Blog: Tim's Blog

Well the sun continues to shine and we are very, very busy. However, things have definitely changed and we have had to review our business mix – less corporate, more leisure, fewer and smaller weddings and more last minute business.

The advantage we have is that we are not reliant on any particular sector and so we can be flexible and adjust our business around all the different markets. I would not want to be a provincial city centre hotel relying on conferences at the moment.

Our attitude is that there is enough business out there to fill this hotel and we just have to go out and get it. Our strength is that we have invested in the product and have a stable and committed team of staff with customer feedback at an all time high…so all we have to do is continue to get the business in!

We will see what Tuesday’s budget brings but at least I do not have to watch England on Wednesday…I’m working.

Never backwards in coming forwards we have been getting very involved with Best Western’s recent brand and advertising campaign here at the hotel.

As part of the national advertising and promotional campaign Best Western central office hosted Best Western’s Got Personality events in Edinburgh, York, Cardiff, Birmingham and London.

Our very own Hannah (whose day job is as a Food and Beverage Assistant in our Greenhouse Restaurant) travelled to York to represent the hotel and put in a fantastic performance singing ‘Will Ye Go Lassie Go’ in front of a large crowd of York’s citizens. In true professional style and of course because she is a Castle Greener (we have to think on our feet here) she decided to switch songs at the last minute because two other acts had already sung her first choice of ‘Fields Of Gold’. She pulled if off with style and wowed the audience. Want to see her in action…log onto http://www.hotelswithpersonality.com/ and while you are there give her a vote, she deserves it.

Not to be outdone, the management team at the hotel organised our own Personality Event by taking on a day of challenges nominated by the hotel staff. We were all given a job in another department and then rated by our trainers on our performance. Amongst others Les (Pub Manager) did a Reception shift, Liz (Sales Manager) washed up after lunch and I cooked breakfast. Some joker put a sign up at the entrance to the Restaurant encouraging guests to order poached and boiled eggs, haddock and kippers (all cooked to order). Wayne (our proper breakfast chef) said in four years he had never seen so many poached eggs on order! I still managed to score 9 ¾ out of 10 (¼ lost for shell in an egg) but was beaten by Julie (Finance Director cum Pub Chef), Grace (Personnel Manager cum Linen Porter) and John (Hotel Manager cum Housekeeping Assistant) with 10 out of 10. I think it was a fix…notice how between them they control the wages…I think we should have a stewards enquiry!

The other Best Western jigsaw piece in our promotional puzzle has been our inclusion into a Channel Four flagship programme due to be screened in the summer called ‘Undercover Boss’ (a cross between Secret Millionaire and Back to the Floor).

I was approached back in March by the CEO of Best Western David Clarke who had been asked go into ‘his business’ undercover in order to see things from the shopfloor and identify employees going above and beyond the call of duty. He duly arrived as ‘Andy Green’ (unemployed admin assistant) last month and worked for the day here in the Restaurant and Housekeeping.

We were one of three Best Western Hotels featured and have yet to see the edited programme but Leona and Lesley worked him hard (word has it he was pretty tired by the end of the day) and Leona has since been invited to Best Western central office and has been asked to be an ambassador for the brand.

Of course these sorts of events don’t happen every day but what is everyday is that we have a team of people that have a positive and committed approach to the work that they do, it’s what we call…

...the way we do things around here.

I know that traditionally most people view Monday morning with dread, but for me it is one of the best mornings of the week.

For many years now we have run our ‘Spice up your Sunday’ special offer, a dinner, bed and breakfast package very competitively priced to attract Sunday night business.

For most hotels Sunday night is the graveyard session, with empty restaurants, public areas and most importantly bedrooms. For us it is one of the busiest nights of the week with always more than 80% occupancy and a full restaurant to boot.

Our ‘Spice Deal’ started as a local offer but due to demand we opened it up to anyone that wanted to stay, and if you stay more than three times on the deal in a year you may be eligible to join our ‘Spice Club’ on £82…that’s for two people, dinner, bed and breakfast!

But the best thing for me is that every week is like seeing old friends.

This morning I saw Mr/s Gibson (trying to fit in one more stay before they go on their summer cruise), Mr/s Morris (have tried every type of room and have settled on 143 as their favourite) and Mr/s Jones (grateful that they had decided to postpone a trip abroad in preference to us and will have no trouble getting home)…and many others.

We have always taken the view that busy is good and it is a fact in hotels like any other business that things generally go better when a place is full of activity and mistakes are more likely to happen when it is quiet.

So Mondays are not so bad after all…unless you are Gordon Brown.

We started our Green initiatives nearly two years ago when an environmental organisation was looking for a hotel for a global conference and was keen to choose a venue that would support good practice in environmental responsibility.

Two years on and we achieved not only our bronze and silver award at the Cumbria Business Environment Network Awards Dinner on Tuesday night but also the Excellence Award in the silver category for the organisation that more than any other had gone above and beyond the criteria.

 In that time we have (amongst other things):

• Introduced a woodland management programme creating a woodland walk for guests and the local community and improving the habitat for plants and animals.
• Planted an orchard using local provenance apples and creating a food source and habitat for wildlife.
• Encouraged flora and fauna throughout the site, created a herb garden and used rain water for irrigation.
• Fitted aerated shower heads and tap nozzles saving on water and gas.
• Introduced dual flush toilets to all refurbished bathrooms.
• Used LED lighting where possible significantly cutting down on electricity consumption.
• Last year diverted 33.83 tonnes from landfill (257.9 bins) by recycling plastic, glass, cardboard, paper and tin cans.

Not everybody is convinced by the climate change argument and those that are sceptical have a right to their opinion (although I disagree with them) but I do not think that anyone could argue that our initiatives have been a good thing.

We live in a consumption based society with finite resources and at some stage our behaviour will have to change. We have done our little bit to encourage that change. We are by no means perfect and we need to do more but from small acorns…

Last night was the official launch party for our newly refurbished Pub, Alexanders. We had a great night with around eighty people attending who were a mix of regulars, business contacts, suppliers, guests, friends and staff.

We kicked things off with a real ale and wine reception (kindly donated by House of Townend and Hawkshead Brewery) and a welcome from me. Les, our landlord, took the jokes well (it is not often he is lost for words) and there was only a bit of barracking (well we had only just started drinking).

Our guest of honour was Anna Walmsley, who regular blog readers will know from The Memories of Castle Green that her father wrote after she came to stay last year. Anna gave a fascinating account of her grandfathers and fathers time at Castle Green when it was the original house and her grandfather worked for the owners The Jeffries. John Lofthouse Walmsley was in charge of the riding horses, carriage horses and carriages. The present Pub was the outdoor stables with the hay loft above and Anna reminisced that her relatives would have stood on the original floor (which is now in the snug) climbed the ladders (which are in front of the bar) and leant on the door (which is in the same position).

We then had sample dishes from the new menu followed by drinks…and more drinks. The photos will be posted onto the website gallery over the weekend.

If you can measure the success of a party by how many and how long people stay then it was definitely a great party and as predicted the usual suspects were there to the bitter end…well done Gillian.

Now the real work begins with a busy weekend ahead of us and exciting new product to share with our guests.

Listen out for our radio campaign that starts on Monday on Lakeland Radio’s Yakkers Breakfast Show…Off out….see you at Alexanders.

We’ll see you there.