Hodson Bay Group introduces County-Cation packages during Level 3

Just when there was a glimpse of normality and a smidgeon of hope for the hospitality sector, another blow was dealt on Monday last with the announcement of Level 3 restrictions! Within 48 hours, revenues on the books for October across all four of Hodson Bay Group’s hotels came crashing down as cancellations filled the air in reservations offices.

“This is just another reminder of last March when we shut down our hotels for the first time,” says Garry Walsh, Commercial Director of Hodson Bay Group. “Back then, we were looking forward to a particularly strong year. 2020 bookings for all of the hotels were significantly up year on year, and our new Hyatt Hotel in Dublin was making a great impression on the leisure and corporate markets."

Overnight everything changed and months and months of hard work across Hodson Bay Hotel, Galway Bay Hotel, Sheraton Athlone Hotel and the new Hyatt Centric Dublin Hotel fell asunder in a matter of days.

Walsh goes on to explain how Hodson Bay Group reacted to this. “You have choices in these situations. You can let this defeat you, or you can rally the troops, thrash out every possible option and where logic and rationale prevails, our culture is to craft our plan of attack, give it all we can and keep breathing life into our organisation.

"Our first priority was to ensure the safety of our staff and our customers and during the months in shutdown we set about researching and putting in place the systems and proceedures which would ensure that our priorities were delivered on the ground.

"We did this with great success through the introduction of our “Safe Stay Code”, we received an incredible response to this and going by country wide data provided by the Irish Hotels Federation, during the summer months we performed well above our competitors”.

With the introduction of Level 3 restrictions now being imposed on the hospitality sector, Walsh explained how the group went back to the drawing board of exploring every possible angle - and from that emerged Hodson Bay Group County-Cations.

“We studied our databases from all four hotels and reminded ourselves that a large number of guests from within the county actually stay in our hotels. It is not the largest proportion of course, but we concluded that it's significant enough for us to mobilise a marketing campaign within-county for more of this business.

"Our first task is to reassure the people from our local county regarding the systems and procedures which we diligently apply to protect our staff and our guests, the marketing team set about designing a package which will deliver an enjoyable and memorable experience.

"Our Revenue Managers have created incredible value special offers for “in-county” guests to stay in our hotels. These are exceptional deals and it really is a great opportunity to get away, experience a really high standard of hospitality in hotels that you never considered in your own county.”

Hodson Bay Group offers include the following:

Hodson Bay Hotel

“Retreat to the Bay” Package. Dinner Bed & Breakfast and Complimentary Upgrade to the luxury Hodson Retreat, including a complimentary speciality Cocktail, or a Glass of house wine, or pint for just €60 pps. www.hodsonbayhotel.com

Sheraton Athlone Hotel

“Escape within the limits” package, includes an overnight for two people at the 4-star Sheraton Athlone Hotel, with dinner in the stylish S-Bar & Bistro and full Irish breakfast the following morning. And we are including a Complimentary Upgrade to a Deluxe room in the Sheraton Tower – all this for just €44.50 pps www.sheratonathlonehotel.com

Galway Bay Hotel

Choose from B&B for €39.50 pps, or Dinner B&B for just €60 pps or 2BB1D for just €99 pps. And to make it really worth your while, we are including a complimentary upgrade to an Ocean View Room overlooking the Wild Atlantic Way. www.galwaybayhotel.com

Hyatt Centric Country-Cation Special

Experience Ireland’s first Hyatt Hotel, and TripAdvisor’s No.1 Dublin 4-star hotel. Choose from B&B for just €44 pps including complimentary parking or Dinner B&B for just €60 pps, also including complimentary parking. www.Hyattcentricdublin.ie

*All complimentary upgrades subject to availability, and the group asks all guests to consult the government guidelines before travelling”.