At €263M, the value of hotel sales completed to date in 2018 far exceeds last year’s first three quarters total of €87M. However, just €64M worth of deals were done in the second and third quarters combined, compared with €199M of sales in the first three months of the year.

CBRE research shows that 12 hotels have changed hands in Ireland so far this year, compared with 23 deals completed in the first nine months of 2017.

Four transactions completed in each of the three quarters to date. In the first quarter, two of these — Citywest Hotel and Hilton Garden Inn Dublin Custom House in Dublin — accounted for around €174M combined.

Since then, business has been relatively slow, with four hotels selling for a combined €15M in Q2 and a further four trading for €49M in Q3.

Trading will need to be brisk over the next three months if 2018’s overall transaction value is to trump that of last year. CBRE figures show that €318M worth of hotels sold in Q4 2017 bringing the year’s total to €405M through 36 transactions.

Large deals in the final quarter of 2017 included the Gibson Hotel in the Docklands, bought by DekaBank for €87M, and Carton House Hotel and Golf Resort in County Kildare, bought by Irish-American businessman John Mullen for €57M.

Two properties could make a big impact on this year's sales figures — if they sell by the end of December: Druids Glen Hotel and Golf Resort is guiding €45M and the K Club is on the market for €80M. Both hotels are being sold through Savills.