Galway’s Ardilaun Hotel is not only a family business, it’s a bridge between tradition and the future.
Although it is a city hotel, there is something about the Ardilaun Hotel in Galway that makes it feel like you are in a countryside setting. Perhaps it’s the calm and serenity of the surrounding gardens or the broad lobby that greets you as you enter through the front door.
One thing is for certain, there is a timeless charm to the place and a warm welcoming ambience that its owner John Ryan is determined to maintain and continue to cultivate.
“We are probably the last individually-owned family hotel in Galway. And while that is unique, we have to be very professional in everything we do and deliver”
The Ardilaun Hotel has been independently owned and operated by the Ryan family for 62 years and while it is just 1km from Galway City and Galway Bay, it carefully contains its own atmosphere of comfort with lush spacious gardens, open fires, sumptuous suites and various lounges and restaurants. It is kind of unique.
“This was known as Glenard House and it was owned by the Persse family who were whiskey distillers here in Galway. This was their town house and they lived here until 1911. The price of whiskey collapsed and they went bust. It was bought then by the Boland biscuit family and the Boland sisters lived here until 1961 when my parents bought this house.
“It was a 15-bedroom hotel with no ensuite bathrooms. My grandmother thought they were mad to do this but it was a huge passion for my mother and they opened on St Patrick’s Day in 1962 and we grew it organically after that.”
The art of hospitality
John Ryan, owner, Ardilaun Hotel
“We are focused on growing, developing and improving the product that we have. I am very much focused on developing a strong management team”
Today The Ardilaun Hotel is a 123-bedroom venue and whether it is weddings, the Galway Races or the Oyster Festival, hotel is always at the heart of the action in the city.
“We invested in expansions and extensions down through the years and we have carefully ensured it maintains its old world charm while at the same time making sure that just under the surface we have the latest technology, whether it’s Wi-Fi or state-of-the-art AV facilities in our meeting rooms and conference hall.
“You have to be ready for what people want. We are in the digital world, people want to communicate as well as wind-down. So having the right digital connectivity and quality of Wi-Fi is just as important to people as a good bed, a good shower and a good breakfast.”
In his own career Ryan took a circuitous route before becoming manager of the hotel. After studying for a degree in Business & Marketing at DCU, he travelled the world, doing all kinds of jobs from salesman to nightclub bouncer. On his return to Ireland he returned to college as the first mature student at Shannon College of Hotel Management.
This led to him working in Switzerland for the Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts group in Zurich. “That was a tremendous experience. I then went to work for Forte, I worked at Dromoland Castle. I grew up especially with Forte where I went from being a training manager to junior manager to conference and banquet manger to food and beverage manager. That was a 783-bedroom hotel and that taught me an awful lot about the pressures of meeting your targets and margins.”
After having their first daughter, Ryan returned to Galway in the mid-1990s to work for the family hotel which was beginning to experience rapid growth.
“There was never any pressure for me to return but I brought different aspects to management. My parents were glad that I didn’t make the decision until I was ready. My mother was a phenomenal networker, very much into décor and quality. And my dad was a phenomenal businessman. We had a fantastic manager called Tom McCarthy O’Hea who worked here for 35 years. When Tom retired in 2000 I took over as manager.”
Putting the customer first
If there was any insight Ryan could offer into hotel management, it is putting the customer first. “It is all about the customer experience. The staff have to perform as a team to provide that experience. If you get the customer experience right, you will be able to win repeat business. Ensuring we can win that repeat business is a huge amount of what we do. We exist in very competitive market and we have to be able to differentiate ourselves.
“We are probably the last individually-owned family hotel in Galway. And while that is unique, we have to be very professional in everything we do and deliver.
“Delivering a quality experience does not come without a huge amount of organisation and teamwork. In that balance you have to ensure that your team is comfortable with what their jobs are and what we are trying to achieve. It’s up to us as managers to give them the resources and tools to do the job. From working with the chef or food and beverage manager to how we market the hotel, how we get our prices right and ensure correct margins, and the end of the day it has to be a unique, quality product from the bedrooms to the Wi-Fi. And if you get that right, it translates perfectly to the bottom line.
“I tell my team, if we don’t do this right 99% of the time, who can? If we don’t, then we’re in trouble. I remind them that sometimes things can go wrong, but you must learn from your mistakes and you move forward.”
Carrying the baton for his parents who lovingly converted the former country mansion into a hotel, he hopes another generation will lead the charge and continue to evolve what is one of Ireland’s few remaining family-owned hotel businesses. “I’m not going to put any pressure on them but succession planning is very much on my mind.
“Looking to the future, we’re probably at capacity from a planning point of view. However, we are focused on growing, developing and improving the product that we have. I am very much focused on developing a strong management team and I have just appointed a new general manager.”
Strong foundations
Ryan said that Bank of Ireland was a strong partner through the various expansions of the business and especially during difficult times.
“There were times where we were very stressed as a business but as a bank, Bank of Ireland couldn’t have been better. They could have been more difficult if they had wanted to but they helped us to steer through the hard times and to grow during the good times.
“It has been a strong relationship. They were honest with us when we needed that honesty and we did what we had to do. When we were at our worst, they did their best.”
“John is a gentleman with a genuine passion for hospitality, and the Ardilaun Hotel clearly reflects that; from his friendly staff to this welcoming reception you can really see and feel the attention to detail,” said Gerardo Larios Rizo, head of Hospitality Sector at Bank of Ireland. “Over the years John has always been keenly focused on improving and enhancing the guest experience while keeping a close watch on the margins, which are the telltale signs of a good hotelier and businessman.
“Galway city hotels are among the top performers in the country, with an enviable occupancy of around 80% and a very strong rate,” Larios Rizo continued. “Fun fact: The average rate for Galway €155 was higher than the average rate for Madrid €150 for 2023. However, it’s not all easy sailing; increases in wages and salaries and cost of food and drink and the change in the rate of VAT are really putting pressure on margins despite the strong rates.
“Occupancy has been soft in Galway city this year (down on last year to the end of June 2024), but summer events like the Galway Races and the Fringe Festival could bridge some of that gap in the coming months.”
The head of Business Banking Brian Carey said that The Ardilaun Hotel is more than ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
“Bank of Ireland are delighted to be long standing partners with the Ryan Family and The Ardilaun Hotel,” Carey said. “Hotel Guests may forget what you said but they never forget how you make them feel, and in the Galway market there are few warmer welcomes than the one you get in The Ardilaun Hotel.
“We hope to continue our longstanding relation with John and his management team for many years to come and to continue to support them as they navigate the changing landscape of the hospitality sector.”
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