Hall change

Imogen Skirving is sitting in her newly refurbished study area. Dressed in a flowing floral shirt and black trousers, she is in a reflective mood. It has been nine months since Caterer started charting the changes she has implemented at her family home, and Skirving is contemplating the highs and lows of all that's happened.

There's a lot to think about. Since last September, she has ploughed £50,000 into refurbishing the downstairs area of the hotel, which has included expanding the study and adding a bar. The staffing has also been restructured, with some promotions and recruitment. "Last year I did the management with a team," says Skirving. "I am still working every day, but it is getting less and I have some time off."

A testament to her success is the clientele she attracts. At the time of the Caterer interview, John and David Suchet, the brothers who are respectively a well-known ITV newsreader and a respected actor best known as TV detective Hercule Poirot, are having lunch, while former Coronation Street actress Sarah Lancashire is wandering the gardens.

As glamorous as this seems, there have been some lows. As with the rest of the hospitality industry, the foot-and-mouth crisis posed a threat to business, but Langar Hall was relatively unaffected, having only to remove its home-reared lamb from the menu for a few weeks.

There have also been what Skirving calls "infuriating delays" in renovating the white sitting room - meaning that there have been delays in taking photos for a new brochure and in updating the Web site. "The hold-ups are mainly problems with the interior designer, but the room should be finished by August," Skirving says optimistically.

In her quest to update the image of the house, Skirving not only had to deal with the interior designer, but to convince regular guests that the renovations wouldn't detract from the property's homely feeling. "They liked the gloomy old study," she says, adding that guests are now delighted that there have been only subtle changes to the room - the main one being its expansion.

Staff also had to be convinced that the changes would work. "Staff can become institutionalised," says Skirving. "They like to know what they are doing, and can be reluctant to face change." But Skirving wants to highlight the positive aspects of the past year, and the staff comprise one of them. She pays tribute to them for playing a major part in the changes. Toby Garratt, Skirving's chef/business partner, and hotel manager Richard Firmstone are singled out. "They are the ones who really push for change," she says.

Skirving has always credited Garratt, who came to Langar Hall in 1992, with turning round the fortunes of the hotel. At that time, the hotel had been within a few months of closing for lack of money. "Ever since Toby came out of the woodwork, I have never looked back," says Skirving affectionately.

Garratt and Firmstone are counted among a handful of principal staff members who have been at Langar Hall for six years or more. These also include chef Chris Ansell, financial manager Jan Marsh and head waiter Michael Addison.

Skirving is particularly proud of Addison, whom she encouraged to work up to head waiter from his start as a kitchen porter 10 years ago. He has also been able to take advantage of one of the perks of the job, which is to buy Paul Smith suits at what Skirving calls a "special price". Fashion designer Smith is a regular visitor to Langar Hall and has even had the new bar, Paul's, named in his honour.

New blood has recently been injected into the restaurant with the appointment of French-born restaurant manager Marie Lawrence. Skirving says her appointment was a godsend as she also helps to train staff and co-ordinate with the kitchen.

"The biggest thing that has put a smile on my face," says Skirving, "is having a restaurant manager and general manager working with Toby in the kitchen, allowing me to step back and have more time with the guests."

But Skirving isn't retiring just yet. There are more changes on the horizon, with plans to streamline sections of Langar Hall. One aim is, by September, to install a computerised till that will be tied into the booking system and will replace writing bills by hand.

The wine list has already been "streamlined". Two years ago, Skirving was using 10 suppliers, but she has now whittled that down to two. Paul Headlam of wine company Armits, who manages the wine list at the Tate Modern gallery, now looks after the selection. It has always been one of Skirving's ambitions to get a bottle sign in the Good Food Guide, and she hopes to achieve this with Headlam's help.

After this year, Skirving plans to consolidate the business until at least 2003 before embarking on any more plans. "I want to go on and enjoy the fruits of the past 10 years, with five really good years before I get too old and crumbling," she says.

Skirving often admits that she was a reluctant hotelier who stumbled into the business. But, after all the hard work by her and her staff, she is now more than happy. "I really love it," she says. "I am glad to be a hotelier. I just don't like the administration work."

She does mention one last thing that she would change. "I was so gullible when I first started out and I didn't have any money," she recalls. "I wish I'd had just 10% of the knowledge that I have today."

Then she adds with a grin: "Sixteen years is a long time. If I'd been a bank robber, I would have been set free by now."

The story so far

Imogen Skirving admitted the first guests to her ancestral home, the 165-year-old Langar Hall at Langar in Nottinghamshire, in 1984. Since then, the business has grown from two bedrooms into a 12-bedroom hotel with a turnover of more than £1m and a staff of 60.

By her own admission, Skirving was a reluctant hotelier who originally wanted to make £1,000 to spruce up the building so it could be sold. She found herself unexpectedly in the hotel world and confesses that the business at first survived on crisis management.

Building work, which was the first major financial investment, has been nearly completed. It involved upgrading the interior, adding a bar and developing the extensive gardens.

One goal, that of gaining more accolades, has already been achieved. In January, the AA awarded the hotel an extra star, bringing its total to three, and the restaurant added a second rosette.

FACTFILE

Langar Hall

Langar, Nottinghamshire NG13 9HG

Tel: 01949 860559, Fax: 01949 861045

E-mail: langarhall-hotel@ndirect.co.uk

Owner: Imogen Skirving

Business partner: Toby Garratt

Bedrooms: 12

Rates: from £85 to £97.50

Occupancy for May: 75%

Projected average occupancy, 2001: 70-75%

Annual turnover, 2000: £1m

Projected annual turnover, 2001: £1.2m (including VAT)