TOURISM NI has cast fresh doubts over next month's opening of the £5 million easyHotel Belfast after stating "at no time" did they gave developers reassurances they would grant certification.
The 81-bedroom super budget hotel, being brought forward by business partners David Crowe and Kevin Baird is to open on Howard Street, but issues have been raised in relation to the size of some of the rooms.
It is understood a number of bedrooms in the new hotel are below the 13 sq m stipulated size in Northern Ireland legislation, last modified in 2009 and the new venue may not receive the required Tourism NI certification.
In a statement released earlier this week easyHotel said they had previously “received reassurances” from Tourism NI the project would go ahead and blamed the lack of a Stormont Executive for not bringing the current legislation in the north in line with the rest of the UK.
"Our rooms are fully compliant with the very latest national guidance on room sizes. Procedural delays at the assembly mean that guidance has not yet been updated in Northern Ireland, but in our on-going dialogue with Tourism Northern Ireland throughout the planning process we have received reassurances," they said.
The hotel chain said it was now seeking “urgent clarification” on the matter and has written to the permanent secretary at the Department for the Economy and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley.
In an unexpected twist yesterday Tourism NI refuted the claims made by easyHotel and said "at no time" were reassurances given to easyHotel. Tourism NI has yet to issue certification for the new hotel.
"Tourism NI follows a standard process of referring developers and operators to the legislation as soon as plans are submitted to us and we advise in relation to compliance with the legislation accordingly. At no time were any reassurances given by Tourism NI to the easyHotel developers in relation to certification," a statement read.
Operating without Tourism NI certification can be punishable by a fine of up to £2,500 or imprisonment of up to six months.
