Hoteliers angry over millennium bug hype

British hoteliers have criticised the Government for issuing alarmist warnings and allowing companies to spend millions on a millennium bug that had little, if any, impact on the industry.

Many hoteliers took no action despite warnings from Action 2000, the Government advice body, that the bug could wreak havoc on hotels.

Geoffrey Gelardi, general manager of the 95-bedroom Lanesborough in London, spent almost £500,000 on bug-prevention measures. He wants a national investigation to be launched.

Describing the scaremongering as a con, he said: "There should be some major lawsuits against those companies that used scare tactics to make a profit."

Robert Hughes, owner of the 10-bedroom Penhelig Arms in Aberdyfi, Gwynedd, agreed. "It was hyped up and it was a way for people with vested interests in it to make money," he said.

Ian Holmes, general manager of the eight-bedroom Kelvin House hotel in Glenluce, Dumfries, said: "We did nothing. Yet, unlike France and Italy that spent £1m and £1.9m, our Government wasted £450m on the bug."

Action 2000, which last year described complacent hoteliers as "foolhardy in the extreme" (Caterer, 14 October 1999, page 4), said England's handling of the situation could not be compared with that elsewhere.

A spokesman for Action 2000 said: "Our Government is set up differently and the way our private businesses are run is very different."

Gwynneth Flower, managing director of Action 2000, added that the post-new year criticisms were ill-founded. She said: "It is much too soon to signal an all-clear."

Steve Simpson, manager of the 98-bedroom Shap Wells hotel near Kendal in Cumbria, is not convinced. He said: "I have not heard of any hotels that have had any problems."

by Louise Bozec

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 13 - 19 January 2000