Invest NI Boosts Hotel Finances

A local hotel group has been able to make considerable reductions in its annual costs - thanks to advice on improving investments from Invest Northern Ireland.

An initiative from the development agency allowed Mooney Group Hotels to save £200k during the past year.

Invest NI offered expert consultancy advice to the company so as it could put into practice measures that reduced annual expenditure.

These included a chain supply initiative, which allowed them to standardise and consolidate purchasing procedures across all their establishments with the implementation of more cost effective tendering and contracting methods.

Kevin McCann, Invest NI's Director of Transport, Construction and Tourism, said that tourist accommodation businesses "can realise significant savings by strengthening the relationships with their supply chain and seeking out the best deals".

The business invested in its IT infrastructure as well as strengthened its management team following investments totalling over £200,000.

To support it, Invest NI - financed by the European Regional Development Fund - offered more than £55,000 to the project.

As a result, the local hotel group - comprising the Armagh City Hotel, Dunadry Hotel and Country Club (pictured above) and the Wellington Park Hotel - reduced operating costs, delivering significantly improved profitability.

It also gained even more value from this year's peak summer season.

All that - along with increased computerisation - allowed better monitoring of stock levels and allowed them to maximise the availability of food, drink and other consumables

Robert Mooney, Director of the Mooney Group, said: "We are always seeking to become more efficient in our operations whilst maintaining our well-known high standards of hospitality."

"By examining the purchasing practices across all our sites and implementing a standard system, we have generated financial savings by reducing both the amount of stock ordered and the time spent on monitoring our stores," he added, noting that, despite an economic recession period, the business is in good health while service quality has increased, but costs have come down.

(CL/BMcC)