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Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘We have gone through boom and bust on many occasions, but this is different'
'We have gone through boom and bust on many occasions, but this is different,' the co-founder of Dublin restaurant group Kinara, Seán Collender, said. 'We went through the dot-com bubble and the financial crisis from 2007 to 2011, but the big difference then was, you could see the light at the end of the tunnel.' Unlike those crises, the challenge facing the hospitality sector now is coming from increases to input costs 'from every angle' in the aftermath of Covid-19 , the war in Ukraine and escalating labour costs. Collender is not a newcomer to the industry, he has seen its fortunes come and go, but is particularly concerned now. READ MORE He first worked in hospitality in his teens – in Adare Manor and Bunratty Castle – glamorous jobs, he said, but 'I did work in a few burger joints as well'. However, it was in a gap year in Australia during his early career in business and accountancy that he found his love for the sector. 'For pretty much the whole year I worked in hospitality, from table waiting to sandwich making to pot washing ... It was the pot washing that pushed me more to the front of house side!' Returning to Ireland, Collender had his heart set on opening a cafe with an Aussie-inspired approach in mind – 'They were doing good quality food at reasonable prices in a casual environment.' Collender looked around the nicely upholstered upper floor of his Clontarf restaurant with its linen tablecloths and laughed – perhaps not quite the casual dining he had first imagined. [ 'Economic vandalism': Unions condemn plan to cut VAT for hospitality sector Opens in new window ] The plan changed when Collender met his long-term partner and friend, Shoaib Yunus. Originally from Karachi in Pakistan, Yunus was the manager of the Khyber Tandoori restaurant in Dublin and the two struck up a friendship which led to the opening of the Kinara restaurant in Clontarf. The property came up for sale after previous occupiers, a French restaurant, closed and Kinara was opened shortly after in 2001 by 'some local sports guy' named Brian O'Driscoll. 'Little did we know at the time that Brian guy was going to be extremely successful.' Sean Collender: 'Everyone has a price point where they go, that's enough.' Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Founded in the middle of the dot-com bubble, Collender noted they 'opened at a tricky time' but through consistency in the food and an emphasis on service, they found their place in the local community. A staple on the North Dublin coastline for more than 25 years , the duo first expanded to open Kajjal Malahide in 2007, with further expansion leading the company to Ranelagh and soon after, Killester. The Kinara brand has become a fixture at festivals, as the company sought to find alternative revenue streams amid the challenging conditions facing the sector. The success of that streamlined and more casual style of eating has led to the group planning to open a small cafe grill in line with Collender's original dream. 'Eventually I got there,' he said. It is a sign of the construction inflation that has been constant in recent years, however, that the cost of fitting out the new cafe grill, to be named Khoka, is set to cost the business an 'astronomical' €600,000 for just a 1,000 square metre unit. 'A lot of that money, and this is the sad part, the customer won't even see,' he said, explaining that regulatory, planning and construction costs have risen significantly to a level that is jeopardising the risk-reward for those planning to open new restaurants. 'Would I do it if this was my first one? I don't think I would.' A lot of businesses are under severe pressure, huge pressure. A lot of businesses still have warehoused debt from Covid The project has been in the works for years, with the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic having an impact on the company's plans, 'Everything was put on hold.' During the pandemic, the restaurants had to 'pivot ... no I hate that word, change our model' to a takeaway service in part as a bid to retain the long-standing chefs. He praised the Government assistance with the wage subsidy scheme, which he said was 'crucial to everyone surviving' the pandemic. During that crisis, the Government stepped in with temporary measures on a short-term basis, but now Collender is echoing calls for a reduction in the VAT rate to 9 per cent in a permanent measure to aid the viability of the industry. In the hospitality sector, he said, 'a lot of businesses are under severe pressure, huge pressure. A lot of businesses still have warehoused debt from Covid.' Collender points to a series of 'high-profile businesses' in the sector which are facing financial woes or have filed for examinership despite being 'good businesses with good, steady business models', as a result of the cost pressures in the sector. It isn't Collender's first time speaking about the issue. Less than two weeks ago he appeared in front of the Oireachtas committee on enterprise, trade and employment in his role as president of the Restaurants Association of Ireland . [ Government likely to delay VAT reduction for hospitality sector until mid-2026 Opens in new window ] In the appearance he alluded to the impact of rising costs on his own business. 'We had to take the unfortunate step of closing on Mondays and Tuesdays for all three restaurants post-Covid, it was just getting too difficult,' he told The Irish Times. 'The concern around costs, even at that point, was a real issue. It is a shame we had to do that because, obviously, we had to reduce our staffing as well.' Despite those initial cuts, recent increases to the minimum wage have left restaurants on 'an extremely fine line'. Traditionally, Collender explains, labour cost in the group's restaurants sits at a ratio of around 33 per cent of net turnover. 'Now we are struggling to maintain it around the 43 per cent,' he said, with one of their locations seeing the ratio reach 'as high as 50 per cent'. He said 'nobody is against' the attempts to increase the minimum wage to a living wage but that increases have left restaurateurs wondering, 'How do you run a business? How do you make a margin? How do you look after locals? Because everyone has a price point where they go, 'That's enough.'' The pressure isn't just coming from labour – costs across the board are rising. Kinara's electricity bill normally stood at around €3,000 per month, but external pressures led to that increasing to €12,000 a month for just one of their spaces in recent years; the gas costs rose from around €1,800 for the same period to €5,500. 'These are huge, huge costs – and we don't sell gold bars, we sell food.' Amid all of these costs, Kinara has felt forced to make 'three small increases' to its prices in the past year, 'Because we would have been in serious trouble if we didn't. Even with those, we are looking at it and saying, if the VAT rate doesn't go back to 9 per cent then we have an issue.'
RTÉ News
22-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ryder Cup returning to Spain in 2031
The Ryder Cup will return to Spain in 2031 after the Costa Brava resort of Camiral was confirmed as the host venue. It will be the second time the biennial event has been staged in the country, after Valderrama in 1997. The news was announced by the European Tour Group on Tuesday. Camiral will follow Bethpage Black in New York (2025), Adare Manor (2027) and Hazeltine National in Minnesota (2029), and the course will also host the DP World Tour's Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship from 2026 as part of the five-year build-up to the Ryder Cup.
Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Rejuvenated Shane Lowry all business for Open title on back of home comforts
Perceptions can be hard to shift. The image of Shane Lowry as some likeable rogue who juggles life on the pro golf tour with a love of the good life is clearly one that continues to grate on the 2019 Open champion. The first question he took from the floor at Monday's press conference ahead of the 153rd hosting of the tournament harked back not to his brilliance on the Dunluce Links six years ago but to the celebrations he embarked on in the aftermath. His irritation was obvious before the question was over. 'Interesting first question, isn't it? Here to talk about golf and all anyone wants to talk about is drinking.' A more favourably phrased follow up got him to expand a bit. His take that he would let others believe what they want as long as his nearest and dearest know the truth didn't ring fully true but he's probably right to dismiss it that way. Lowry's work ethic isn't questioned within the game and he touched on it obliquely when asked what it is he admires most about his friend Rory McIlroy's. His constant drive, came the reply, while adding that this is a guy who has won it all. The Offaly man's larder when it comes to trophies isn't so well-stocked as McIlroy's but he wouldn't be the worst bet to do something magical here this week on the back of an overdue and and beneficial return to Irish soil. Here we come to perceptions again while lapsing in to cliché. His love of home and hurling and Offaly have been flogged to death at this stage, but you only had to see the smile on his face at Croke Park last Saturday to accept that it warrants the reiterations. The return from Florida, after a six-month period where by his own admission he played too much golf, hasn't just been about R&R and family time. He has played Portmarnock, The Island, Baltray, Waterville, Hogs Head and Adare Manor. Last week's Genesis Scottish Open was given a miss, as he tends to do. The one time he played in Scotland in recent memory was the year he happened to miss The Open cut at Hoylake and, hey, if something ain't broke then don't fix it. 'I went and I parked myself down in Waterville last week, and I spent the week down there. I played golf every day, played a lot of golf. The weather was almost too good, that was the issue. "There wasn't enough wind. The sun was shining too much and it was too warm. But it's been an amazing couple of weeks. 'I haven't been home to Ireland since Christmas as well, so I've been home for the last three weeks. So I've had a nice time being back home, and I kind of feel like a little bit rejuvenated and ready to go again. "I've had a busy season, and it's about to be another kind of busy next three or four months, as well. I feel like I'm ready to go again.' Lowry was back in Royal Portrush shortly after his return from the States when the grandstands were already erected and the memories of his win started to flood back in and he got nine holes in on the Sunday evening and then another on Monday morning. He spoke about a sense of rejuvenation, how he is a better golfer now than the one that blitzed the field on the Dunluce links last time around here but how he has no 'God-given right' to do anything similar now in 2025. Six years on and he is still trying to figure out how he found that zone on the Saturday when he broke free of the field but there is clearly something in the fact that he had a 'meltdown' on the Wednesday and his belief that he plays better when uptight. He joked about playing too well in the last couple of weeks and that, with his fear of complacency, he would prefer to play s*** these next few days in the hope that it would frame him better for the task ahead. 'It is amazing to be back. There's a lot of memories and there's a lot of thinking back to what I did. What I did was very special, and to walk down the 18th hole with a six-shot lead, I'm probably never going to do that again so I'm not going to try and replicate that this week. 'I'm just going to go out and try and play the tournament as well as I can this week. I've prepared as well as I can for this tournament. I know I have. "Then it's just up to me to stay out of my own way on Thursday morning and go and get after it and see what happens.'
Irish Independent
15-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Three Irish hotels named among Europe's best in Travel + Leisure awards
Dublin's The Westbury ranked 12th and The Merrion 14th on a list of Europe's best city hotels based on reader surveys, while Sheen Falls Lodge in Co Kerry placed at No. 14 on its readers' list of Europe's best resorts. Travel + Leisure is a hugely influential US-based magazine and website, and it says almost 180,000 readers weighed in on its latest rankings. Last year, Ballyfin in Co Laois was named its readers' top resort in the UK and Ireland. The World's Best Awards do not include an Irish ranking, but picked out Dublin's top three hotels as The Westbury, The Merrion and The Shelbourne. 'This is a home away from home,' one reader said of The Westbury. Readers were also impressed by the five-star's 'elegant interiors and museum-quality artwork legends such as Sir John Lavery and Louis le Brocquy', as well as 'small' details such as 'beds that you melt into,' and 'stunning cocktails'. 'The Westbury team are very proud to create meaningful and memorable experiences for each guest, and this is a wonderful recognition of that dedication,' said Vincent O'Gorman, the Doyle Collection hotel's general manager. Gleneagles in Scotland was named the UK & Ireland's top resort for 2025, followed by Sheen Falls lodge, Dromoland Castle in Co Clare and Adare Manor in Co Limerick. 'This year, readers showed an appreciation for spots that married storied heritage and modern indulgence, especially in rural settings far from the bustle of city life,' Travel + Leisure said. The World's Best Awards are one of multiple international awards and recognitions for hotels each year, ranging from Forbes and AA stars to editorial selections like Conde Nast Traveller's Gold List (which this year included Adare Manor) to the World's 50 Best and Michelin's new 'keys' - a take on its stars for restaurants. ADVERTISEMENT Condé Nast's Readers' Choice Awards are probably the closest direct comparison – last year, they saw Adare Manor named Europe's best resort. Each list and awards reflect their own particular methodologies and audience tastes, and hotels will often use marketing and other criteria to assess which to target, encouraging guests to vote for them in email and other campaigns. Travel + Leisure readers' top European city hotel was named as Raffles Istanbul this year, while its top resort was Grace Hotel by Auberge Resorts in Santorini. 'Istanbul and Paris dominated this year's city hotel rankings, proving that travellers continue to crave the mix of history, culinary sophistication and polished hospitality that these famed cities deliver," it said. The World's Best Awards achieved some 657,000 votes across categories like hotels, cities, islands, cruise ships and more, with hotels rated on rooms and facilities, location, service, food and value. The world's best hotel was named as andBeyond Bateleur Camp - a 19-tent stay in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve.
France 24
14-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Lowry revitalised by break ahead of British Open
The 38-year-old Irishman opted not to take part in the Scottish Open last week and instead took the opportunity to casually play some of the best courses on offer in his country. Lowry played at Portmarnock, The Island, Baltray, Waterville, Old Head and Adare Manor, a revitalising experience ahead of this week's pressure-packed British Open. "It's been an amazing couple of weeks. I haven't been home to Ireland since Christmas, so it's nice to be back home and I feel a bit rejuvenated and ready to go again," he told reporters. "I played too much golf - nine of 11 weeks - leading into the US Open and that got the better of me. That's my own fault. I've had a couple of weeks to take a step back and I do feel ready. "I played well the last two days so that's not good. Sometimes when everything is going really well, I get complacent then I'm three-over through five and have a panic. "When things are not going well, I'm at my best. I just need to play badly for a few days and everything will be alright!" A huge mural commemorating Lowry's 2019 victory at Royal Portrush was unveiled a year ago on the side of a house just half a mile from the course. The modest Lowry, still searching for his second major title, joked he was pleased the house he is staying in this week was in the opposite direction so he won't have to drive past it every day. "When I won here in 2019 it was very special and it was an amazing day for the country and everyone around me, but it didn't change me as a person," he said. "When the mural was put on the wall I didn't think I was immortalised. I'm just myself, I'm just okay at golf and I've gotten to achieve what I did in the sport. © 2025 AFP
