Dublin hotel prices 30% above rest of country

Dublin is the most popular overall destination for summertime holidaymakers in Ireland, despite being the most expensive, with average hotel prices rising by 17%, or €22, on average per night over the past year.

Dublin hotel prices are 30% higher than the national average, the latest research from hotel search website trivago.ie shows.

The average cost of a hotel per night in Dublin is €150, followed by Galway at €121 and Killarney at €120.

Cork is next at €115, up from €108 in 2014, followed by Kilkenny at €103, the same as last year.

Indications that Failte Ireland’s Wild Atlantic project is having an effect were evident as prices for most destinations along the western seaboard are rising steadily.

Hotel prices in Westport, Co Mayo, rose 3%, from €107 to €110 per night while Dingle in Co Kerry saw rates rise 10% from €108 to €119 a night. Sligo Town saw the cost of hotel rooms rising by 11% to €125.

Killarney, once the favoured national destination for holidaymakers, bucked this trend with average prices down by 8% to €120 a night. So did Galway, where prices fell by 5%.

“Once again, Dublin is the go-to destination for travellers from Ireland this summer, who evidently refuse to be put off by what is a significant average price increase per night,” said David Lintott, Trivago’s public relations manager for the UK and Ireland.

Along the south-east coast, prices fell in Wexford by 10%, from €105 to €95, while Waterford is the least expensive destination this summer, with the average hotel prices at €89.

British travellers form the largest group of international visitors to Ireland with 86% of visitors to Ireland coming from the UK.

German and Italian travellers follow, representing 4% and 2% of visitor numbers to Ireland respectively.

For Irish people travelling abroad this summer, London is the favourite destination, while Spain remains the most popular country.

Excluding Ireland, Spain comprised 45% of all summer searches, followed by Portugal (18%) and Italy (7%).

Travellers from Ireland will spend an average of €135 per night on hotels this summer, which is slightly above the average of €132 recorded across 27 trivago platforms.

Norwegians were found to spend the most on average at €173 per night, while travellers from Serbia spend the least — just €73 per night.

“Irish holidaymakers continue to spend above the average but travellers seeking sunshine and a bargain can find low hotel prices in Madrid, where the average price of a room is just €77 — a €58 saving on the average national spend,” said Mr Lintott.