Hoteliers reject “outrageous” claims

HOTELIERS have rejected as “outrageous” claims by Hotels.com that the average hotel price in Ireland has increased.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office, which are based on a nationally representative sample of prices, show that inflation in accommodation services was at 0% for the twelve months to June 2013 and was in fact down at -1.1% for the twelve months to July 2013, the Irish Hotels Federation asserts.

“The figures used for the Hotels.com survey are based on a very limited share of Irish hotels online sales and the sample size is only reflective of accommodation available on the Hotels.com website. It is too small to be representative of the 60,000 hotel and guesthouse rooms available for sale every day in Ireland,” said Lahinch-based, Michael Vaughan, Irish Hotels Federation .

“It is irresponsible and misleading for Hotels.com to give the impression that hotel prices have risen when this is clearly not the case as borne out by the most recent CSO figures which show prices have in fact decreased.

“The fact that prices on Hotels.com are higher is in no way reflective of the excellent value that is available in the market,” he added.

The Irish Hotels Federation also questions the validity of data published in relation to individual towns and counties across the country. Mr Vaughan said Hotels.com has limited access to hotel booking information to draw conclusions about accommodation prices other than those bednights sold on its website. He states that there is excellent value on offer by Irish hotels and guesthouses and that people should shop around.