We Need to Talk to Kick-Start our Economy (Hoteliers, Please Copy!)

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Leper

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We received several presents this Christmas and we got our retaliation in first inasmuch as we asked for hotel/restaurant vouchers instead of the usual presents we annually get and pass on to the unsuspecting. And I know (in this forum) I've nearly always suggested giving cash presents over vouchers as nothing speaks as loud as hard cash. But, because of Covid-19, the permeating aura of depression etc we asked for the hospitality industry vouchers this year. I'm pleased to say that we now are in the possession of some mouth-watering vouchers which we can spend for our own enjoyment and in various locations in Ireland.

Most of the presents we bought were hospitality vouchers for quality hotels/restaurants which we know will be around no matter how depressing things would get. We bought these vouchers @ 10% discount too. We had to buy them before 2nd December to qualify. So, if we purchased a voucher for say €200 we got €220 "value." For us these vouchers were "grab-value" and we didn't have to think twice before buying. Even one hotel gave us a further 10% off voucher to use ourselves in their restaurant or accommodation. I thought that was good and much of my belief in all things Irish was effectively restored.

Ireland Ltd is on the verge of coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is going to end, fact! Hotels can advertise in USA, France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, UK etc. But, if the Irish tourist living up the road doesn't come the season is doomed before it starts. The profit margin in hotel stays, eating etc is pretty good. Hotels gave good discounts back in 2008 when nobody was booking hotel stays. I must say I enjoyed these discounts and used Irish hotels as often as we could. I think it is now time for the hotels to do the same. A full hotel with smaller profit is better than an empty hotel with no profit. If I were a hotelier, I'd be getting on the ball and fast.
 
Purple said:
Get all the pensioners vaccinated so they can start buying the lunchtime carveries and coffees again. :D
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Dead On! Purple. Although I'm not in the first group of pensioners to be vaccinated, I asked my GP for the Covid vaccination asap. I live 100 mitres from the GP's surgery and I asked if somebody didn't show for the vaccine, I'd take up and slack and sacrifice my time so that nothing would be wasted. All he's gotta do is ring me. My preference is for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but I'd take the Pfizer equivalent if necessary. Us pensioners are full of concessions and just want to get on with life. I'll be glued to my phone from next Monday and will let you know how it went.
 
Leper said:
Dead On! Purple. Although I'm not in the first group of pensioners to be vaccinated, I asked my GP for the Covid vaccination asap. I live 100 mitres from the GP's surgery and I asked if somebody didn't show for the vaccine, I'd take up and slack and sacrifice my time so that nothing would be wasted. All he's gotta do is ring me. My preference is for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but I'd take the Pfizer equivalent if necessary. Us pensioners are full of concessions and just want to get on with life. I'll be glued to my phone from next Monday and will let you know how it went.
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Could be a long wait....
 
Leper said:
Ireland Ltd is on the verge of coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Not a hope. I wish I shared your optimism, but going on the evidence I see around me, all I can see is more pain suffering illness and death.

One shop, our local, one of those chains owned by Musgrave's.

Staff member reporting for duty walks in off street maskless, doesn't avail of hand-sanitisation facilities at the door, walks through shop past lines of people queuing for checkouts, reaches in under the counter, pulls out what looks suspiciously like a single-use mask and proceeds to work the till.

Same shop, two young bucks walk in off the street maskless, dunno if they sanitised their hands, wander through shop unchallenged by staff until I spoke to them, getting the usual scorn and ridicule aimed at me for my attitude and my attire. Staff member intervenes and somehow young bucks wind up wearing masks.

Same shop last night, mask-wearing staff member stock-taking at the cold meats fridges, no gloves, stock-taking gizmo in hands with no cover or sheath on it. Staff member pulls and drags at packets of cooked ham, chicken, turkey and beef, hazlett counting them and typing into stock-taker. To reach the upper shelves of the fridges, he opens the upright fridge door and stands on the floor of the fridge where the cold air gets blown up at the shelves, inside the doors. I was waiting for him to finish to get some cold meat for sandwiches, but changed my mind.

Moved towards the ice-cream freezer where a Dude and his motte were taking Ben&Jerry's tubs out of the cabinet, standing them on the sliding glass top (according to them to identify them) and returning them to the freezer cabinet once they has assessed their edibility or identity. I pointed to a sign asking customers to avoid handling food unnecessarily and asked if they could read. The usual tirade followed, "Who was I, how dare I talk to them, what sign, get a life". Shop assistant who'd been stand in the cold meat fridges where the sign was posted told me to mind my own business and that I had a choice of finishing my shopping or leaving the shop. As leaving the shop would have meant returning the items in my basket to the shelves or fridges, I settled for checking out for the last time.

A fuller version of this has already gone to the shop and is also en route to Musgrave's Oirish HQ in Cork. UK owned and they never knowingly sell Irish food if they can source something cheaper from the UK.

This is depressingly typical of what I see whenever I venture out and I see no prospect of a turnaround any time soon. I hope I'm wrong and your hotel and restaurant vouchers turn to gold but I'm not optimistic. This of course is all off topic but at the same time it isn't and I'll just have to repost appropriately it if it gets deleted.
 
I am registered with most of the big hotel chains. Melia, Best Western, Accor, Marriott, Barcelo, etc. etc.

Almost on a daily basis I am getting special offers. Price discounts, double points, extra free days stay, and so on.... All very tempting.

I contacted a hotel in Sligo County last year and I asked if they had walk in showers in their rooms rather than showers over baths. I commented that they had no pictures of their bathrooms on their website. I got a response from the manager basically saying that nobody wants to see pictures of bathrooms but he would keep it in mind.....a year later no pictures. Even in his scornful response he never answered my question so I never found out if they have any walk in showers. Wild horses would not drag me to stay in that hotel.....

Many Irish hotel websites still have no information on their measures to protect you against Covid. The still have pictures of buffet breakfasts, tea and coffee making facilities in their rooms. How difficult is it to update a website?
 
Ireland Ltd is on the verge of coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is going to end, fact!
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Just wishful thinking, not a fact. Some where in the next five years or so we’ll get to a point where we can treat the virus like the flu - regular vacation, people will continue to die from it, local outbreaks and lockdowns, international travel restrictions and quarantines will decrease but not go away etc..

This virus is not going away, but our abUlithi to deal with it, will improve.
 
I hate to add to the general depression of this thread.... but
My friend had booked a weekend away last August at a hotel in Athlone. He cancelled of course.
He checked the same weekend and hotel this August, and it was double the price.
I can understand that hotels need to recoup their losses, but I think I'll be taking a lot of day trips this year.
 
Similar story here, went looking for accommodation for the summer and anywhere not already booked out was overpriced. We don't really mind tbh, we can do day trips to make the most of the summer as it gives us more flexibility to do it when the weather is good and when it suits us (am doing my best to keep a glass half full perspective on things!).
 
We're in the forethoughts of buying a campervan and anchoring it in Spain and touring Spain, France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands and further afield. Perhaps we shouldn't be thinking like this? We're keeping touring in Ireland (Ni and ROI) until we can afford it in our doting days.
 
We are doing a house swap with some friends who want to visit the pale.
We dont understand why anyone would want to come here, but they dont understand why anyone would want to go to Donegal :)
I think its a great idea. And free. Might do it every year :)
 
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