Warm fellow feeling may spark recovery
It is just over a year since I took up my job at Pride of Britain Hotels, after nearly 13 happy years with Johansens. There are therefore very few people left who can remember seeing me behind a bar, waiting at table or roaring away from the cash-and-carry in my Cortina estate.
Thanks to this lack of recent hands-on exposure, I can quite plausibly pose in front of strangers as an expert on hotelkeeping - or so I thought.
The other day, we took a group of US travel agents (seven women and a man) around the Lakes and Wales. They seemed to appreciate the experience greatly and were treated to royal hospitality at each of the member properties on the trip. I enjoyed their company immensely.
Embarrassment came all too soon, however. As the menus were passed around, the group turned to me for guidance. "What's Rochelaise, Peter?" I wasn't quite sure. "What's a Pithivier?" Perhaps a type of mushroom, or a bird, I suggested. "What's Velouté?" I had no idea.
The tour of the cellar was no better. "Have you heard of Opus One?" That was a big hit for Count Basie, wasn't it?
None of the agents betrayed any disappointment at this meagre level of knowledge, and praise was, quite rightly, heaped on our hosts.
Most encouragingly, the agents seemed genuinely puzzled by the reluctance of some overseas visitors to travel here at present and talked of a "pent-up demand" for holidays in Britain.
What struck me was the warmth of feeling towards this country. If the British Tourist Authority could find a way to capitalise on this, our recovery as an industry could be just around the corner. Like him or loathe him, Mr Blair has clearly made a good impression across the Atlantic.
Back at the office, the phones were ringing constantly as usual, each call representing another challenge or opportunity.
One of the advantages of a job like mine is the sheer variety of tasks involved. Perfect for a jack of all trades, or an ex-hotelier. Perhaps those two are really the same.
Peter Hancock is chief executive of Pride of Britain Hotels
Next diary from Peter Hancock: 21 February
