More than three quarters of Irish hoteliers surveyed – 77%, to be precise – plan to invest more in their business this year, according to research by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) carried out to coincide with its Annual Conference, which has been taking place this week in Killarney.
Key areas of focus include increased investment in refurbishment projects, environmental sustainability, training and people development and the adoption of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
IHF President Michael Magner said: “Continued investment in our product and customer experience is a key priority for hotels over the coming year as we respond to evolving guest expectations in what remains a highly competitive tourism landscape. This strong focus on value-enhancing investment is absolutely essential for the further development of Ireland’s tourism and hospitality product and our position internationally as a leading destination for visitors and holidaymakers.
“We are seeing members examining all aspects of the operations and responding to changing visitor preferences, technological advancements and external challenges while targeting additional resources toward people development, training and upskilling. This will ensure we are well-positioned as an industry to deliver long-term, sustainable growth as Ireland’s largest indigenous industry supporting over 270,000 livelihoods.”
Refurbishment – Following a period of already significant capital investment in their properties over the last three years to enhance the guest experience, it is estimated that hoteliers will invest a further €250 million in refurbishment in 2025 including projects targeting guest bedrooms (58% of hotels) and increased investment in ground floor, restaurants, bars and common areas (45% of hotels).
Environmental sustainability – Some 61% of hotels indicate they plan to increase investment in sustainability across a wide range of initiatives in 2025 while a further 23% indicate they are actively in the process of exploring options to enhance the sustainability of the business. Of those planning to increase investment in sustainability, key areas targeted include renewable energy solutions (52%), energy efficiency measures (44%), food waste reduction (57%) and additional water conservation measures (36%).
Training and skills – Investing in people development within the sector remains a major focus with 85% of hoteliers saying they plan to increase levels of resources specifically targeting training and upskilling across their teams over the next 12 months compared with last year. The top five areas being targeted for increased investmentare leadership and management development, supervisory skills, mentoring and coaching, entry level skill and sustainability training.
Technology & artificial intelligence –The adoption of artificial intelligence is increasingly being explored by hotels as a way to enhance the guest experience with 43% of hoteliers saying they currently use AI technology in some form across their hotel operations. A further 41% say they plan to explore the adoption of AI technologies while, of those that currently use AI, 54% plan to increase investment in this area over the next 18 months having seen the benefits it has brought to their business. Results indicate that the top five areas for the adoption of AI by Irish hotels are customer service (including booking assistants and smart concierge), revenue management, personalised marketing and energy management.
