Renowned hotelier and author Ruth Watson continues her mission to reverse Britain’s reputation for poorly run hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs. Tonight, Ruth attempts to change the fortunes of a hotel in Reading, whose owner is resistant to the idea of altering his prices.
Beech House is a 15-bedroom hotel in Reading, owned by businessman Michael Bissell. Michael converted the hotel from a care home four years ago and invested around half a million pounds in the facilities, but so far he has failed to attract guests in Reading’s competitive market. The hotel has lost huge amounts of money and Michael has even had to cash in his pension to keep it afloat. “Because of the losses that I’ve made, it’s been me paying the guests to stay here,” he says. Months away from bankruptcy, he has called in Ruth Watson to help avert disaster.
Upon arrival, Ruth immediately notices the lack of any stars or accreditation outside the hotel. Her initial survey is positive, praising the rooms as “comfortable” and “homely”. But one of the hotel’s poky single rooms gives her pause for thought: “I think this is where Michael has got a problem,” she says. “It’s small and he’s charging far too much money for it.”
Ruth reports her findings to Michael, who is unconvinced that the place needs accreditation, and adamant that his prices reflect the quality of the hotel. Ruth insists that Michael’s ‘one price fits all’ approach is not working –he needs to be more flexible, charging less during dry periods and more during peak times. But Michael refuses to believe that market forces can affect a hotel in the same way as other retail businesses.
Ruth is exasperated but sees hope for the establishment. “It’s an honest, decent hotel that would make most people happy,” she says. “But there’s an almost wilful intransigence involved. He cannot see that he has to go out to the marketplace to bring customers in.” Ruth leaves Michael with a three-point plan: he must gain accreditation; involve his staff more in the business; and adjust his pricing.
Michael soon has second thoughts about accreditation when he learns that Beech House might lose its status as a hotel because it does not fulfil the criteria. Sure enough, the Visit Britain inspector says that they must drop ‘hotel’ from its name, but he goes on to award them an impressive four-star rating for accommodation.
A delighted Ruth proposes a new strategy to promote the rating and market the establishment as female-friendly. She plans to unveil the new image at a re-launch party for local business people and press. Michael slowly begins to grasp the necessity for change: “There’s a life raft out there coming to me and I’ve got to take the opportunity of getting on it,” he says.
Beech House is thrown into a frenzy of activity as the members of staff prepare for the big night. Then Ruth arrives demanding to know why the prices have still not changed – and a row erupts. Another attempt by Ruth to make Michael see that his prices need to vary prompts him to slam her words as “lies” and “bunkum”. “He doesn’t want to do anything I suggest even though he’s got nothing to lose!” Ruth cries in despair.
The warring pair call a truce ahead of the party, which finally sees Beech House overflowing with guests. Michael has pulled out all the stops, but will it be enough to drum up business – and will he ever heed Ruth’s advice on his prices?
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