‘The phones have started to ring this week’ – owner of rental cottage hopes for a busier summer

Mr Ryan usually rents his 200-year-old, six-person thatched college out to tourists year-round, but now, due to the global pandemic, he has had to shut his doors.

The business owner of 23 years said pre-Covid, he would have his cottage rented “42 weeks of the year”, usually to US visitors, but “since the pandemic hit, all that’s gone out the front door”.

But he received good news this week when the phones started to ring.

Eamon said he had no customers booked for the upcoming summer until this week, when he received two bookings, one for May and the other in August.

Although not US visitors, the cottage owner said the bookings are coming from people in Ireland looking for a staycation.

The positive news comes after Mr Ryan had to cancel all his reservations for the upcoming summer, made up largely of overseas visitors who have rescheduled for summer 2022.

“All that I cancelled from last year had rebooked again for this year and they have now cancelled again and rebooked for next year,” said the cottage owner.

Mr Ryan predicts more bookings will follow but admits people are cautious as the public health advice is still not to travel.

“There’s an element of doubt at the moment” because people “are afraid they won’t get their deposits back,” he said.

He is not increasing his rent, which he can do now that “people are making the enquiries and booking”.

But the thatched cottage owner said the closure of the hospitality industry is affecting his business.

“What’s the point going away for a week if hospitality is not open? Anyone going away on holidays wants to eat out and have a few drinks, but if it’s closed where do you go?” he said.

Closed since December 15, Mr Ryan said he has “the same people coming from America for Christmas for the last seven years”.

They had to cancel last year.

“My season would usually start fully from St Patrick’s Day,” he said.

He will remain closed until further restrictions are lifted.

“I’m expecting that by the time we get to the fifth of April, we’ll get a better view of what’s happening – I think we will have a better idea.”

But he added: “If we can’t open up hospitality for the beginning of June, you can write off the summer.”

After a difficult summer for the hospitality industry last year, Mr Ryan said two other self-catering lodgings in Adare have “closed their doors and gone long-term letting”.

“People don’t see any opening in the next 12 months,”, he said.

On a positive note, the cottage owner said business is looking up for next year as he is nearly booked out from June to September 2022 with repeat business and a wedding group from the US.