Gresham Hotel’s revenues fall by €15.5m due to pandemic

Revenues at the four-star Gresham Hotel on Dublin's O'Connell Street fell by 73.5 per cent last year due to the pandemic.

In a stark illustration of Covid-19’s impact on the capital’s hotel sector, revenues at Gresham Hotel Company Ltd decreased by almost three-quarters, or €15.5 million, from €21.19 million in 2019 to €5.6 million last year.

New accounts show that the plummeting revenues resulted in the company recording a pre-tax loss of €1.53 million in 2020 compared to a pre-tax profit of €6 million in 2019 – a negative swing of €7.5 million.

The hotel firm’s pre-tax loss would have been greater but for €715,688 in Government grants which appears as “other operating income” in the company’s profit and loss account.

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A breakdown of the grants is not provided, but separate figures provided by the Revenue Commissioners show the hotel firm has availed of the Government’s wage subsidy scheme. The hotel was shut for much of 2020 due to restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the virus.

The accounts show that in spite of the Covid-19 impact, the company paid out a €6.1 million dividend to its parent firm, Ryan Travel Holdings Ltd, during the year. The pretax loss for 2020 takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of €1.64 million.

Shareholder funds

At year end, that hotel firm’s shareholder funds reduced from €54.79 million to €47.25 million, including accumulated profits of €37.8 million.

The directors said they were satisfied “with the level of retained reserves at year end”.

The accounts show the hotel firm’s room revenues decreased from €16.8 million to €4.15 million as bar and food sales reduced from €3.79 million to €1.33 million. Numbers employed reduced from 277 to 188 as staff costs declined from €6.4 million to €3.05 million.

The hotel was purchased by Spain’s RIU Group for €92 million in 2016 and the new owners secured planning permission for an additional 48 rooms in 2019. On the company’s capital commitments, the accounts reveal that the Gresham Hotel Company Ltd had committed to paying €4.4 million for building works. The company’s cash funds reduced from €8.08 million to €1.26 million during 2020.