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'The Michael O'Leary of the hotel world? I'll take that'

The manager of the Charleville Lodge Hotel has been doing a lot of talking in the last 12 hours

THE CHARLEVILLE LODGE Hotel on Dublin’s northside has been creating quite the stir on social media since yesterday.

The assertion on the three-star hotel’s Facebook page that people who couldn’t afford their rates for Ed Sheeran’s Croke Park dates this July should find a bed in either a homeless shelter or a dog kennel has polarised people – to put it mildly.

Manager (and the sole operator of the Facebook account) Paul Stenson has been doing the media rounds since yesterday evening to clarify his stance.

Is he repentant?  Not a bit of it.

“Good lord, if people don’t want to stay then don’t stay, get over it and buy a tent,” he told Eoghan McDermott on RTE Radio last night.

 I’d say if someone had a car and could sell it for €10,000 why would you expect them to sell it for €5,000?  It’s economics, supply and demand.
Strictly speaking we could be charging €300, that’s our rack rate, but are people giving us credit for the €21 discount? No they’re not.

It’s all about ‘having a laugh’ apparently, a phrase Stenson uses countless times over the course of his many interviews.

I love the abuse, it’s all a laugh and people see the funny side to it.
Look we’re not a charity, if you want charity then go to a homeless shelter or sleep with a dog at the DSPCA, you have to be firm with this otherwise people will walk all over you.
Anyway, we’re close to sell-out, bookings have increased exponentially since this kicked off and we’re getting 20 or 30 Facebook likes an hour.

This morning he appeared on John Murray’s morning show, again on RTE Radio One. The belligerence was slightly toned down but not by much. When asked what a regular hotel rate for the hotel would be he answered:

“How long is a piece of string? If there’s demand the price increases, just like with an airline, we charge from €49 up to €300, we can’t go above that because of the Fáilte Ireland cap.”

It doesn’t seem to affect people, we’ve only two or three rooms free on the Friday now and Saturday is picking up all because of the post.

Murray then asked if Stenson saw himself as the Michael O’Leary of the hotel world?

Well he’s one of my great idols. Being compared to him? I don’t think there can be anything wrong with that.

Finally, the battling hotel manager made a brief appearance on the Midday show on TV3, where presenter Elaine Crowley’s displeasure at the hotel’s ‘nasty’ marketing tactics was fairly evident.

Charleville facebook facebook

Again, he gave as good as he got.

“Some people don’t get it and take offence unnecessarily, it’s just a joke, if you can’t take it then go back home to Cork or wherever,” he said.

Careful Paul, the People’s Republic is an enemy you make at your peril.

When asked whether the nasty tone of his Facebook posts is really necessary Stenson was, you guessed it, unapologetic.

It’s not nasty, it’s funny, it’s a joke and not meant to be taken any other way.
Facebook is not a place for professionals, it’s a place for fun and engagement and having a laugh.
We filter out the people who can’t have a laugh via Facebook, I’d much rather have our 30 rooms occupied by happy people.

Not that he would turn customers away, mind.

“We accept all-comers so long as they’re willing to pay,” he said.

To counteract irate customers leaving bad reviews for the hotel on Facebook since the controversy broke, the hotel has been running a new competition since last night: free Ed Sheeran tickets to one lucky person who leaves a five-star review on the page.

The hotel’s approach to Facebook has been making waves since last year, be that for calling out customers for leaving negative reviews, telling angry Garth Brooks fans to ‘get a life’,  or even taking advantage of the controversy over Irish Water.

customer facebook facebook

One way or the other it looks like it’s working – the hotel’s page has over 22,000 likes.

Read: Poll: Is it OK that hotels increase room prices for big events?

Read: Take a break and see what all this Ed Sheeran fuss is about

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55 Comments
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    Mute Dermot Lane
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    Feb 27th 2015, 12:59 PM

    The difference is Michael O’Leary is funny.

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    Mute Pedro deluvio
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:39 PM

    The difference is, O’Leary has 30,000,000 customers.

    This clown has 30 with 22,000 raised eyebrows on Facebook.

    So if the customer isn’t always right!, that means…. The hotel is????

    What a douch bag.

    147
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    Mute leslie skinner
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:40 PM

    Lean times ahead for this hotel,the owner should fire this oaf

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    Mute Paddy nut
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:53 PM

    Well said Pedro this goon thinks he’s always right not even the lodge, wouldn’t even call it a (hotel) iv stayed in better B&Bs!!

    62
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    Mute Liam Whelan
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:09 PM

    He is the owner of the hotel! Clown

    34
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    Mute Pedro deluvio
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    Feb 27th 2015, 3:39 PM

    Well that’s a whole new ball game then!

    Not!

    19
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    Mute Life in no motion
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:10 PM

    could be worse
    He could be my boss….

    185
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    Mute Mrs Shalakalananaka
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:10 PM

    What a spanner.

    184
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    Mute John O'Neill
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:42 PM

    3 star hotel run by a no-star…

    129
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    Mute Johnny Walnut
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:28 PM

    Would I have considered staying at this hotel before this article? = NO
    Would i re consider after reading this article? = BIGGER NO
    This man is certainly no Michael O Leary, more like Frank Spencer

    172
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    Mute Patrick Hynes
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:30 PM

    More like Basil from faulty Towers

    77
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    Mute Dan The Man
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:33 PM

    Couldn’t give a rats ass about him or that 3 star kip he owns attention seeking moron

    121
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    Mute Miguel O'Reilly
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:08 PM

    people find it so easy to get up on a high horse these days and slam a business on social media. in fact i’d say that there are people who scour the net looking for an opportunity such as this so that they can show their ‘faux’ outrage.

    the same people wouldn’t say Boo to a Goose, as my Catalonian Mum used to say (still not sure if that actually meant anything!)

    we’re all falling for the, in my opinion, excellent marketing in this case by contributing to the chatter/free publicity it is generating. A look through the Facebook page of that hotel will show anyone that it is a total p*ss-take and always has been.

    So called TV and Radio presenters/researchers either havent done their research or see it as an oppotunity to generate discussion.

    It works for this guy. Good on him.

    I personally am not easily offended, particularly when I know someone is just having a laugh

    106
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    Mute Mrs Shalakalananaka
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:13 PM

    It only works if that publicity and Facebook likes translate into sales though, which they don’t necessarily do.

    59
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    Mute Mick Kelly
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:38 PM

    All of this crap, just a deflection, greed .
    I was in this hotel once ,I would not stay
    Their even if the price was €50 per night ,
    Kip .

    56
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    Mute lostintallaght
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:39 PM

    Who’s offended by him? I’m offended by his ‘sense of humour’!

    27
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    Mute andrew
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    Feb 27th 2015, 3:30 PM

    86 people gave it 5 stars, 36 1 star. Didivided opinion clearly. Thought this was funny one (but advice is celar: bring your own cleaner)

    “Horrible!!!”
    1 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 January 2015

    Just back from an overnight stay with my partner. On the website the room looks lovely and clean, however in reality it’s the complete opposite. We stayed in Room 32, and it was extremely disappointing.

    The shower door had a large amount of mould and dirt, the pillows and duvet were far from clean and had many stains, and the lampshade had so must dust and dirt I could keep warm for a year with the fur that had built up on it. In addition, the room was tiny to say the very least. If we put our bag on the floor, there was no floor space to walk around.

    This hotel is rated 4 stars, and to be frank, these 4 stars must have been obtained when the hotel was first built in the early 90′s. It is by far the dirtiest hotel I have ever stayed in, which is a real shame to be honest, as it has massive potential.

    The lady at reception also needs to learn how to interact with guests. Upon check out, she said morning and good bye. Not one thank you, or did you enjoy your stay, as if this had of been asked I would have voiced my opinion on room 32.

    If possible, I would rate this zero out of 5 stars as it does not deserve the 1 star.
    Stayed January 2015, travelled as a couple

    25
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    Mute Paddy nut
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    Feb 27th 2015, 5:36 PM

    That’s why you were not asked!! they don’t value any customer opinions they believe the lodge is always right customer has a complaint they can jump off a long pier cause they don’t want to hear it, could you imagine having a serious complaint and going to that knobhead with it!!

    17
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    Mute VinHeffer89
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:08 PM

    “I offer you bad service, a high bill and I’ll willingly admit that I consider the customer to be an @sshole. Give me some money, please”.

    104
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    Mute Christopher Gardiner
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    Feb 27th 2015, 4:03 PM

    Astounding isn’t it how RUDE behavior is now widely acceptable. I think hes an ass hole personally.

    84
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    Mute Ryan Anth
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    Feb 27th 2015, 4:25 PM

    Thats y hes no MOL.
    People seem2think mol makes high profits cos hes a douchbag…thats not it. He makes them cos of low fares, being a DB just gets him in the press long enough to spread the word about them, so when this guys got your attention whats he offering you? Snotty service and high prices….SERIOUSLY stop trying to porgtray this moron as some kind of genius 3 dimensional chess player

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    Mute VinHeffer89
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    Feb 27th 2015, 4:30 PM

    I understand supply and demand. I understand that there will be an upsurge in demand for places to stay during the Ed Sheeran concerts. I’m fully aware that the hotel is entitled to charge whatever they think is reasonable/acceptable for use of their services during this time. However, I do NOT understand this man’s hamfisted approach to business. If he had simply explained the Law of Supply and Demand when inquiries were made as regard to price rather than patronisingly spelling out the costs in capitalised English that he expects will be incurred to make use of his facilities and insulting potential customers by claiming that “the customer is never right, just always an @sshole”. I expect that he’s delighted with himself that the hotel has garnered so much attention but I can’t see this attention translating into actual customers which will ultimately render this approach completely futile.

    I work in food; I totally understand that some customers can be annoying and hard to deal with, some are actually impossible to please regardless of what lengths you go to but that’s business. There’s no excuse for publicly calling past, future and present customers @ssholes. If he doesn’t know that much I really have no idea as to how he’s in a managerial position.

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    Mute Neville Patterson
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:41 PM

    Does anyone read the long comments?

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    Mute Alan Aerts
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    Feb 27th 2015, 10:15 PM

    No.

    9
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    Mute Laura Walsh
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:55 PM

    The only funny part of this is that this guy actually thinks he’s funny.

    73
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    Mute Matthew Lysaght
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:00 PM

    “Look at me, I’m so controversial and zany” is basically his schtick, and one that will get old quite quickly.

    64
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    Mute Scarr
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    Feb 27th 2015, 3:14 PM

    Tell that to Ryanair.

    11
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    Mute One Human Being
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:35 PM

    If it’s only a “joke” then that also describes his business. Sounds like a bit of a knob end. The customer is always right or if you treat the customer like sh!t the customer won’t come back to be treated like shite again.

    50
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    Mute Jason Bourne
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:01 PM

    Hes such a header isnt he.

    45
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    Mute alpha_chaarlie
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:36 PM

    More like the Michael Barrymore of the hotel world…

    36
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    Mute James Reardon
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:39 PM

    You might want to be filling a 300/400 bedroom hotel every other day to be considered Michael O Leary of the hotel world not a little 30 bed kip of a place, and on the nights of sold out gigs? Michael O Leary? haha go away and fcuk off

    35
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    Mute Ally O'Rourke
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:59 PM

    If he admires Michael O’Leary’s work ethic so much why isn’t he offering cheaper rooms than the going rate for more top end hotels? Surely that would be in line with O’Leary’s ethic, not fleecing people for low end rooms. The man is obviously a liar as well as a muppet. Having a laugh? I don’t think you’ll be laughing for long mate.

    32
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    Mute Patrick James Walsh
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:55 PM

    Creepy, he sounds like the landlady who goes around at night listening at guests doors.

    32
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    Mute lostintallaght
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:37 PM

    When you have to keep telling people that you’re only saying things for a laugh then the things you are saying just are not funny. It’s not everyone else’s sense of humour, it’s yours.

    31
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    Mute Paddy nut
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:23 PM

    You don’t mind paying up to 300 in an up market hotel, not for a place that looks like a homeless shelter on the outside, (The hotel’s lengthy Facebook post lashed out at fans complaining about inflated room prices on the dates of the Ed Sheeran Croke Park gigs.
    We wish to advise that our room rates on the nights of 24th and 25th July 2015 are €279 per double room. In case you cannot read numbers, I will write the price in words. Two hundred and seventy nine euro. This time in words and in caps: TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY NINE EURO) Condescending little shits as if people are don’t understand money values ITS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY ITS ABOUT THE SHIT TALKING ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE THAT YOUR DOING who cares if its 400e per night that’s fine but u cant expect to charge someone them prices and not expect an opinion back, Paul Stenson Said: (It’s a massive joke, people are overreacting completely. I don’t think it’s nasty, I think it’s funny. People simply can’t see the funny side of things. It’s not insulting people at all) Tell that to the person you told wouldn’t get into your lodge because all guests must complete a primary school English grammar test, If that’s not insulting anyone I don’t what is, Seems Paul stenson an the rest of the staff could do with some ethics training!!! his head is so far up his own arse he’d need a tow truck to pull it out..

    31
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    Mute Trevor Weafer
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:38 PM

    Brilliant advertising. Whole country talking about his little hotel. He’s little to be embarrassed about to be fair.

    30
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    Mute John O'Neill
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:44 PM

    All publicity is not necessarily good for business. I’d sooner stay in a suitcase in the lion’s enclosure at the zoo.

    53
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    Mute VinHeffer89
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:30 PM

    I’d sooner sleep in a ditch than give this attention-seeking clown money.

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    Mute Tony Tee
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:46 PM

    He has 20k+ Facebook ‘likes’ who have followed his hotel purely to read his ‘zanny’ posts…how many of them will actually translate into bookings etc – probably none. On the other hand he will receive a huge amount of negative reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor etc. Would you book a 3 star hotel where they are running a competition where you have to rate them 5 stars on Facebook to enter??

    36
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    Mute Scarr
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:58 PM

    Lots of fake reviews on his tripadvisor page. A disgusting tactic by petty people who don’t think of the damage they could do.

    14
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    Mute Daniel Doran
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:47 PM

    I say good on him. Charleville Lodge Hotel Dublin isn’t a public service. he’s a private operator and if you think his prices are a rip off then look elsewhere.

    I have found loads of cheaper accommodation on Airbnb.ie

    I haven’t stayed in a hotel in over a year thanks to Airbnb.

    25
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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Feb 27th 2015, 1:52 PM

    Why don’t you just MARRY Air B’n'B?

    61
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    Mute Declan Walsh
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    Feb 27th 2015, 3:30 PM

    Initially I only took exception to the fact that he was naming charities that are struggling to make ends meet in his little “joke”. But as it’s stretched from yesterday into today and looking at the comments that he insists on putting out there, he is an absolute disgrace.

    And that has nothing to do with the pricing structure or the competitions that he is running. He is just a horrible little person by the looks of it. Looking back through some of the trip advisor reviews that are older than 48 hours, this place seems to be a bit of a kip anyway.

    22
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    Mute Miss Marple
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    Feb 27th 2015, 2:31 PM

    Oh dear, it’s not going very well for him now is it? God help his staff having to put up with such a muppet!

    21
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    Mute Sheik Yahbouti
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    Feb 27th 2015, 3:49 PM

    I don’t often say stuff like this but, there’s a c word if ever I saw one. STFU you self publicizing gimp, no-one wants to hear about your kip either.

    19
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    Mute Allan Clarke
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    Feb 27th 2015, 4:19 PM

    The bully who punches and torments and then claims he was only having a laugh. Sometimes it’s not down to a sense of humour, sometimes a person is just a knob!

    18
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    Mute Anthony Whelan
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    Feb 27th 2015, 3:55 PM

    Obviously he started this for publicity trying to get customers. Area is a junkie paradise all the houses are ancient rotten mouldy and smelly. Walk around there sometime. Save your money and get a decent B+B

    17
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    Mute thatshandy1
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    Feb 27th 2015, 3:02 PM

    Ah jesus has the craic gone completely out from this country. He’s saying something that EVERY SINGLE person in the service industry, hotel or restaurant etc was thinking. He seems a bit eccentric but come on… who really cares… don’t like the posts don’t read them… don’t want to stay at the hotel… don’t! Let him batter away and give us all a laugh!

    17
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    Mute Salvage Guy
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    Feb 27th 2015, 5:06 PM

    If there was a serious issue though like a fire etc…would this be the guy you wanted downstairs minding the hotel….

    15
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    Mute The Hooded Biscuit
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    Feb 27th 2015, 6:21 PM

    Michael OLeary is far sounder than this douche

    11
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    Mute Kane Abel
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    Feb 27th 2015, 7:30 PM

    Michael O’Leary is a ( **t but he has charisma and wit so he gets away with it, this inept waster is just a ( **t…..

    Homelessness isn’t an opportunity for immature, socially ret arded m0r0 ns to make jokes….

    - All I keep thinking is that if there ever was a legitimate issue that needed sorting in his hotel you’d be f(uk3d….. Am sure he’d be grand the rest of the time when being handed money etc….

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    Mute BroadSideSkid
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    Feb 28th 2015, 10:25 AM

    This guy seems to have forgotten one thing :
    For the few nights surrounding the Ed Sheeran gigs, he holds the cards.
    The rest of the time he’s just one more flea bag flop house owner …

    5
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    Mute Jacinta
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    Feb 27th 2015, 5:14 PM

    Will there be first class rooms where you can blow jobs?

    5
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    Mute tuba hg
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    Feb 27th 2015, 7:00 PM

    He is refreshingly honest. He just says what every other hotel thinks but haven’t the courage to say.

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    Mute Ruth Taylor
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    Feb 27th 2015, 9:15 PM

    Funny thing is, people will still go to stay there!

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