Though the band has made a mint from the latest 360 tours, the hotel owned by Bono and The Edge in the heart of Dublin has not been faring too well.

The Clarence Hotel  in the fashionable Temple Bar area has been undergoing tough times as the recession hits the travel and tourism business in Dublin

Losses before tax for 2008 are up 50 percent from €1m to €1.64m and revenue dropped to  €3.3m from €5.2m.

Staff at the 48-room hotel has been cut by 21 percent, and the directors' report states that Bono and The Edge, who bought the hotel in 1992, "plan to take the necessary measures to improve operating performance through cost efficiencies as well as continued focus on marketing."

Though the musical duo and other backers Derek Quinlan and developer Paddy McKillen plan to introduce measures to arrest the downturn, for now, they are stuck in a moment that they can’t get out of.