The five-star Hayfield Manor in the city of Cork is the epitome of the classic Irish, mansion-style hotel – friendly staff, comfortable surroundings and an incredible sense of hospitality. Located within a walled garden on the edge of University College Cork, the property’s 88 rooms offer guests a quiet respite from the narrow-clogged roads of the nation’s second largest city. In its ornate tearoom, I had an opportunity to sit down with T.J. Mulcahy, Hayfield Manor’s General Manager, to discuss what makes the property so special.

Tell us about the history of Hayfield Manor.
While the property can date itself back to 1815, its modern history began in 1996 with the Scally Family acquisition. A drawing of the original house can be seen in the hotel today and it clearly shows that the new owners paid close attention to the original design when rebuilding the house to five-star standards. The main staircase by the reception area is a replica of the original staircase of the old house while the fireplace in the lobby is the original one from the house. Hayfield Manor is now the flag ship property within Hayfield Family Collection, also including Great Southern Killarney and Killarney Royal in neighbouring County Kerry.

When did you arrive at the Hayfield and what have been your priorities?
I arrived in March 2017. My immediate priorities centered on my team and ensuring that everyone was happy in their roles and could give 100% to our guests at all times. Employee retention and engagement are a large focus of mine. Without an engaged team, I am unable to deliver on our targets. Empowering our teams has also been a key focus as is ensuring that the right people are in the right place at the right time. Investing in coaching sessions and promoting a more inclusive approach to all that we do has been challenging but rewarding.

What about setting budgets?
We agree upon our annual investment budget each December. We then have an ongoing program which will always include room renovations. The other agreed-upon project areas focus on a variety of both back-of house and front-of-house projects. It is so important for me that our teams are equipped correctly and have all the tools and technology they require to deliver for our guests and owners.

How about new projects that further promote service excellence?
New initiatives around our guest experience including reservation, prearrival, arrival, mid-stay, departure and post departure are a continuous feature. Our mantra is ‘Create Happiness, Be Kind, Do Exceptional’. It ensures that we never become complacent in addition to giving us the freedom to be independent. We introduce each day what we refer to as ‘Tiny Little Touches’, or small gestures that make a huge difference to our guests.

How is the hotel performing?
Overall the business is performing well. I feel as a family business we have firm enough roots to keep continuing to grow. We are a member of Ireland’s Blue Book, Preferred Hotel & Resorts, Virtuoso and Signature amongst other globally recognized affiliations. We remain unique as the only five-star hotel in Cork city. Of course, we are also delighted to be ranked as the number one hotel in Cork on TripAdvisor. For all of this, we review our revenue performance weekly and our conversions monthly to ensure that we are achieving our key performance indicators which we set out for the financial year. The complex relationship between striking the right balance between our occupancy and our average daily rate are very important to us, and we constantly look to achieve this throughout all of our market segments.

What challenges do you see facing the hospitality business in Ireland?
The removal of the 9% VAT rate by the government in 2019 was a major blow to the Irish hotel business as the previous reduction in 2011 from 13.5% to 9% helped create employment and reinvestment back into the business. Next, utility costs and local authority charges are a real challenge on hotels at the moment as they have increased to a rate above inflation. Most hotels have seen a 20-40% increase in their insurance costs in the past 12 months. Our minimum wage rate is the fourth highest net minimum wage in the world where all told labor costs account for between 35-40% of total for hotels here. Finally, the possibility of a no-deal Brexit could result in millions worth of lost revenue among Irish hotels in the year ahead because, as we are reading reports from Crowe Ireland, demand among UK tourists and business travelers could fall by 15 points or around 400,000 room nights.

Let’s dip deeper on staffing and technology issues.
We are currently experiencing a shortage of senior kitchen staff on the market. This is putting a heightened pressure on staff retention and development within our business. As an industry, we need to work together and instill the message that a career in our business is a fulfilling one. Next, the rapid movement towards mobile technology and the increasing influence of social media is challenging us all on how we run our business and how we need to be relevant to all our audiences. Hotels are expected to be on social media, to have a digital booking system and to have mobile payments in place. There are many decisions to be considered with regards to different forms of payment systems, online booking systems, CRM and digital marketing.

Has home sharing impacted your business?
Yes, at any given time there are over 300 units available to rent in the city center. Cork has seen an influx from the sharing economy, specifically in peak summer seasons. The way people are traveling and basing themselves while they travel has changed dramatically in recent years and definitely needs to be considered with future business planning. I would say, though, that technology drives our consumer behavior and that the hotel industry can remain competitive by adopting that technology. That said, certain questions and legislation around equitable regulation, taxation and insurance must all be addressed very quickly.

What major plans do you have for the property?
Investment into the property is a top priority for the family. We are two years into our bedroom renovation plans and will continue to refurbish 15 of our guestrooms to a luxurious standard in 2020. Plans are also underway for a renovation to our spa and this will also be completed within the next year. Exciting times ahead! Cork is a growing city with many projects being given the greenlight including future hotel developments. This gives us plenty incentive and motivation to continuously innovate our product and service into the future.