Hotel rooms more expensive on the Southside

DUBLIN is still a divided city with visitors to the south of capital spending an average of 30 per cent more on hotel rooms, according to trivago.ie.

Data from the hotel search website showed that the average price of a room on the Southside is €157 a night compared to €120 on the Northside.

The Evergreen B&B in Swords was found to be the highest rated Dublin spot and the Northside has more hotels. However, trivago.ie users split their interest evenly between both sides of the Liffey.

The Northside has attractions such as Croke Park and the National Botanic Gardens, while the Southside is home to Temple Bar and attractions such as the National Museum and IMMA.

David Lintott, PR for trivago in the UK and Ireland, said:“The eternal Northside versus Southside debate goes on, but it’s interesting to note that the data shows travel interest is equal for both, despite the Southside having less hotels with a significantly higher average price.”

The report also breaks down how much the top 15 countries spend the most on a room. Tourists from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) top the list as they spend and average of €155 a night.

 The UK brings the most visitors to Ireland, with around 3,000 visitors in 2015 according to Failte Ireland. Tourists from Britain pay around €143 a night.

Finland is the thriftiest country on the list, with visitors from the Scandinavian country paying €118.

With the Easter Rising celebrations taking place this week, trivago estimates that hotel prices will rise by 60 per cent across the capital.

The average price of a room will go from €124 to €190 as tourists flock to the capital to enjoy the commemorations during Easter week.

The Irish Hotel Federation (IHF) estimates that occupancy rates will rise by 90 per cent over this weekend.

The hotel industry in Ireland is one of the best growing in Europe, coming second to Madrid, according to the HVS hotel valuation index for 2016. The revenue from an available room rose by 13.4 per cent from 2014 to 2015.

Aura McMenamin