The directors of a Kerry luxury hotel group sounded warnings over the effects of Brexit, the US election “and the troubling state of the EU”. The warnings come as the Swiss-owned Killarney Hotels Ltd said it had increased revenues by 13% to €19.2m last year.
The company operates three hotels in Co Kerry: the Europe Hotel & Resort, the 102-room Dunloe Castle, and Hotel Ard na Sidhe.
Revenues have increased from €8.49m in 2011. However, hefty non-cash depreciation charges of €6.2m resulted in the Killarney Hotels group recording a pre-tax loss of €5.5m. Dunloe Castle is closed this year for refurbishment. According to the latest directors’ report, the hotels are performing “in line with expectation”.
The group employed 191 people last year and staff costs rose from €7.3m to €8m. The directors say that tourism had record years in 2016 and 2015, citing the main Irish tourist bodies predicting further growth for 2017. The directors state: “Eventually, however, tourism may start to feel the impact of the American election, Brexit negotiations and the troubling state of the EU”.
Innovation, technology, sustainability, and accessibility are key issues for tourism this year, the firm said. “Killarney Hotels must continue to evolve in to add value to the customer’s experience and outperform its competitors by addressing those issues,” said directors Michael Brennan, Gerry Browne and Adrian Stehr. Their combined pay jumped to €606,694, including pension contributions.