Word of how the bursting of a massive property bubble followed by a program of forced austerity is affecting the travel and leisure sector of the Irish economy comes via this Bloomberg report where “zombie hotels” are said to be increasingly common.

At least 200 hotels opened during Ireland’s decade-long economic boom, leaving a glut of rooms and mountain of debt as the number of visitors dwindles. While some establishments cut their losses and shut, others are lowering prices to stay in business and avoid repaying tax breaks if they were to close.
…
Many hotels that opened as Ireland’s economy tripled in size between 1997 and 2007 were given tax breaks provided they remained open for at least seven years.

Such hotels are slashing prices in a bid to stay open, undermining longer-established venues, said Joe O’Flynn, owner of the Rathsallagh Country House Hotel, south of Dublin.

“It’s a zombie plague,” O’Flynn said. “I can’t compete. If that happens do I join the zombies?”

In other cases, banks are keeping alive hotels to avoid crystallizing losses on loans, hoteliers said.
…
“The big problem that the industry faces at the moment is that banks are keeping hotels open that would not normally survive,” said Charlie Sheil, manager at Dublin’s four-star Gibson Hotel. “They are being propped up by the banks, which is causing major damage to a lot of the good hotels.”

Celtic Tiger no more – such is the legacy of unchecked asset bubbles.