A new hotel enters the five-star section of the Dublin market in September. The Merrion Hotel is likely to be the most expensive hotel in the city and is determined to compete against the established names in the capital.
As general manager of the hotel, Mr Peter MacCann says, "we believe with the economy doing so well, this kind of hotel is just what's needed". He will have the responsibility of making guests believe this on a day-to-day basis.
Mr MacCann, an affable and bon viveur type of hotel manager, says his motto of management is to banish the word No when it comes to dealing with guests.
With rooms set to cost up to £225 a night, guests will expect the word Yes to be used habitually during their stay.
Mr MacCann's main problem is trying to promote the hotel's image of luxury and opulence, without making people think the hotel is outside their budget. "Yes we will have some wealthy guests, but we will also have the normal day-to-day customers coming in and enjoying the hotel," he says hopefully.
While competition among hotels is fierce, Mr MacCann and the group behind the Merrion believe there is a gap at the top of the market.
The company behind the project is Landmark Investments, whose three shareholders are Mr Billy Hastings, chairman of the Northern Ireland hotels group, Hastings Hotels, Mr Martin Naughton, chairman of Glen Dimplex, and Mr Lochlann Quinn, finance director of Glen Dimplex.
Mr Hastings has a 50 per cent shareholding in Landmark, while the other 50 per cent is divided between Mr Quinn and Mr Naughton.
Mr MacCann says that while Mr Hasting's experience may be drawn upon at some stage, Hastings Hotels will have no direct input into the running of the hotel.
The new hotel is situated opposite Government Buildings and occupies the Georgian houses between 21 and 24 Upper Merrion Street. Mr MacCann says the custom of all political parties is welcome.
The frontage of the hotel consists of the original facades of the four listed buildings, which, according to the Irish Georgian Society, were built in the 1760s by Charles Stanley Monck. Of the four houses the most significant is Mornington House, the birthplace of the Duke of Wellington.
Mr MacCann says the idea of converting this elegant piece of Dublin Georgian history into a hotel belonged to Mr Quinn, who he describes as the hotel's "driving force".
Mr Quinn bought the property, which had been used as the office of the Land Commission for decades, from the government in 1992.
According to Mr MacCann, Mr Quinn wanted the property to be a hotel "Dubliners could be proud of", but he also wanted it to address itself to the lucrative end of the market.
Mr MacCann, who used to be food and beverage manager at the Conrad, says he experiences "a type of adrenalin rush when working in a big upmarket hotel".
He says that once you've worked in a five-star hotel, "you can never work in any other type of hotel". He says the hotel will draw 70 per cent of its customers from the corporate sector.
The re-location of Patrick Guilbaud's upmarket restaurant to the hotel gives some idea of the image the promoters are seeking to project.
The room charges put the hotel at the top of the price bracket. A superior room will cost £160 per night as an introductory offer, rising to £180 per night in the new year. Deluxe rooms will cost £180 per night initially, rising to £225 per night later, says Mr MacCann.
All suites will cost £300 per night. The hotel does not plan to impose any service charges.
A single room in the Shelbourne costs £154 per night, while a room in the Conrad costs £170 per night (both prices include a service charge). The prices for suites are closer to those to be charged at the Merrion.
Mr MacCann does not believe the Merrion is in direct competition with hotels like the Shelbourne and the Conrad. "We are offering a different type of product," he says.
He is confident that, when the hotel opens, guests will be impressed by the Georgian theme and the way it is observed in the decor and finish of the bedrooms.
Mr MacCann believes tourism in Dublin faces many challenges over the next few years. "Things like the transport problem are going to test us all, visitors will eventually tire of short journeys taking so much time, that is why something like LUAS is such an important decision."
He says hotel guests do not mind paying above-average bills if they can see the level of service is also above average too.
"Business people now expect to be able to do everything within a hotel, hold a meeting, do paper work, host a lunch, take a swim, hotels have to be able to accommodate all those wishes."
He points out that each room will have, apart from the normal features, three telephones, a fax machine, an ISDN line and video-conferencing facilities. Once outside their rooms guests can also enjoy landscaped 18th century gardens, the Cellar Bar situated in the original 18th century vaults and a health and fitness centre, including an 18-metre swimming pool.
Mr MacCann says the ratio of 200 staff to 150 rooms will prove appealing to domestic corporate clients and foreign business people. This concentration on "service beyond the call of duty" is what will mark the hotel out from the others, he claims.
He adds that marketing the hotel has been slightly hampered because it has yet to open. The traditional relationship between international business people and the older hotels will be hard to disrupt, admits Mr MacCann.
"We would be happy with an occupancy rate of 60 per cent in the months after we open, but after that we would expect to improve further."
The location opposite Government Buildings is ideal, he says, because it will mean a large Garda presence in the vicinity of the hotel 24 hours a day.
"This hotel will do well for a number of reasons. One reason is that we are mainly concentrating on a corporate customer base, so we will not be subject to the normal fluctuations of the tourism market," he adds.
