Fiona Donnelly This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Book Ireland accommodation booking reservations service based in Kilkenny Ireland. Hote,l Guesthouse, B&B, apartment, hostel, house

   www.bookireland.net/profile.ht - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/29/2003   Last Visited: 1/20/2005

   Book Ireland was set up by Longford woman Fiona Donnelly who came to Kilkenny in 1994. Since then she has built up extensive experience in the hotel and tourism industry - working in Hotel Kilkenny in a number of positions, including Reservations Manager and Assistant Head Receptionist, and at the Hibernian Hotel where she was Front Office Manager. Over Fiona's many years in hospitality and reservations she noted that people tend to use one means of advertisement when looking for somewhere to stay in their chosen destination and once they have exhausted that medium they will then believe that the location is booked out and may seek out an alternative location. Resulting in a loss for individual accommodation providers, and Kilkenny tourism in general. In spotting the niche for a system which could encourage people to visit Kilkenny, while acting as the middle man between those seeking accommodation and those providing it, Fiona decided to set up a central reservations service and in January 2002 she established Book Ireland.
   
   Phone lines opened in March and the need for Book Ireland's system of matching visitors to Kilkenny with the accommodation they require was soon apparent. Now, six months on business is doing so well Fiona has employed staff, all of whom boast broad experience in hotel reservations management. Word of mouth has spread and Book Ireland has built up a reputation having satisfactorily placed thousands of durations and dates requested. For example for the weekend of the American Express Championship at Mount Juliet, Book Ireland was responsible for 700 successful placements. Meanwhile the numerous accommodation providers who have all ready reaped the benefits of being associated with Book Ireland surrounded Fiona at the company's official launch in a private room at Paris Texas earlier this month.
   ...
   Fiona believes guests will stop ringing accommodation providers after approximately six or seven calls therefore business is lost.
   ...
   Fiona would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the B&B's, guesthouses and hotels who have worked with us so well to date and we look forward to their continued co-operation.