Revealed: The role of hotels in promoting prostitution

PROSTITUTION is a booming business in this country and, on the evidence of industry magazine Hospitality Ireland and research by the Irish Examiner, many of the nation’s top hotels are doing their bit to promote the profession.

A survey of 30 three-star, four-star and five-star hotels across the country by Hospitality Ireland revealed 59% were willing to give information on where escort services were available.

It would appear the concierges, whose job it is to make the customers’ stay as “memorable as possible”, are willing in some cases to go that extra mile. As well as tourist attractions they are also up to speed on where sexual services are available at a premium.

The magazine survey found that if some of the hotels could not arrange something themselves, they could certainly suggest names of agencies or where to look for the information.

The magazine also contacted several escorts to ask their opinion. Many cited hotels as a “key venue for escort services”.

“In recent years, it seems, the escort business has grown exponentially in this country,” said Helen McHugh, of Hospitality Ireland. “Unfortunately for hotels, their business and the escort business are somewhat linked. Whether or not Irish hotels are aware of it, such ‘services’ can take place on their premises on a regular basis.”

The Hospitality Ireland article said of the high percentage of hotels: “If the figure seems surprising, it might be worth comparing it to that of one of our European neighbours. In Germany, where prostitution is legal, we called hotels in the cities of Berlin and Cologne. Seventy-five percent gave us the names of websites, phone numbers, price lists and even offered to arrange the rendezvous for us.”

There are more than 800 women of various origins offering sex for as much as €400 per hour in this country at any one time. Loopholes in Irish law allow the women to use the internet to broadcast scantily clad pictures of themselves, detail the vast range of services that they offer, their price ranges and, crucially, their mobile phone number.

The use of hotels by escorts is well known and it would appear it is the way they operate that can lead to problems and action by the hotel.

One eastern European woman, who regularly travels to Ireland from England for four-day periods of work at a time, was evicted from a well-known hotel in Cork by gardaí.

The hotelier said staff were aware of the woman’s name and her aliases and she would not be allowed to check in if she approached the hotel reception. Despite this and despite being well known to the hotel, she tried to check in again.

However, if the women are invited to the hotels and there is not a steady stream of men going to a hotel door while the woman is staying there, it is much less likely to cause attention.