Merrion Hotel generates record profits of €3.4m

The owners of the five-star Merrion Hotel in Dublin shared a bumper €7.6m dividend payout, last year, as profits at the hotel soared.

The luxury hotel last year enjoyed record profits and revenues as it continued to benefit from the boom in the Dublin hospitality sector.

New accounts for Hotel Merrion Ltd show that pre-tax profits jumped 45% to €3.4m, while revenues increased by 10% to €21.5m.

Before last year’s huge dividend, the company paid a dividend of €102,422 in 2015. Businessmen Lochlann Quinn and Martin Naughton each own 25 % of the company, with the Hastings Hotel Group — which also owns Belfast’s Europa and Culloden hotels — controlling the remaining 50%.

The Merrion is the hotel of choice for musicians like Bruce Springsteen and a host of Hollywood A-listers when they stay in the capital.

The hotel comprises 123 rooms and 19 suites and occupancy levels reached their highest point last year. The hotel’s owners said that “the near term outlook remains strong,” adding that they are confident of maintaining revenues and profitability.

Numbers employed by the hotel, which houses Ireland’s only two-Michelin star restaurant, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, last year decreased from 286 to 283 with staff costs increasing from €7.88m to €8.189m.

The figures show that 66 staff are in management and 217 in hotel staff. Last year’s profit takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €664,805.

The revenues last year translate into an average revenue per room of €151,671 at the luxury hotel. This includes ancillary revenues such as bar and food.

A breakdown of the hotel’s revenues show that it generated €14m from accommodation; €6.7m from food and beverage; €695,657 in ‘other income’ and €459,443 from its spa centre facilities.

As a result of the dividend payout, accumulated profits at the company last year decreased from €4.89m to €152,826.