International hotel firm Best Western said it is planning to operate 10 hotels across the Republic and the North in the next five years.
The hotel operator said it is targeting existing properties and new builds with at least 75 rooms in Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Galway and Limerick among other locations.
It said it wanted to "demonstrate to hotel owners, developers and potential investors how much the brand has changed and emerged significantly over the past number of years", and that it was looking to establish the Best Western Plus, Best Western Signature and Best Western Premier brands.
It was also looking to build new brands, Sadie and Aiden, for hotel conversion opportunities or new builds, it said.
There are currently two Best Western hotels in Ireland, but the firm's "objective is to motivate more Irish hotel owners and investors to take a look at the new brand image and talk to us to show what we can offer them”, international development director Vivienne Nyhan said.
The firm has more than 4,200 hotels worldwide, including 2,000 in the US, 250 in the UK, 156 in Germany and is the biggest hotel operator in Sweden.
Ms Nyhan said it hoped to incentivise would-be Irish hoteliers through access to Best Western's $4bn (€3.52bn) global reservation system, as well as participation in its rewards programme, which has more than 38 million members.
Best Western said it would offer interested Irish parties’ short-term contracts and flexible contract terms, including a five-year initial contract and one-year rolling, which it said was unlike other brands that require a commitment of up to 15 years.
Ms Nyhan said: "Our team is currently out around the country meeting hoteliers, investors and indeed those in the construction and property sectors, showcasing our various and suitable brands, so, we hope to have some good news with hotel announcements and launches to talk about soon.”
