The recent opening of the Posthouse Premier Hotel, close to the centre of Belfast, is the latest in a number of developments in the accommodation sector, which has resulted in the number of hotel rooms in the city reaching a new high.
According to the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the target set five years ago of doubling the number of rooms by the year 2000 has been achieved. Belfast now has around 2,500 rooms, while the total for Northern Ireland is approaching 5,000. One of the most recent developments was the opening of the £19 million sterling (#31.67 million) Posthouse Premier in Ormeau Avenue. The 170-bed facility, opposite the BBC's Broadcasting House at Ormeau Road, is part of a mixed development including apartments, leisure and commercial units.
The four-star hotel employs 86 staff. It replaced the 82-bed Forte Crest, formerly the Conway Hotel at Dunmurry, one of the North's oldest and best known hotels. The Posthouse group is also believed to be considering a new hotel at Belfast International Airport. Mr Patrick Dempsey, managing director of Forte Posthouse UK Hotels and Ireland, has said that the group is considering Aldergrove as a possible location for its next venture in Northern Ireland.
Among its chain of 79 hotels in Britain and Ireland are airport hotels at Dublin, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Heathrow. Mr Dempsey said that they expected the booking mix at the four-star Posthouse Premier to be 60 per cent commercial and 40 per cent leisure. The hotel is planning for room occupancy levels of between 75 and 80 per cent, well above the Belfast average of 63 per cent. Room rates are £109 per night during the week, and £89 at weekends.
Further projects are under way in and around the city, including the £15 million, 120-bedroom Andras House Hotel at Shaw's Bridge, in the south of the city, and a £6 million investment by the Hastings Hotel Group in the Europa, creating 56 new executive bedrooms, while Dublin-based developer Mr Michael Roden has unveiled plans for a 50-bedroom hotel in the Cathedral Quarter as part of a £15 million scheme. The developer behind the Andras House development is Indian businessman Mr Diljit Rana, who has been involved in the hotel business in Belfast for a number of years. Mr Rana is currently planning a £3 million, 62bedroom hotel on the site of the Londonderry Hotel in Portrush.
The hotel business in Northern Ireland has been transformed over the past few years, with the opening of the 190-bedroom Jury's Inn in Belfast's Great Victoria Street, and the 195-bedroom Hilton Hotel as part of the city's Laganside development.
According to Jury's most recent annual figures, announced in July, its Belfast outlet was averaging 88 per cent occupancy.
Another significant development was the building of the 130-bedroom Stakis Park Hotel, which has become a fully integrated part of the Hilton International chain following the £1.3 billion acquisition of Stakis plc by Hilton Group.
Mr Gareth Kirk, director of finance and investment at the NITB, believes that supply and demand were now fairly well balanced.
The NITB board recently decided to extend its moratorium on extending grant aid to hotel projects within a 12mile radius of the City Hall. Developers planning projects beyond the 12-mile limit can still qualify for grant aid of up to 20 per cent on their schemes. The moratorium has been in force since 1996, but hotel development has continued in the city centre. Mr Kirk said that even in areas where grants are available, they are by no means automatic.
