D4 Hotels forced into climbdown after €20 room offer
Friday January 09 2009
DEVELOPER Sean Dunne's D4 Hotels were forced into an embarrassing climbdown yesterday after they declared over the airwaves that all rooms would be selling for €20.09.
Dozens of complaints were received by RTE Radio's 'Today with Pat Kenny' show after the general manager for the lavish complex boasted that all rooms were available at the cut price, including the penthouse "if you are lucky".
"It's €20.09, our rooms per night. All our rooms, every single room," general manager Sarah Curran said on Wednesday.
But customers were left seething when the offer was refused to them by hotel staff.
They were told that only a certain number of rooms had been set at the €20.09 price.
Ms Curran returned to the programme yesterday and was forced into a u-turn on her statement. She initially defended her comments, claiming that when she had said all rooms, she had meant all rooms that are selling for €20.09.
But broadcaster Pat Kenny accused her of "playing with words".
"So you're Ryanair basically. You lure me in with a €5 flight and then it turns out that it's going to cost me €70 instead," he blasted.
Ms Curran then made another offer of a limited number of rooms at €50.09 per night but Mr Kenny said his listeners could "go up the road to Bewleys for €50 without any generosity of spirit".
He said Ms Curran had "misled" his listeners. "We try to be reliable with the facts," he added.
She defended herself once again, claiming that the company had put hundreds of rooms on special offer.
But Ms Curran eventually reneged on her comments following further argument by Mr Kenny.
"If the customers think I was misleading, then that certainly wasn't the intention," she said.
Suffered
"Apologies if that's what was perceived. That wasn't the intention, it really wasn't."
The hotel business has suffered badly in the current economic climate with many would-be guests opting to stay away.
Trade union SIPTU told the Irish Independent that many hotels were looking to cut back on staff costs with a number of measures. Hotels, Restaurants and Catering Dublin branch organiser, Paul Henry said a number of hotels were suffering due to the off-season in the current climate.
The Green Isle at Newland's Cross and the Gresham Hotel on O'Connell Street have both put staff on three-day weeks. Union leaders are currently in negotiations with management at the Skylon Hotel on Upper Drumcondra Road to thrash out a similar deal.
- Stephen O'Farrell
