Hotel group blasts foot-and-mouth compensation methods

The director of a West Country hotel group has criticised the way the Government decides which businesses get foot-and-mouth recovery money, claiming it discourages hoteliers from maintaining quality. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

Businesses with a 30% to 60% downturn in sales over two to four consecutive months qualify for a grant of £15,000, administered by Regional Development Agencies.

Russell Pendregaust is operations director of the Hatton hotel group, whose properties include the 45-bedroom Hatton Court, the 14-bedroom Snooty Fox and the 11-bedroom Castle Inn, all in the Cotswolds.

The company's turnover for the year so far is down by 5%, compared with last year, but profits are down by 40%.

He said the good sales performance was the result of the group overspending by £40,000 on promotional activities.

He said: "What's been ignored is the money that's been spent to maintain sales levels. If we'd sat and done nothing and let our turnovers fall sufficiently to qualify, it would have been too late to save our businesses."

He wants the qualifying criteria for aid to be judged on loss of profit, and not turnover.