Irish hotels the fourth cheapest in Europe

The average price of a hotel room in Ireland dropped 21 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest Hotels.com hotel price index.

The average price paid for a hotel room in Ireland in the 12 months from January to December 2009 was €80, compared with €101 paid in the previous 12 months in 2008. This price drop is the steepest fall in hotel prices experienced by any western European country for this period.

Large turnout for Castlebar Chamber speed networking event

March is membership month at Castlebar Chamber

Some 40 different businesses were represented at the first speed networking event organised by Castlebar Chamber’s enterprise committee under the chairmanship of Tom Canavan.

The event, which was a huge success, was held in the TF Royal Hotel and is expected to be repeated by the chamber given its popularity. In attendance was Business Network Ireland's Sandra Hart who advised participants on how to network effectively. Some of the top networking tips circulated to participating businesses touched on designing a pitch, building relationships, following up, referrals, expanding your network, and informal networking. This event was sponsored by the TF Royal Hotel, Aniar Solutions, and Brian Cunningham Transport.

Mayo software company in Bright Ideas Challenge final

Eventovate, a Ballina based software company, was one of three finalists in Bank of Ireland's Bright Ideas Challenge. The national final of the competition was held on March 5 in the House of Lords, College Green, in Dublin. Eventovate enables hotels to offer additional added value services to customers booking events and conferences; while also allowing them to improve the management, booking, and delivery of the events. The company was established in 2008 by brothers Jonathan and Jason Ruane.

The business was the winner of the west regional final of the competition held in 2009 where it received a cash prize of €5,000 from the bank, along with a mentoring and training package from Westbic valued at an additional €5,000.

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