Chill wind blows across hotel and restaurant trade

THE sustained Christmas freeze has seen some sharp reductions in trade for restaurants and hotels.

Despite increased bookings in the north Dublin and Shannon areas due to airport closures in regions affected by snow, hotels are reporting an up to 70% decrease in their normal Christmas week business, according to the Irish Hotels Federation.

The Dublin City Centre Business Association also reported restaurants, cinemas and theatres were suffering from the adverse weather conditions as fewer people stayed around the city at night.