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Gleneagle Hotel group, which operates a number of hotels in Killarney including the Gleneagle Hotel & Apartments, the Brehon and Scotts Hotel as well as the INEC exhibition and concert centre, has recently expressed satisfaction with regard to the performance of the business over the last year and the outlook for next year. Group finance director Manjit Gill said 2014 had been “very positive and we are very confident of a return to pre-tax profit this year.” Mr Gill said that December “had been very strong across the group and for 2015, like-for-like sales are up, so we are hoping for a similar result if not better next year.”

In a recent interview in the Independent, local hotelier Niall Huggard, who runs the Lake Hotel in Killarney, claimed he has seen a pick-up in guest numbers over the last year. Mr Huggard, who, like many other Killarney hoteliers, admitted to having had some tough years during the recession said: “We’d be very happy if this year is as good as last year was. We’ve noticed a big jump in Canadian visitors. The Canadian market wasn’t really a market ten years ago. Flights into Shannon Airport from Canada have helped – as have the flights from St John’s in Newfoundland...Click to read more about Uncategorized

A member of The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), Michael Rosney, has welcomed the recent sale of the four star Parknasilla Hotel in Sneem near Killarney for a figure reported to be around €10m, as well as the impending sale of the five star Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare for some €5m. Mr Rosney said that these hotel sales showed that, at last, there appears to be some “movement in the industry” after almost five years of decline and stagnation.

Mr Rosney, a member of the council of the Irish Hotels Federation and owner of the Killeen House Hotel in Killarney, welcomed the fact that the hotels would be in private ownership indicating that this would help create a level playing field for other operators in the Killarney area as well as those in other parts of Kerry. Mr Rosney pointed to the fact that, in recent times, it had been difficult for independently run hotels to compete with so-called “zombie hotels” which are under the control of financial institutions. “It has been very frustrating for people who are struggling to survive to be up against hotels that are bank- or NAMA-controlled and are offering breaks and deals they simply can’t compete with.” said Mr Rosney.

In October...Click to read more about Uncategorized

Last month a leading Killarney hotel owner and industrialist, Dr Isolde Liebherr, formally received the gratitude of the local Killarney business community for her company’s valuable contribution to the local economy. Dr Liebherr was inducted into the Order of Innisfallen which recognises individuals who make a unique contribution to the Killarney area. She was a also a special guest of the Kerry branch of the Irish Hotels Federation at its annual ball in the Europe Hotel where she was presented with a portrait by Dublin artist Paul Kelly that was commissioned by the local Killarney business community.

Dr Liebherr is vice-president of the Liebherr Group, a German company that owns three hotels in the Killarney area that together employ some 275 people. Liebherr’s Irish hotel operation, Killarney Hotels Ltd, owns the five star Europe Hotel & Resort as well as The Dunloe and Ard na Sidhe Country House.

The induction event was held in Muckross House, and during her acceptance speech, Dr Liebherr spoke of her family’s love of Killarney and how she had learned about tourism whilst working alongside local people in the Europe Hotel. “I studied closely the way tourism workers here entertained and catered for tourists from all over the...Click to read more about Uncategorized

The Malton hotel in Killarney recently received an accolade at an award ceremony held by the Golfers Guide to Ireland in Dublin. The ceremony held at the end of January in O’Connell’s Restaurant in Donneybrook also celebrated the launch of the 2012 edition of the well-known golf guide book. Published by Portside Publications, The Golfers Guide is the longest established golf guide in Ireland. The publisher is an Irish company that has operated for over 21 years in the tourism sector.

This year sees the 21st edition of the guide and to mark this milestone Portside decided to inaugurate the awards event to recognize the role played by Irish Golf Clubs and golfing interests on the whole island of Ireland. Over 50,000 copies of the Golfers Guide to Ireland 2012 have been printed and it will be distributed to every golf club in Ireland. Online versions will be available in Japan, Sweden, the UK and North America. Portside Publications director Paddy McCarthy said that the guide was now considered an essential part of kit for any travelling golfer taking a trip to Ireland. “We have had magnificent support from Ireland’s golf industry throughout the years and I am happy to report that the industry has expressed its confidence in the future,” he said....Click to read more about Uncategorized

What a remarkable few months for Irish golf. In June Rory McIlroy won the US Open at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland and Darren Clarke has just lifted the famous Claret Jug at Royal St George’s at Sandwich in Kent. Two Irish players are currently the hottest property in the golfing world and their unprecedented success is sure to make some kind of golf mania take a grip on the whole county.

The timing of the Irish Open, which is to take place at the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club from July 29th to 01st August, could not be better. The tournament is now the only European Tour event to be played in Ireland and, although it has struggled recently, the attendance of McIlroy and maybe Clarke in Killarney this year is sure to prove to be a huge crowd puller. In fact, the English Independent newspaper has reported that the European Tour is now planning extra security to cope with the expected surge of golf fans into Killarney at the end of the month. The success of Clarke and McIlroy may also help to find a new main sponsor for the event, after 3 withdrew as title sponsor in November...Click to read more about Uncategorized