Hoteliers own up to holiday stress

by Christina Golding

HOTEL bosses have admitted that they find it hard to stop thinking about work when they are on holiday.

Their confessions follow a survey by Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, which revealed that almost one-fifth of all executives find it impossible to switch off on holiday because of work worries.

Tony Potter, chief executive of Friendly Hotels, said he often hit on solutions to work problems when he was supposed to be relaxing, and admitted always taking his mobile phone on holiday.

"If we stayed in a hotel, I would probably be able to tell my wife on the way home how much that hotel makes in a year," he said.

Many hoteliers avoid staying in hotels altogether. Peter Lederer, managing director of Gleneagles hotel, Auchterarder, said: "You can't help but analyse hotels, so I avoid them on family holidays. If someone asks where I live, I can't say Gleneagles, so I tend to say Scotland to avoid talking about it."

Even people in contract catering seemed unable to escape the industry completely.

Alastair Storey, managing director of Granada Food Services, said: "I must admit, if I were at Gatwick Airport in one of our operations, it would be impossible not to have an opinion of how it was being run."

Most executives said they avoided reading management manuals, opting instead for fiction or autobiographies - but even the books they choose sometimes reveal their passion for their profession. One, for example, admitted choosing the biography of Lord Forte as the perfect holiday reading matter.