Cork hotels facing ‘strong demand’ from Ryder Cup in Adare Manor

Adare Manor event in 2027 will attract around 280,000 visitors

IHF chief executive Paul Gallagher and outgoing IHF president and Vienna Woods owner Michael Magner at Ross Castle,during the IHF conference in Killarney last week. Mr Magner said Cork hotels are experiencing strong demand due to next year's Ryder Cup at Adare Manor. Picture: Don MacMonagle

Cork hotelier Michael Magner says he has witnessed strong demand for hotels in the city for the 2027 Ryder Cup in Adare Manor.

The outgoing president of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) said that many Cork hotels, including his own Vienna Woods Hotel in Glanmire, is engaging with the Ryder Cup to help provide accommodation to those travelling for the golf tournament.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Magner said: “If the proper public transport is put in place, there is no reason why accommodation providers outside the core periphery of the Ryder Cup can’t benefit as well. 

“Even my own hotel in Cork is working with the Ryder Cup to provide accommodation, and we are not the only ones. And Cork is almost an hour and a half away.” 

The hotelier said that while the distance seems quite far in the minds of Irish people, those travelling from abroad for the tournament do not see it the same way. 

“We need to be mindful that folk are travelling from all over the world who are living in countries where they have no difficulty commuting an hour or two, maybe more, in some cases, to get to an event.

“We get hung up on that all the time, but it’s been one of those areas that I have had to defend robustly, particularly around the challenges of pricing.

“We want to stay as close to our given location as possible, but when you look around large urban areas, there is no difficulty staying 20 minutes or more outside London or New York. But that will come down to the synergies between the government, transport providers and infrastructure.” 

The Vienna Woods owner added that all forms of transport will be used by guests travelling to Adare from Cork next year.

“It will be car rental, coach companies, private tour operators, private drivers, helicopters, the lot. There will be a lot of private aircraft coming into the region as well.” 

At last year’s IHF annual conference in Killarney, director of hospitality and guest experience at Ryder Cup Europe, Alan Evans, warned against price gouging and questioned the 'surprising' prices hoteliers had quoted the organisation. Since then, Mr Magner says Irish hotels have had “incredible engagement” with the tournament’s travel services.

Forecast 'looks good' for 2026

Looking ahead to this year, with the vat rate on food and catering services set to be reduced to 9% in July, Mr Magner says the forecast “looks good” for 2026, and will be “more or less” on par with 2025.

However, the hotelier said the industry still grapples with costs, adding that doing business in Ireland “remained very expensive”. Issues regarding planning delays and supply constraints also dominated this year’s conference at the INEC, with CEO of the IHF Paul Gallagher Ireland's tourism infrastructure stood at a critical crossroads, with current conditions jeopardising the industry's future growth.

IHF shows that while hoteliers across the country are eager to expand their footprint, a significant portion of these projects are stalling due to persistent development barriers.

The IHF warned that these barriers pose a serious threat to the long-term competitiveness of Irish tourism.

After completing his two-year term as president of the IHF, Mr Magner has handed the baton over to the managing director of the Mullingar Park Hotel, Matt O’Connor.

Looking back on his term as president, the Cork hotelier called it “the honour of a lifetime. It’s been a privilege to have served as president. And its not just about the hotels and guest houses, the brick and mortar pieces, it's about the 69,000 people employed by the industry.

“My priorities when I took up the role were to enhance government engagement and to get the vat rate reduced. Thankfully, we were able to deliver on the vat reduction, and we were also delighted to have welcomed Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke, who attended the conference this year, marking the first appearance by a government minister in over a decade.

"It’s been an incredible two years, but I look forward to finishing and handing over my chain to Matt O’Connor who I'm sure will do a stellar job.”