This article is from page 3 of the 2009-03-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
can reveal. The hotel, which has been closed
since early 2008, will be reopened later this month under the guidance of local hotelier Noel Mulhaire. The business will now be known as the Woodstock Hotel, Golf and Spa Re- sort and will open following a deal brokered by Wyndham Worldwide on behalf of one of their largest UK-
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While a franchisee has yet to be announced, Wyndham Worldwide are reportedly in discussion with a number of interested parties.
“The Woodstock Hotel is a magnif- icent property that should never have closed. It is ideally located on its own beautiful grounds, houses an 18-hole championship golf course and has all the facilities you could possibly want from a four-star property. The tim- ing is good to make long-term deals for hotel properties in Ireland,” said Jason Wischoff, Development Man- ager for Wyndham Worldwide.
Recruitment for 50 positions will start immediately, with the hotel set to reopen on March 27. A further 20 positions will come online during the summer months.
“When times are hard, it’s all about
the product offering, the service and the value you offer. If you look after your customer, the business will look after itself,’ said Mr Mulhaire.
“IT would also add that our UK partners have a great track record in staging large events and spectacular banqueting.”
Meanwhile, the Shannon Branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) is warning that hotel opening on Sun- days may soon come to an end as bosses struggle to pay higher rates to staff.
“Current wage costs of over €20 an hour for Sunday working are un- justified and completely out of step with other countries,’ said Lahi- nch hotelier and chairperson of the Shannon Branch of the IHF, Michael Vaughan.
“Hoteliers have now been forced to
curtail services on Sunday as a result of the statutory requirement under the archaic Joint Labour Committee SAKURA OOM cerca DIE NUN ASN E: lore lished back in 1946 – and requires hotels operating outside of Dublin and Cork cities and Dun Laoghaire to pay double-time for work per- formed on Sundays.
‘There is no doubt that a more rea- sonable wage arrangement would re- sult in increased employment oppor- tunities on Sundays. Hotels simply cannot bear these high rates in the current market.
“It is jeopardising the viability of hotels which cannot sustain this level of cost and find themselves curtail- ing services on a Sunday,” added Mr WET ted athe