Royally appointed
A chance to be king for a day! Or at least Marquess or Marchioness, as the present owners of Castle Ashby, Lord and Lady Northampton, moved out last year and the castle is available to hire on an exclusive basis for both business and private use.
"You have to conjure up the image for people. If Lord and Lady Northampton were there, guests might feel they were intruding," explains Colin Sweeney, the castle's deputy general manager.
Lord Northampton decided a few years ago to open up the house for private use, making the most of its history and atmosphere, and using the income to maintain the house. "Historically, it's very impressive," says Sweeney. "Since it was built, almost every king and queen have stayed here."
During the past four years, more than £2m has been spent on refurbishment. This includes £500,000 spent last year on the state suite, which was closed off for eight months while specialist craftsmen restored it. The task now facing staff at Castle Ashby is to make it into one of the country's top venues.
The problem is how to go about attracting people to a 400-year-old castle with 26 bedrooms, set in 10,000 acres of land, which is not open to the public. Castle Ashby is a special kind of product: it is not just a stately home with accommodation, it is a 16th-centuryprivate family house and is run as such.
Mission impossible, some might think, but if Tom Cruise can spend a quiet weekend at the castle without anybody knowing, then it's exclusive enough to hold any business meeting.
When general manager Alan McAinsh and Sweeney were brought in by Lord Northampton, in 1992, occupancy of the 26-room castle was 7%. This has already increased to 25.5%, although non-residential occupancy for meetings and other functions is roughly 70%.
"It comes down to the mix of business we get," says Sweeney. "We want to offer a flexible product. It's not like a hotel - everything has to be fully booked and planned well in advance."
Marketing objectives for the coming year include raising occupancy levels to nearer 35%. This will also lead to an increased awareness of the venue, although Sweeney is conscious of maintaining its exclusivity. "We want people to find out about it but still feel it is something undiscovered," he explains.
Castle Ashby's target market is the UK, although 25% of its current business comes from the USA. Once a year, Sweeney and Lord and Lady Northampton cross the Atlantic to create awareness of the venue there. "The American trip is not a sales pitch, it's to make sure people are aware of us. We host a lunch or a private event and invite journalists and agents to come along," he explains.
The majority of business is non-residential. With four function rooms to choose from - the Great Hall, Reynolds Room, Long Gallery and Armoury - and three different drawing rooms, a number of events can be held at the same time.
The house is filled with antiques and paintings worth millions of pounds, but there are no ropes preventing people from looking at and touching things. Staff are friendly and the service is relaxed. "People take a while to adapt to the private house style. There are not many houses with this many bedrooms that have not become hotels," says Sweeney.
A programme of three themed house-party weekends takes place during the year to help spread the word, the only time apart from Christmas and the New Year when people can book places individually.
Each house party caters for 30 people and is designed to give them a taste of life in an English stately home. Cost is £350 per person, including meals and activities.
As this marketing campaign takes off, more customers are booking Castle Ashby on an exclusive basis than ever before.
And Sweeney says they will find plenty to do during their stay. "People worry about this. They ring up to find out what there is to do, book activities and then regret it because what they really want is to enjoy the grounds and atmosphere," he says.
Facilities within the grounds include an indoor pool, gym, tennis court, bikes and 25 acres of formal gardens. Ballooning, fly fishing and horse-riding can also be arranged nearby.
Staff are also prepared to come up with special packages to suit guests' needs. A medieval day has been held, with falconry, archery and jousting, rounded off with a barbecued feast by chef Ian Rhodes.
In the future, house parties with different themes will continue. Plans are afoot to restore the stable block, currently used as offices. The idea is to create a self-contained house with accommodation where conferences can take place, but with a different style and price to the rest of the house.
