Investing in the future
Owner Nick Wainford has faced a hard winter at the Well House and business has been patchy. September and October takings were well down on the previous year; November and December were up; and the hotel had a good Christmas.
"January was appalling - £2,500 behind target - and now we've had the best February ever, and I can't think why," says Wainford. "My target for March is £16,000, but I doubt we shall achieve it."
But the target of £15,000 for February was well exceeded - takings were £21,500, nearly double what was achieved two years ago.
Pressed to explain why there should be an uplift, Wainford suggests that Leap Year day was worth about an extra £550, and adds: "There's a lot of money around with Tessas maturing, and I think we are benefiting from that."
Wainford has been investing in marketing support to try to boost sales and has joined the Pride of Britain consortium. "It's costing us a lot of money but we've had some bookings and I think we shall get more. It will take about three years for the benefits to come through."
He has also spent more than £4,000 on a new hotel brochure, which arrived just after Christmas. He applied to the local enterprise company and received a grant of £2,000 towards the cost. This time, the content of the brochure was carefully planned: "You learn by your mistakes. Last time we used the chef's name and he left shortly afterwards," says Wainford. The new brochure is eight pages, in full colour, and Wainford is confident it will bring him a better conversion rate from enquiries to bookings than the previous version.
He is also appearing in The Trencherman's West Country, a West Country Tourist Board guide to 32 quality restaurants in the South-west.
On the food side, things are looking up. The Well House has retained its three AA rosettes from the Good Food Guide - it now scores three out of five, plus a star. It also won an award from Egon Ronay's Guides for its puddings.
There is one new face in the kitchen since the Well House was last featured: second chef Ben Tunnicliffe, who came from Howard's House Hotel, near Salisbury, to replace a chef who emigrated to Australia.
Refurbishment and redecoration are under way, with completion due before Easter. "I dread to think what it will cost. We've been here 10 years now and we've patched up as we went along. We are buying some new furniture and need a few new pictures as well."
Wainford has been using business partner Ione Nurdin's skills to create "some wonderful colour schemes for the rooms and the restaurant". As a result, the Well House is moving away from delicate pastels to stronger colours.
