Wednesday 25th November 2009

Hotels and Guesthouses Launch Ireland’s Largest Accommodation Guide

Definitive Guide Promoting Irish Hotels and Guesthouses across 22 Countries

Irish hotel and guesthouse owners today joined together to launch the 2010 Be Our Guest Guide and kick start the Irish Hotels Federation’s (IHF) international marketing drive for 2010. Now in its 23rd edition, the Guide is renowned as Ireland’s largest accommodation listing, featuring 750 hotels and guesthouses from every county. Up to 300,000 guides will be distributed in 22 countries in the coming months, acting as a key marketing vehicle in promoting Ireland at home and abroad.

Sponsored by Diageo, the Be Our Guest Guide provides potential visitors with a wealth of accommodation offerings and, in addition to detailed hotel and guesthouse listings, provides four comprehensive sections on Spa & Leisure facilities, Golfing, Angling and Conferences & Meetings facilities. It features 106 properties offering excellent value spa and leisure breaks, 178 hotels and guesthouses offering comprehensive golfing arrangements to their guests, either on site or by arrangement with local golf courses, as well as 60 properties catering for the needs of anglers. The ‘Conferences & Meetings’ section provides details of 223 properties offering designated conference facilities targeted at business tourism.

Irelandhotels.com, the Guide’s online version with booking facilities, provides guests with speedy access to the best deals and special offers across a wide range of hotels and guesthouses, allowing visitors to the site to select accommodation that best suits their business or leisure plans. The website features dedicated sections with Value Breaks, Special Offers and Family Breaks which are updated daily to provide exceptional value deals across hundreds of hotels and guesthouses.

Matthew Ryan, President, IHF, states, “Given the unprecedented challenges faced by Irish tourism, effective and creative marketing of our product both at home and abroad is more vital than ever. This year’s Guide showcases the tremendous range of accommodation being offered by hotels and guesthouses at the highest standards of service in a highly competitive market. Irish hotels now offer among the best value in Europe with prices having dropped by up to 15% over the last year.

            “With overseas trips to Ireland down almost 14%, a key objective for 2010 is to regain lost ground, particularly in the British market. In terms of business tourism, the priority is to attract new business and conference visitors to derive maximum benefit from the availability of the national conference centre when it opens next September. As part of this effort, we are calling on the Government to invest in targeted marketing initiatives that showcase Ireland’s excellent venues and purpose-built conference facilities.”

Ciaran Budds, National Sales Manager, On Trade with Diageo Ireland states, "Diageo is delighted to be associated with the Be Our Guest Guide which is recognised as Ireland’s most comprehensive accommodation listing. Guinness is an iconic global brand whose strong heritage is immediately synonymous with Ireland’s tourism offering and enhanced through Ireland’s foremost visitor centre, The Guinness Storehouse. We are committed to encouraging tourists to come to Ireland and entertaining them whilst here through our programme of festival sponsorships and 250th anniversary celebrations.”

The Guide provides GPS navigation co-ordinates, along with a map reference for each property corresponding to Ordinance Survey maps included in the Guide to assist motoring visitors locate properties easily. Another feature of the Guide is the ‘Food for Kids’ logo which appears alongside premises participating in the IHF’s initiative offering healthier menus for children. Adapting to customers’ needs goes hand-in-hand with providing excellent customer service, so in association with ‘Les Clefs d’Or’, the Guide allows visitors to see at a glance which hotels provide internationally accredited concierge services.

In the domestic market, the Be Our Guest Guide is distributed by Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board via their tourist information office network. The Guide is also distributed through car hire companies, leading book stores, airports and the travel trade as well as in all the hotels and guesthouses featured in the guide. In the overseas markets, Tourism Ireland distributes the Be Our Guest Guide from all of their offices to both consumers and travel trade in the UK, Continental Europe, North America and long haul markets.

ENDS

FOR INFORMATION:

Siobhan Molloy / Eoin Quinn                          Tel: 01 6760168

Weber Shandwick                                          Mobile: 086 8175066 / 087 2332191