Business

Hotel expansion will bring 30 more jobs to north coast

Bayview Hotel managing director Trevor Kane with Christopher Murray from Barclays
Bayview Hotel managing director Trevor Kane with Christopher Murray from Barclays Bayview Hotel managing director Trevor Kane with Christopher Murray from Barclays

THE Bayview Hotel in Portballintrae is to virtually double in size and create 30 jobs after it secured a new loan from Barclays.

A fixture of life on the north coast since the early 1900s, the Bayview is adding 20 more standard, superior and self-catering rooms by summer 2019, bringing the total rooms available to 45. It currently employs 42 people.

Owner Trevor Kane says a recent boom in the tourism has played a large part in the decision to expand the hotel in an area where, at peak holiday season, hotel rooms are in notoriously short supply.

He said: “Television shows like Game of Thrones, as well as a busy sports calendar, have contributed to this, but we have also been lucky to benefit from repeat business from excellent customers who keep coming back to us time and time again. This firmly established demand has given us the opportunity to invest and extend.

“Adding these new rooms will not only provide a vital boost to the local economy but will encourage more tourists to visit and spend a longer stay on the north coast, rather than just passing through.”

Mr Kane added: “Following completion of our phase one expansion, we also have plans to build a new restaurant underneath the hotel, which would look out over the bay through large windows constructed into the cliff face. It’s an ambitious project, but one we’re very excited about.”

The new loan was supported by the Bayview Hotel’s local banking partner Barclays, with which it has been working since 2015.

Christopher Murray, relationship director at Barclays Northern Ireland, said: “Our partnership with the Bayview fits perfectly with Barclays’ desire to support SMEs here.

"We are seeing the steady growth of the hotel tourism and hospitality sector locally and the resulting potential for the hotel is a great opportunity for them.”