Message from IHF President

First and foremost, a big shout out to our colleagues providing essential services. We as a Federation are so proud of our hotel and guesthouse community and, in particular, how we are continuing to support our Government in this pandemic.

As spring officially starts, we are a month closer to reopening beyond the current essential services restrictions. It is reassuring to see public health improving and the vaccination programme underway. We are very much in the mindset of planning fervently for reopening. It is really energising to see all of the creativity and training/upskilling happening in hotels and guesthouses throughout Ireland.

We have 4 main areas of focus as a Federation right now which are as follows:

• 1. Enhancing Business Supports - We are urgently seeking certainty around the EWSS, CRSS, local authority rates waivers and banking moratoriums which are concession based. We are also lobbying on revenue warehousing; pass-through energy network charges; employee tax on PUP, TWSS and EWSS; training barriers; VAT, insurance reform and recapitalising the industry. Following meetings with An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, Paschal Donohue Minister for Finance, Catherine Martin Minister for Tourism and Michael McGrath Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, we are awaiting an update on the supports as outlined above. We will revert to you as soon as we have the same.
  
  
• 2. Reopening Sustainably - Last week saw the current level 5 restrictions being extended to March 5th. You can view the current Government advice HERE. With respect to reopening, we are asking that inter-county travel is permitted and that a proper lead time is given to build a base of sustainable business. We are very much in the zone of no more ‘stop start’. We are also very aware of the challenges around international travel, and this remains ever present on our agenda. We will need supports for as long as we have restrictions and therefore, well into reopening.
  
  
• 3. Supporting Government - We have broadly offered our hotels and guesthouses as infrastructure for vaccination centres. It is hoped that this will expedite the vaccination rollout and lay the foundations for lesser/no restrictions. In addition, we have contacted the Government in connection with providing quarantine services. If you would like to be added to a list of potential hotels and guesthouses offering quarantine services, please click HERE to register your interest.
  
  
• 4. Training and Upskilling - Never before have we seen so many training opportunities for our hotel and guesthouse community at all levels. This is being brought to the next level with the approval of the Irish Hotels Federation as a Skillnet provider. We are currently recruiting for a Network Training Manager. Please refer to the link HERE for further details. We issued a circular on Friday asking you for your suggestions around your preferred 10 courses to be provided as part of the programme. This survey can be accessed by clicking on the link HERE. Special thank you to Michael Vaughan, our Past President, for leading the charge on this project. A special thank you also to the team who supported him. We are very excited about getting this initiative underway. We will be bringing you more detail in due course but it represents a huge opportunity for our hotel and guesthouse community. In addition, we are just about to finalise a comprehensive schedule of webinars to support you during this time and as you plan for reopening.
  
  

We were delighted to attend five branch meetings over the last 10 days. We thank you for taking the time to attend and for your important insights. If there are any issues that you would like to bring to our attention or indeed any suggestions for change, please do not hesitate to contact Tim, Eoin or myself. We are looking forward to meeting you at upcoming branch meetings.

We also attended a meeting with the board of Fáilte Ireland where we had an opportunity to relay the dire circumstances in our hotel and guesthouse community and the measures required to enable survival and recovery. Today, Fáilte Ireland launched its action plan for 2021 and Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin TD gave assurances that the Government is continuing to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and ensure that appropriate supports are in place. We are looking forward to engaging in drafting the roadmap for implementation as part of this process.

It has been a particularly busy week in the media with coverage on the Tonight Show, Morning Ireland, The Last Word, The Pat Kenny Show, The Irish Times Inside Business Podcast with Ciarán Hancock and the Novel Traveller Podcast amongst others (details below). The focus was on support measures, reopening sustainably and staycations. A special thank you to all those who continue to contribute to media on our behalf. Just a gentle reminder that if you are asked for a media contribution, please contact Eoin Quinn for support on messaging (quinne@ihf.ie).

Thank you also for your assistance in supporting our media activity on Twitter and LinkedIn. It has really helped in galvanising our message. Please refer to some of our more recent tweets and posts HERE If you are not registered on Twitter or LinkedIn, I urge you to sign up and support our lobbying and media awareness on these important platforms. Your account can be separate to your hotel/guesthouse account.

Having hosted a virtual bingo night with our own team this week, as I looked around at the faces of my colleagues, it was a telling reminder of why we relentlessly continue to advocate on behalf of our own team and all of our tourism community. Can I urge you to continue to engage with your teams. They need you and you need them. It is critical that we all support each other during these very trying times.

On a final note, I watched the following podcast clip this week of a local boy who I really admire. This ‘Paudcast’ left me particularly inspired. Please refer to the link HERE. I know what version I will be every day.

You'll find details of further updates below, which I would encourage you to explore.

Keep the faith. There are brighter days ahead and we will get there together.