The average daily rate of a hotel room in Ireland continues to climb, up 7.7% in April from the same period a year previous.

New data from STR reveals that a one night stay will cost you €122.60 on average. 

Dublin saw a lower percentage increase of 5.5%, but rooms remain more expensive in the capital, costing an average of €129.04.

Dublin occupancy was static at a rate of 86%; room occupancy in the country as a whole was up 3.7% to 81.6%.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) was €100.10 in the whole of Ireland in April, an increase of 11.7% on the same month in 2016. It was €111.01 in Dublin for the same period, up 5.4% year-on-year.

Investec analysts said in a note to investors:

"The Dublin RevPAR data is broadly in line with our expectations in the year to date... In terms of regional Ireland, April RevPAR was strong and was boosted by the timing of Easter.

"However, given the relatively small sample size we would point out that STR data for regional Ireland can be volatile."

Investec predicts that revenue per room available in Dublin will swell by 6.5% by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, Fáilte Ireland warned that a shortage of Dublin hotel rooms is both pushing prices up and deterring tourists from visiting the capital. 

It noted that Dublin had the highest occupancy rate among major European cities in 2016 and experienced the highest increase in average room rates after Kiev and Saint Petersburg.

The report concluded that there will continue to be a shortage in Dublin up to 2018.

Last November, Ryanair's chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs also slammed the lack of accommodation available to visitors to Dublin.

Speaking at the annual Tourism Policy Workshop in Dromoland Castle, Jacobs said visitor numbers could be increased to 12 million people per year if there was a 25% rise in the number of hotel rooms over the next three years. 

He also called on Ireland to strike "an amazing, never-done-before-deal with Airbnb" to address the room shortage.