Hoteliers seeking reduction in local authority charges
Hoteliers are looking for a 30% reduction in local authority rates to help reduce their running costs.
So far, only one third of hotels have been revalued, despite many having restructured their businesses and becoming leaner since the recession.
The Irish Hotels Federation - which holds it annual conference today - is calling for a national competitiveness strategy to be implemented for all public sector charges.
President Stephen McNally says there are still concerns about the differences in costs around the country.
He said: "Water charges would be a good example where one county, Kildare, would have some of the lowest water charges in the country but places like Wicklow has some of the highest.
"So we see some problems coming down the road here in terms of trying to balance those, because it has to be fair to everybody.
"We would worry about how they are going to levy or aggregate that charge and the reality is probably that businesses will be expected to pay more."
