At Doonbeg, Business is Up

Doonbeg is bucking the trend.

In a tough year for the travel industry in general -- and golf resorts in particular -- officials at the luxury golf property in Ireland (which features a much acclaimed Greg Norman-designed golf course) released some very strong business numbers this week: rounds played are up 1,500 in 2009 compared to 2008, and overnight stays have increased between 45 and 50 percent.

How did Doonbeg pull off these kind of improvement in the teeth of a recession? The old-fashioned way: It lowered prices. On room rates. On golf packages. On membership deals.

Ireland's Sunday Business Post has the complete story on Doonbeg's strategy, and its results, here.

"Obviously rates are down, but we are still bringing people into the resort during the recession," Doonbeg's general manager, Joe Russell, told the Post. "The key thing now is value, and we have altered our offering and introduced more offers and more deals. The result is that we have remained very busy, albeit at a reduced margin."

-- G.R.