Throng

the hotel inspector
tasburgh revisit (10/10)

Renowned hotelier, restaurateur and author Ruth Watson continues her mission to reverse Britain’s reputation for poorly run hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs. In the final episode of the series, Ruth returns to the Tasburgh House hotel near Bath to see if owner Sue Keeling –a retired air hostess – has managed to turn her fortunes around. Will the business be flying high, or has it been grounded?

When Ruth first visited the hotel 18 months ago, the Tasburgh had a great location, a glamorous hostess, five diamonds and numerous awards – everything it needed in fact, except guests. Sue had bought the hotel ten years earlier with her husband and immediately set about transforming it into a high-class establishment with an emphasis on quality. Each of the 12 rooms was given a literary theme and a finely dressed teddy bear designed to appeal to the American market.

However, as the hotel prospered, Sue’s marriage floundered and eventually came to an end. The mortgage doubled and the business began to grind to a halt. Costing £450 a day to run, the hotel was losing £8,000 a year. “The situation is rather dire,” confessed Sue. With such punishing overheads, three members of staff, few guests and a critical meeting with the bank looming, Sue had no choice but to call in outside help.

Upon her first arrival at the Tasburgh, Ruth sat down with Sue to discuss the severity of the situation and learned that she did not use a database to keep track of her guests –a decision which Ruth described as “insane”. After her first night, Ruth concluded that the rooms and service were good, but were not worth the price Sue was charging. Despite the high room rates, Ruth found some of the decor “cruddy” and was disappointed with the breakfast. “Where she’s really letting herself down,” she said, “is in value for money.”

Ruth also noted that while Sue was charming and friendly, she had no head for business. “You have got to separate your emotional feelings from this business,” she said –a piece of advice with which Sue agreed. Ruth went on to criticise the decor of the conservatory, but the biggest criticism related to the rooms’ furry occupants. “I hate those f**king bears!” she said.

Sue took all of Ruth’s advice on board and set about making changes. First up on Ruth’s threepoint plan was to lower the room rates. In order to tackle this area, Sue phoned around local hotels and was in for something of a shock. “My prices are too high!” she concluded. Next on the agenda was to become more businesslike –with particular focus on getting a computer database up and running. Sue called on the help of a professional and her son to redesign the database, website and hotel brochure. Then, Sue brought in a team of decorators to modernise the conservatory.

Two weeks later, Ruth returned to find that Sue had embraced all of the changes she had recommended with some success. But Ruth was about to pile on the pressure: “I want you to organise an event... inviting some of the key people from Bath.” In just one week, Sue was to host a relaunch party, with travel writers and local press among the guests. Despite the pressure, Sue was in her element as hostess when the big day arrived and the party was a huge success. However, as Ruth advised, this was only “the beginning of a very, very long journey.”

Eighteen months after her first visit, Ruth returns to the Tasburgh to see if Sue has maintained her desire for change and developed a good head for business. The first thing she notices is that there is a great deal of work underway in the carpark – possibly a very good sign. But bigger changes are afoot inside the building. The bears, though still present, are far less prominent, the conservatory is clean, fresh and busy, and the occupancy rate of the hotel has risen from 45 to a healthy 85 per cent. Sue has finally got to grips with the business side of things and has employed her daughter as manager. “If she carries on like this,” concludes Ruth, “the Tasburgh and the bears are ensured a very great success!”