Irish developer expands hotel portfolio in US

PROPERTY developer Noel O’Callaghan is planning a second hotel in the United States.

Mr O’Callaghan’s firm has paid €11.6 million for a building in Boston, which will be turned into a 128-bedroom hotel in a €20m redevelopment.

The developer already owns a hotel in Annapolis in Maryland, but the Boston site will be the group’s flagship location. The Ames Building is close to the financial district in the city centre and is near to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.

The 14-storey building is more than 100 years old and planning permission has been granted to turn the historic location into a four-star boutique hotel. It will have five executive suites, extensive conference facilities, a restaurant and a bar.

Corporate visitors will be the main market for the hotel, though it is also expected to be popular with the leisure market.

Julie O’Brien, sales and marketing director of O’Callaghan Hotels, said the group had been looking for further expansion in the US as the Annapolis location was proving very popular. The company had looked at sites in New York and Chicago, but felt the Boston site fitted better with its existing portfolio of hotels.

Mr O’Callaghan already owns the Alexander, Mont Clare, Davenport, St Stephens Green hotels, and a complex of luxury apartments in Dublin. He also owns the Ellier Hotel in Gibraltar.

According to Ms O’Brien the hotels have weathered the tourism downturn in recent years and have seen their revenues grow this year to €45 million and they are all profitable.

She added that the company would also be looking at further properties in the coming years. O’Callaghan Hotels have opened a new location every two years since the company was formed 14 years ago.