Hilton looking for three Irish hotels

Global hotel group Hilton is seeking three new properties in Ireland, the company revealed yesterday after taking over the operation of its latest Irish premises.

Hilton formally assumed the operation of the Mount Wolseley Hilton Hotel and Country Club at Tullow, Co Carlow, yesterday.

Businessman Donal Morrissey, who developed the hotel at a cost of more than €25 million, and Wolfgang M Neumann, area president, Hilton Ireland and UK, signed the contracts at a ceremony on the property.

It is the State's fifth Hilton hotel and will be the first in either Ireland or Britain to operate under its worldwide resort brand.

Speaking after the ceremony, Mr Neumann said the group was looking at other opportunities in Ireland "with an aim to have three new properties in the region by 2008".

He added that the group was looking at a number of other centres and said commercial opportunity would determine the location of its next Irish hotels. However, it is known that Hilton is set to open a hotel in Cork this year.

Mr Morrissey explained yesterday that he believed Hilton's standing as a brand and its marketing clout would guarantee Mount Wolseley's success. He added that a number of other international operators had courted Mount Wolseley, but "Hilton was the preferred choice."

The group does not build hotels but operates them on behalf of their owners and developers for a fee linked to the profitability of each premises.