What does €3million get ya in marketing? Well Center Parcs Longford Castle hope it will be 90% occupancy in their first year.
Given that they have already invested £233m into the project, it is understandable that it needs to make a return. We think €5m to €6m would have been a more sensible amount (based on the wider project development) to ensure they get full exposure across the Island of Ireland and significantly they should have taken into account the historical buying behaviour of the Irish ‘Home based’ consumers.
Suggestions online and via the media say that the costs of visiting the resort during the school holidays has a higher price point, Center Parc said it has a “price point for every person”. This will not be lost on Irish holidaying families and that of their competitors. Many Irish Hotel groups already offer very attractive and profitable offers to the market and can afford to lower their prices on these to existing customer bases.
Prices proposed at Center Parcs are to range from around €400 to €1,600 for the same accommodation during a short break – typically four nights – depending on the time of year plus they have 466 accommodation units to sell with and an expectation of 90% occupancy.
The €3m marketing spend thus could be broken down to expect 70% if this to come from with the Republic of Ireland, 20% is expected to come down from the North and a further 10% is expected from UK.
Our marketing contacts in the North are saying they have seen very little about the new provider, but maybe they are holding back on the promotional coverage to assist with new year advance bookings.
No one will know for sure how they do in the first year, but it’s great to see some more options and investment in the Irish Hospitality market – word of note, keep it affordable Center Parcs and pray for more sunshine on the emerald isle.
Image Credit: Center Parks
