*Dromoland Castle.
RECORD breaking revenues of €31.41m were enjoyed behind the luxury five star Dromoland Castle.
New accounts for Dromoland Castle Holdings Ltd show that revenues last year increased by 12 per cent from €27.94 million to €31.4 million.
General Manager, Mark Nolan said that 2023 was “a record-breaking year” for the business in terms of revenues.
He said, “The real eye opener was the average room rate, which was very strong”.
He said that during the high season this ranges from €790 per night for entry level accommodation to €3,500 for your “top, top suites”.
Room income last year increased by 15pc to €17.45 million while food and drink income increased marginally to €10.73m.
The new accounts show that pre-tax profits last year declined by 32 per cent from €2.45 million to €1.66 million.
However, Chief Financial Officer, Joe Hughes said that underlying profit is up strongly as the 2022 profits taking into account €2 million in Covid-19 related grants which did not re-occur last year.
Mr Nolan said that revenues for 2024 will be boosted by the opening of the Dromoland Lodge which is a five bedroomed house on the estate.
He said that Dromoland Lodge can cost guests €5,500 per night to €32,000 per week to rent out.
Mr Nolan said that the response to the new product “has been beyond our wildest dreams. It only went to market in May and in July we had 85 per cent occupancy”.
He said, “It is a stunning property and is for people who want to experience everything that the estate has to offer and they have their own added privacy”.
Mr Nolan said that he has made contact with Clare County Council’s department to present plans for accommodation expansion at the castle resort.
He said that one of the options is to dust off old plans for a scheme of golf course homes in the estate.
He said that Dromoland has spent €10 million on the property in the past two years and plans to invest another €5 million next year.
Mr Nolan said that at high season Dromoland and the Inn at Dromoland employ 450 people.
Payroll costs were last year up from €12.39 million to €13.4 million and Mr Nolan said that the January increase to €13.50 in the minimum wage “will hit us hard”.
He said that the business placed great emphasis on staff welfare and he said, “Keeping our people is key because to train them to our level, we just can’t let them walk out the door and we will do everything we can to retain them”.
He said that a 44 per cent increase in construction makes it incredibly expensive to construct stand-alone accommodation blocks for staff but said that 78 staff are accommodated at the Inn at Dromoland in repurposed rooms there.
The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €3.03m.
Dromoland Castle last year staged the Women’s Irish Open and Mr Nolan revealed that there is a possibility that Dromoland will host the event again in 2027.
Shareholder funds totalled €24.78m at the end of December last. Cash funds halved from €6.46m to €3.1m.
Separate accounts show that pre-tax profits at the five star Shelbourne hotel on Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green last year increased by 22 per cent to €9.17 million.
Earlier this year, Archer Hotel Capital purchased the hotel and new accounts for KW Shelbourne Ops Ltd show that the hotel enjoyed the increase in profits after revenues rose by 17 per cent from €45 million to €52.69 million.
