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The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company is seeking “expressions of interest” from firms to provide and operate a permanent berth in the harbour in south Dublin.

“We want to see what interest there might be in parking a cruise ship at the Carlyle Pier and operating it as a hotel,” said harbour company spokeswoman Carolyn Hanaphy as reported by independent.ie.

“There is a huge shortage of hotel accommodation in the Dublin region and the harbour is only 20 minutes from the city centre,” she said

Floating hotels or 'flotels' have become increasingly popular with examples throughout the world. 

Boatel, Australia

Boatel is moored at Renmark in the heart of South Australia. Renmark is within an hour of the Mildura Airport and 
2.5 hours from the Adelaide Airport via the beautiful Barossa Valley. It is more like a private cruise ship than a hotel but provides incredible luxury while you explore south Australia.

Bota Bota, Floating Spa, Canada

Bota Bota is  a uxury spa for residents and visitors of old Quebec in Canada. Although they team up with local hotels for overnight accomodation you can be pampered all day with body treatments, manicures and a luxury restaurant.

River Kwai Jungle Raft, Thailand

The River Kwai Jungle Raft  is a holiday destination in itself. Floating on the water of the River Kwai in the Thai jungle, it is only accessible only by boat. The collection of thatched roof buildings provide comfortable accomadtion and fun activities on the river.

Aqua Amazon, Amazon

The Aqua Amazon Hotel is a cruiseship that sails on a stretch of the Amazon and was so popular the company now operated two boats on the river and another in Vietnam.

Salt & Sill Barge, Sweden

The Salt & Sill Barge was originally just a restaurant but is now also a hotel with 46 beds and meeting rooms. They even built their own shellfish and lobster reef outside the hotel.