Ready and waiting
The Devonshire Fell hotel in Burnsall, North Yorkshire has survived its first Christmas with only one major glitch. Managing director Jeremy Rata decided that once Christmas and Boxing day were over, people would be gearing up for the Millennium celebrations and therefore all would be quiet on 27 and 28 December.
It was, he now admits, "a balls-up". In December, Burnsall village was heaving with people - as it is every bank holiday - and Rata estimates the Fell missed out on about 50 lunches, or £1,200 depending on the alcohol consumption.
"I am annoyed with myself, and I am a little annoyed at the local people who work for us who knew it would be busy, but didn't tell me. One person can't always think of everything. I realised it was a bank holiday, and I know Burnsall is busy on those days, but with everything else going on I just didn't put the two together," he says.
Christmas and New Year went off well and the Fell's team was fairly busy on both occasions.
On Christmas Day the Fell served 47 lunches (this included the occupants of eight of the hotel's bedrooms booked on a two-night, £250 per person package.) December 26 was busier than expected - 20 dinners were served that evening. For the Millennium celebrations the Fell had 10 rooms booked, again on a two-night, £250 per person package and did 50 covers in total for dinner. Cheekily, Rata told his guests there would be a fireworks display to watch at midnight - a move that is sure to have been noticed by the Red Lion pub which put on the display.
The millennium bug failed to strike, although the new point of sale system did crash just before the midnight hour. Luckily, the Fell's manager, Shane Williams, had the foresight to print all the bills at 11pm, to be on the safe side.
The 16-strong team has enjoyed a well-earned break, taking two days off in Amsterdam, paid for by the Devonshire Fell. "We are hopeful they will have a good time and that no one will get arrested," says Rata, only slightly tongue-in-cheek.
The Fell was to close for the first two weeks of January, but Rata decided it would be worth using that time to have the staff do some painting and tidying while keeping the hotel open for trading.
"The Fell is high maintenance and, as we will be paying the overheads and wages anyway, any money we take is better than nothing. This also gives us the opportunity to finish all the little things that we didn't have chance to do in the summer when we opened in a rush," says Rata.
There is a possibility that if the weather is good, Burnsall may be busy, although Rata does not hold out much hope of doing well in January. He is expecting to take £1,000 a day, which will mean a loss for the hotel. Losses are predicted for February and March and Rata has now acknowledged that, owing to the late opening of the Fell, it will be the next financial year that matters most. So there will be major concentration on sales for the new financial year which begins on 1 April.
"We really are ready and waiting now. We just need some customers," says Rata.
Next visit: 10 February
