‘If you get the guest experience right, usually that’ll result in profits’ – The Irish Times

David Kelly is a happy man. He is assessing the newly opened Reserve at the Killashee Hotel in Co Kildare and when we meet, he seems more than satisfied with what he is seeing.

A former B&B, the nine-room Reserve sits across the road from the hotel itself and is aimed at families or other groups looking to take the entire place for their stay, along with its wellness area and the 4.5 acres of grounds surrounding it. It may be on the outskirts of Naas, but it could be the middle of nowhere.

For Kelly (56), the Reserve is just the latest development for FBD Hotels & Resorts in his time as chief executive. The group has just closed on the €55 million purchase of the Grand Hotel in Malahide on Dublin’s northside, adding to its existing…