Bank of Ireland hosts ‘Changing Trends in the Hotel Sector’ Business Briefing
Bank of Ireland hosted a business briefing, Changing Trends in the Hotel Sector for 200 hotel owners, managers, agents and suppliers. Attendees heard that over the past 10 months the Bank has approved over €110 million in funding to the hotel sector and is seeing good momentum across this industry segment.
The event included an update on the tourism sector and the impact of digital on the hotel business and future strategies. A focus on changing trends involved discussion on Brexit ramifications and other performance trends including accommodation sales and projections.
Addressing the event, Gerardo Larios, Head of Hospitality, Bank of Ireland Business Banking said: “As the economy continues to recover, our business customers are also adapting and looking to the future with a greater degree of confidence. Businesses are beginning to expand and invest, and this is reflected in increased demand for term loans. We expect this trend to continue as the overall outlook for the year is positive, with a number of indicators pointing to sustained improvement in the general economy, including higher consumer spending, continued employment gains and increased business investment. The hotel sector has very good reasons to be optimistic and ambitious.”
Speakers at the event included Shaun Quinn, CEO Fáilte Ireland; John Hughes, Director, CBRE Hotels Ireland; Aiden Murphy, Crowe Horwath; Sarah Duignan, STR Global; Weldon Mather, WM Consultancy; and Gavin Kelly, Michael Lauhoff and Gerardo Larios from Bank of Ireland.
The event was run by Bank of Ireland’s Sector Team. The bank’s strategy has been to recruit and retain industry experts with expertise across various sectors. The team covers a diverse range of sectors including Hospitality, Retail Convenience, Agriculture, Health and life sciences, Manufacturing, Motor, Property, Renewable Energy and Technology.