High hopes for the recovery of tourism
The Best Western Scotland region members met last week, with a good turnout of hoteliers and representatives from the Best Western central office. The meeting covered next year's budget and what we feel is the way forward for our industry in Scotland, with particular focus on the leisure market.
We were delighted to welcome Philip Riddle, the newly appointed chief executive of VisitScotland, who presented to us for an hour, followed by a lively question-and-answer session.
His presence and his address gave a much-needed boost to the members, as well as giving them the opportunity to pose many questions. We still have high hopes for the recovery of Scottish tourism, led by this clearly capable and visionary individual.
Martin Pedler, one of our non-executive directors, was kind enough to take a table at the HCIMA President's Dinner held in London earlier this month. It was great to catch up with several figures from my past. It is always a pleasure to spend time with industry figures like Martin, from whom I have learned a lot.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, business is generally positive across all divisions, in particular the Montgreenan Mansion House hotel, capably run by Ken Buchanan, the general manager. At last we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel in this unit, with business being up significantly year-on-year. The real challenge will be the January, February and March trading.
At present we are holding early-morning senior management meetings twice a week in order to plan the refurbishment of our main dining room and kitchens. This £1m spend is not taken lightly, and hours and hours of meetings and research, in our opinion, is the only way to execute a successful project.
We do not use consultants, preferring to make use of the experience and skills within the team. Our executive chef, Alec Summers, along with our food and beverage manager, Suzanne Chalmers, contribute hugely, and a decision will be made on whether to proceed at the end of this month.
The support team here is putting together a scenario planning document, which allows us to share our thoughts on "what if?" situations. Two major disasters this year have brought this into focus - a sobering thought for us all.
STEPHEN LECKIE is managing director of the Crieff Hydro leisure hotel in Crieff, Perthshire Next diary from Stephen Leckie: 6 December
