or two on last year but that was an exceptional year,” said general manager Anita Higgins. Bookings were strong for the restaurant, particularly in the period between Christmas and the new year. “We are in a much better place to be honest than I thought we would have been,” she said.
Hotels and restaurants have expressed concern over the difficult trading conditions in the lean months of January and February.
“Restaurants are very fearful with regard to January and February.” Mr Cummins said. “We can see a lot of businesses in big trouble if they cannot get overdraft facilities from the banks.”
He said there had been a sense of optimism after the Budget, and measures such as the reduction in excise duty and VAT were very welcome.
Restaurateurs were also hopeful of a move on the Sunday premium payment following Tourism Minister Martin Cullen’s remark that the extra labour payment was unsustainable, he said.
Mr Power said 2010 would be a very challenging year for hoteliers, and a number of them would have to face the fact that their businesses were not sustainable. A report by economic consultant Peter Bacon recently recommended that a quarter of the hotel rooms in Ireland needed to be closed down urgently.
He said Ireland was uniquely positioned to attract an increasing number of senior citizen visitors from the EU, following the Budget announcement of discounted travel for older people from abroad. “In the UK alone, there is a market of 9 million over-66s who have the time, discretionary income and inclination to travel,” he said.