Profits Soar At Doyle Hotels As Tourism Ireland Reports Occupancy Above 2019 Levels

The Doyle Collection hotel group saw turnover and profits almost triple in 2022 following steady growth across tourism, leisure and corporate business.

Turnover rose to €148M last year, according to accounts for Doyle Hotels (Holdings), compared with €53M in 2021, and the hotel group posted a pre-tax profit of nearly €28M for 2022 compared with just under €8M in 2021, the Irish Times reported.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization was €21M, up €29M on the previous year, and the company said the higher turnover for 2022 reflected the removal of pandemic restrictions and subsequent improved trading across its three markets — Ireland, the UK and the U.S.

The Doyle Collection operates eight hotels in Dublin, Cork, Bristol, London and Washington, D.C., including the five-star Westbury Hotel in Dublin.

Owned by members of the Doyle and Beatty families, The Doyle Collection achieved revenue of €60M in Ireland during the year, up from €21M in 2021, while in the UK it posted income of €66M and in the U.S. the Dupont Circle hotel in Washington, D.C., achieved revenue of €22M.

“Our hotels in Ireland, the UK and the U.S. all experienced a resurgence in demand with very good occupancy levels across the portfolio,” The Doyle Collection Chair Bernie Gallagher said in a statement.

“The resurgence in demand has carried through into 2023 with sustained tourism and leisure trade and a significant bounce back in corporate business. Ireland has particularly benefited from inbound international tourism from North America and Europe."

The hotel group has also completed a major renovation of The Westbury Hotel, adding 18 new luxury suites.

Dublin’s hotel sector has enjoyed a strong bounceback since the pandemic, and Tourism Ireland has reported that air access to Ireland is above winter 2019, including from two of the country’s biggest source markets, the UK (103% of 2019 levels) and the U.S. (112%).

The latest figures show that hotel occupancy is also ahead of 2019 levels, albeit with 13% of rooms under contract for refugees.

At the start of November, The Dean Hotel Group announced that it had agreed to sell a majority stake in its business to an investment vehicle managed by Lifestyle Hospitality Capital Group and backed by funds advised by Elliott Investment Management.

The hotels will continue to be managed and operated by The Dean Hotel Group under its own brands including The Dean, The Mayson, The Clarence, The Devlin, The Leinster and Glasson Lakehouse.

Completion is expected in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.