Hotel room rates down by 8%

HOTELIERS are being hit hard by the economic downturn, with hotel rooms across the country being slashed by about 8% in the past 12 months.

Figures show that between July and September last — a time when prices are usually at their peak— the average cost of a hotel room in Ireland was just €102 a night, compared with €111 a year earlier.

The figures, based on 68,000 hotels worldwide, including 1,000 in Ireland, further show that Galway remained the most expensive region in Ireland for hotels.