RC Powerscourt
An interesting news article send to me by a friend;
THE €250m Ritz Carlton hotel has confirmed it needs to cut jobs because of slumping sales targets in the latest sign that no one is safe from the Irish recession.
In a move that will send a shiver down the spines of hoteliers around the country, management at the five-star Ritz hotel in Powerscourt -- seen as a symbol of wealth by those who stay in it -- has announced that it now needs to cut at least 20 jobs from its staff levels.
The luxury hotel, a playground for the wealthy visitors to Ireland, currently has a full-time staff level of 265 people -- but due to the economic downturn, it is now facing the prospect of slashing almost 10pc of its workforce.
In a statement confirming the grim news, Ritz Carlton Human Resources director Grainne Johnston explained that due to the unforeseen slowdown in the market and a failure to reach initial targets, at least 20 full-time staff members will now face the reality of following visitors in packing their bags and heading out the door.
Forecast
"When we opened we forecast that we would do a certain level of business and we staffed according to that plan, but we're not hitting those targets," explained the luxury hotel's representative.
"It was a big decision for us, but business is down across the board. We didn't envisage this sort of a slowdown."
Rooms at the five-star hotel, which was developed by Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett's Treasury Holdings and whose name is seen as a symbol of top-notch services for visitors, were initially advertised at up to €450 for a one-night stay during the pre-opening phase.
However, after realising that it was failing to meet the targets the high-profile hotel had set for itself in recent months, management at the hotel -- which houses a restaurant run by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay -- has began to slash its prices.