The B&B used to be a special part of the Irish tourist experience. Now, after several years of decline, some owners are talking of a revival. But is it real? BRIAN O'CONNELLtalks to operators and, below, puts a B&B in Co Cork to the test

THE BED-AND-BREAKFAST experience has been an integral part of Irish tourism model for generations. BBs have prided themselves on informality, personal touch and home cooking, all provided in a “real” Irish family environment.

Many B &Bs are located in out-of-the-way places, allowing tourists to reach and appreciate the far corners of Ireland and benefit from the local knowledge provided.

In 2000, tourists to Ireland spent 10 million nights in Irish B &Bs, underlining their popularity. But by 2007, that figure had dropped to six million, due in part to the huge increase in the number of hotel rooms and variations in the standard of B &Bs available. A Fáilte Ireland analysis shows that the B &B sector had an 11 per cent share of the Irish tourist accommadation market in 2007, but this dropped to 9 per cent by June 2008.

Many of Ireland's current B &B owners have been at the helm for more than 20 years, and have found it difficult to adapt their accommodation model to changing consumer needs.

Today, depending on whom you speak to, the B &B sector in Ireland is either capitalising on price-conscious tourists visiting here, or struggling desperately for survival.

Last week, the Town and Country Homes Association, which represents more than 1,000 B &B owners, announced that bookings through its newly revamped trade website had risen 20 per cent, while individual consumer bookings for B &Bs are up 13 per cent on this time last year. The association says the increase in bookings is due to a new IT system and a strong marketing drive. It also says the B &B product itself is offering "value for money" and "convenient locations".

Last year, around 300 of the B &Bs affiliated to the association were online. According to the association, this figure has increased to between 750 and 800 properties today, as a result of it providing free computer training.

According to the association’s chief executive, Helena Healy, the 20 per cent increase in business it reported relates to tour-operator business from Europe since January 1st.

"The new trade website is a facility for agents to book itineraries for their clients online," she says. "In 2008, the process was manual as the software did not exist. Agents sent us details by e-mail, and the booking was made by us manually and confirmed back to the agent. There were 8,725 bookings made last year for this period. The B &B product is now easier to book for the agent and this has resulted in the increase – 10,398 bookings from January 1st 2009."

Some affiliated owners are happy. One is Deirdre Fairbrother, who operates Greenlands BB in Corduff, Lusk, Co Dublin, and who put her B &B online through the association website this year. That move, coupled with a reduction in her prices, has seen business improve dramatically.

“I wasn’t online last year and I would say I’m up more than 50 per cent,” she says.

This increase, however, is not reflected in the B &B sector as a whole in Ireland, with many B &B owners contacted by The Irish Timessaying that business is not up.

Jimmy Canavan, of the Evergreen B &B in Swords, near Dublin airport, says he was surprised at the figures released by the Town and Country Homes Association, as his business is not up. It is roughly the same as last year, and that, he says, is because some of his regular customers are working at the airport.

Mary O’Connell, of St Anthony’s Lodge, in Killarney, says she has been in business since 1966 and that the sector is facing its most difficult challenge since she started. Her bank manager mentioned to her the newspaper report of the 20 per cent increase in business in the sector.

“I said to him: ‘You must be joking, our business is on the floor.’ The hotels are charging what we should be charging and our overheads are scandalous. Last year, we were down about 33 per cent and this year so far I would say it’s down about 60 per cent. We’ve now dropped our prices to what they were 19 years ago, and most owners I know here in Killarney are saying the same.”

SEVERAL TOUR OPERATORSwho do business with the Town and Country Homes Association are also having mixed experiences.

Gary Murphy, president of Brendan Vacations in the US, says the demand for BB bookings among his clients is up, partly because his organisation has become more selective in the properties it promotes. "Our escorted tour programmes are down," he says, "but our independent programmes, the majority of whom will stay in B &Bs, manors and castles, are up more than 20 per cent. We have had an increased marketing drive and also I think tourists want more experience from their holidays. They want to meet the Irish people, and that is not so easy in big hotels. A few years ago I was checking into a luxury hotel in Ireland and the receptionist asked me to spell my last name!"

Alison Groves, director with Irish Welcome Tours, which attracts business from the continent into Ireland, says business is up but not as much as the figures mentioned suggest. “We are experiencing an increase in our business with Town and Country Homes of about 12 per cent, but that is coming from a low base,” she says. “Overall, business is down in terms of groups and individuals travelling from the continent.”

Stan Ryan, of CIÉ Tours, who also works with Town and Country Homes, says demand for B &Bs through the State operator is also down. "If you're asking me is business up 20 per cent, the answer is no, I wouldn't think so. There may well be a rise in B &B sales, but it's not coming through ourselves. Our general business is down."

Overall, the B &B sector in Ireland has seen a 35 per cent drop in the number of Fáilte Ireland-registered premises, from 4,267 in 1998 to 2,800 in 2008. There are also an estimated 5,000 unapproved B &Bs. The increase in hotel beds during the construction boom has had an impact on B &Bs too, and many owners are finding that rising energy and staff costs are make it increasingly difficult to remain in business.

TRACEY COUGHLAN,OF Fáilte Ireland acknowledges that there are challenges facing B &Bs. Since the Town and Country Homes statement, she claims, her organisation has been getting calls from tourism workers questioning the figures. "We would have had a number of calls from tourist information offices questioning that press release," she says. "That wasn't their experience of the sector. I suppose on the one hand it can be understood, as Town and Country Homes are coming from a low base in that they didn't have the same IT facilities last year. But a 20 per cent increase is not the wide experience across the board."

In contrast to the optimism expressed by the association, Coughlan says the coming year will be a difficult one for B &Bs. "Most are saying business is down, and are nervous about the season shaping up. Having said that, many are recording growth from main European markets, mainly France and Germany. There is some promise there, but it's hard to know how things will shape up."