Better get booking if you’re staying at home this year
EUROPE may be slowly easing its lockdown but uncertainty over enforced quarantine means that, for most Irish people, holidays abroad won’t happen this year.
But those desperate for a change of scenery are already booking up houses and apartments across the country as the nation readies for the biggest surge in staycations in years.
While Irish hotels are hoping domestic tourists will make up the shortfall in international visitors, staycationers seem to be more interested in self-catering accommodation where they can stay isolated with their families.
The Irish Landmark Trust, which specialises in quirky restored properties such as lighthouses and gate lodges, has already reported a surge in bookings
‘We’re expecting a huge demand for self-catering’
for its key properties – despite Irish people not being able to travel internally until July 20.
At the luxury end of the market, Unique Homestays is reporting unprecedented demand. Properties on the site are now almost fully booked except for a few dates for high-end homes like the Walden Lakehouse (€3,000 per week) on the banks of the Lough Ree, a former RTÉ Home of the Year built by owners Egon Walesch and Richard Goodwin.
‘We’ve just had huge interest, we’ve never seen anything like it before,’ said a spokesman for Unique Homestays, which operates in both the UK and Ireland.
Landmark Trust’s range of quirky, self-catering properties are also booking up fast with a spokesman reporting great interest in larger properties where extended families could holiday together.
‘Places like Inchiquin House in Co. Clare (€3,450 per week), which sleeps 10, are proving very popular and we have a lot of people who weren’t able to take their Easter break with us rebooking,’ the spokesman said. ‘We also have a number of smaller properties and urban properties which people are looking at too.’
Although hotels around the country are still hoping to attract domestic and overseas visitors (despite the quarantine laws), industry sources say it’s increasingly likely that people will opt for self-catering accommodation where they can control their environment and stay away from other people.
Helen Gavin, chairperson of the Westport Chamber of Commerce on the Wild Atlantic Way, says that while the town’s hotels are going all out to attract business, self-catering will ‘be huge this year’.
‘That’s what we’re expecting to see a lot of really,’ she said.
There is also anecdotal evidence that prices have, in some cases, more than doubled since last year.
One Dublin man who last year paid €1,500 for a four-bedroom house in Waterville, Co Kerry, paid €3,000 for the same property for the same week this year.
‘Look it’s not great but we’re desperate to get away. There isn’t much availability and owners have to recoup their losses,’ he said.
As well as high demand, lettings are growing more scarce because of the long turnaround now needed to clean houses between rentals.
Some companies are giving a full 48 hours between lettings so that each property can be deep-cleaned.
The Irish Landmark Trust says the new measures mean guests can only arrive now on a Monday or a Friday whereas before they used to be able to arrive on any day of the week.
‘Owners are desperate to recoup their losses’
‘It used to be the case that a guest could leave at 10am and another one would come in at 3pm on the same day. Obviously, those days are gone,’ said a spokesman.
Industry sources say the large number of domestic tourists will not make up financially for the almost total fall-off in foreign visitors.
Last summer, close to 1.5m tourists visited Ireland for each of the summer months.
This figure is likely to be almost wiped out this summer, even if the quarantine laws are relaxed later in the season.
Tim Fenn, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation, says he is aware of the challenge that Covid-19 poses for its members and it is acting accordingly.
‘The Irish Hotels Federation is working closely with Fáilte Ireland to establish agreed operational standards for hotels in line with HSE requirements and international best practice,’ he said.
‘The standards will cover all aspects of hotel operations and facilities and we expect they will be announced shortly.
‘Ireland’s hotels have a well-earned reputation globally for their high service standards.
‘Hotels will be applying the same commitment to excellence in the implementation of these new standards, to provide a safe environment for employees and guests and ensure those looking to take a welldeserved staycation after lockdown will have an enjoyable and safe experience.’