€17m Dromoland revenue forecast

The general manager of the five-star Dromoland Castle hotel, Mark Nolan, said yesterday that he expects the revenues at the hotel and adjoining Inn at Dromoland to top €17m this year.

Celebrating 25 years in the post this year, Mr Nolan said: “We are in a growth pattern at the moment and Dromoland Castle has enjoyed a 93% bed occupancy over the past six weeks and a lot of that is down to very significant North American business we secured three years ago.”

In 2012, Dromoland purchased the adjoining Clare Inn hotel for €2.1m and spent additional monies in the fitting out and rebranding of the hotel as the Inn at Dromoland.

Refurbishment costs at the Inn at Dromoland hit profits at the group last year.

“We were a little unrealistic in our aims for the hotel last year, but it is on its way to being one of the best three-star hotels in the country,” Mr Nolan said.

He added: “The business there is moving in the right direction and it is hitting budget at the moment.”

Mr Nolan said that the business has spent €1.5m on refurbishment on the Inn at Dromoland and intends to spend a further €750,000 this year, which will include the refurbishment of 60 rooms.

Last year, Dromoland Castle Holdings Ltd recorded a sharp decrease in profits, falling from €242,477 to €63,816, in spite of revenues increasing by 14%, rising from €13.7m to €15.59m.

Mr Nolan said that the hotel is projecting to increase revenues across the two hotels to over €17m this year.

He said that the first quarter at the five-star Dromoland Castle “was challenging enough, but it has been very positive since”.