Hospitality Consultancy & Advisory -supporting, advising and helping the sector.

We have consulted in the hospitality sector for the last 25 years, helping businesses and brands from Cafes, Bars, Restaurants and Hotels and successfully advising leading hospitality businesses of all shapes and sizes. We understand the challenges from HR to cashflow to forward planning.

We act for multiple clients in this space, in terms of building, growth, exit and all cycles of hospitality. We have a number of references and testimonials which we can supply and whether you are in the start-up phase, in the building phase, need help with growth and developing growth and innovation strategies. Whether you are restructuring and need to cut costs and do a deep dive in this area or whether you are planning your exit, we can help. We fully understand the challenges faced by business owners and can help and advise be it in developing a growth strategy, reducing costs, raising finance or opening a new outlet.

As consultants we work privately with you, to help you in strategy and consultancy so that we can add value to your hospitality business. We have done it many times and act for some leading brands and businesses in the Munster region be it buying, selling, restructuring or expansion. We can help in growth plans and strategy, marketing and business advisory in growing your business and looking at the KPI’s and measuring wage % and other important benchmarking tools. At the same time we can look at producing management accounts and look after your payroll outsourcing so this process is separate from the internal business.

Cormac Fitzgerald FCPA FCA  noted that the hotel sector in Ireland is back on a solid footing, having achieved EBITDAR profits in excess of pre-pandemic levels for two consecutive years. The Irish market was one of fastest to bounce back in Europe in 2022 and that 2023 has built on that momentum. Rooms revenue is well ahead in a marketplace where pre-pandemic occupancy levels have been exceeded, with the real driver being average room rate which is up €36 for Dublin between 2019 and 2023 and €39 for Regional Ireland over the same four-year period. Average room rate growth between 2022 and 2023 for Dublin was €9, taking the ARR from €169 in 2022 to €178 for 2023, while for Regional Ireland the equivalent metrics were an increase of €8 from €133 in 2019 to €141 in 2023. The excellent performance in the rooms department compensated for and covered the very significant increases in costs across all business activities.

For 2024, the increase in VAT rate from 9% to 13.5% will make it challenging for hotels to maintain the momentum of growth in average room rate. In the year following the last time the VAT rate was similarly adjusted, the average room rate for Dublin hotels fell by €3 and for Regional Ireland hotels by €2 as the vat take for the Government was higher than what could be passed onto customers per recent reports and benchmarking.

The hotel sector, being very labour-intensive, will in 2024 likely see loss of payroll efficiency as the impacts of new employment legalisation and wage agreements feed through. This will become a drain on profit and profit margins in a year where costs could continue to increase at a faster pace than revenues, as there is less potential to grow revenues especially after two years where strong demand recovery has already occurred.

While the opportunity to again grow profits in 2024 will be muted by cost pressures, the established profit levels achieved in the last two years provide cash flow to invest and to borrow to invest. F & P noted that there is a change in approach to ESG from something that has been voluntary to a core requirement that will be mandated by legislature and contractual relationships.

F & P has grown into a service driven accounting firm. Our team works closely with our customers to ensure we are providing the support services they need to drive their business forward. Our services range from adversary to monthly managements accounts together with all the supporting services. We have a proven track record in looking after the compliance needs of our customers and making sure all the relevant deadlines are met with CRO & Revenue to give the business owner peace of mind and the time to dedicate in growing and managing the business.

We have a dedicated payroll team which also provides VAT returns and management accounts. Our goal in F & P is to use technology to streamline the service and to provide our customers with real time information. This is an area of constant growth and improvement using cloud based packages and utilising technology to streamline processes. We can structure and help in the buying and selling of hospitality businesses and making the transaction happen. We help negotiate with stakeholders in the business to reach solutions.

Our Boutique Consulting firm is ideally placed to help hospitality businesses based in the town centre and start of the Wild Atlantic Way. From Cafes, Bars, Restaurants, Hotels we can help, support and advise in all areas to help business owners deliver sustainable growth.

You can choose to outsource all or part of your accounting requirements. We will tailor a package to suit your company needs. We first get an understanding of the business and as accountants we can help, support and advise in adding value.

An initial no fee meeting can be arranged to assess requirement of a business. It is during this process that the scope of work is discussed and agreement can be reached if F & P is best fit for your organisation. We can set you up on a monthly fixed fee to spread the cost of this service just like a utility provider which our clients find helpful.

We have successfully and privately advised over the last 25 years all types of hospitality businesses and understand the challenges faced in scaling, growing, expansion, cost control, buying and selling. As it can be a lonely journey for some business owners we provide a support and advisory piece to help bounce ideas and strategies off while also keeping an eye on the biggest controllable overhead of wage percentage and rising costs. with the current challenges facing hospitality in 2024 now is a good time to review your business strategy, perhaps do projections for the year and look at ways to increase your profit margin and improve cashflow.

Please give us a call if you would like a free initial chat on how we can help on 021 4774500 or email us on info@fitzgeraldandpartners.com. Why not drop into our business centre for a coffee and see how we can help.

Business Recovery Expert Solutions

We have the experience and expertise to assist businesses in the hospitality and leisure industry that are underperforming or experiencing financial difficulties. We can work with the key decision makers in these businesses to find solutions to their current challenges and implement a survival plan.

Our work can encompass a variety of areas including:

• Business planning.

• Business health checks and benchmarking.

• Survival strategies.

• Business performance improvement.

• Menu engineering and costing.

• Market research and feasibility studies.

• Marketing and promotional plans.

• Staff training.

• Alternative property usage.

• Restructuring

Other value added services

With our knowledge and experience, we can assist you in many other ways, including:

• Stock control.

• Annual budgeting.

• Staff incentives.

• Project management.

• Succession planning.

• Sourcing finance.

• Tax health checks and planning.

• Acquisition, merger and disposal.

• Company secretarial.

• Market and consumer research.

• Strategic and future planning advice.

Call Now and get in touch for a free initial consultation of how we can help you and your business succeed.

Why not call Cormac Fitzgerald FCPA FCA today on 021 4774500 and take advantage of our expertise to make your hospitality business grow.