Renowned hotelier and author Ruth Watson continues her mission to reverse Britain’s reputation for poorly run hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs. Tonight, Ruth visits a bed and breakfast establishment housed in a beautiful medieval priory. The owner is reluctant to share her home with guests, but needs to boost her income to avoid losing the property altogether. Can Ruth persuade her to focus the business on weddings and fashion shoots?
Butley Priory is a six-bedroom B&B in a converted 14th-century priory, just a stone’s throw from Ruth’s own hotel in Suffolk. The owner is musician and former model Frances Cavendish, who opened her home to paying guests to make ends meets after her divorce eight years ago. Unfortunately, the rooms often stand empty and Frances is on the brink of selling up. “If we don’t get more guests through the door I’m going to have to call it a day,” she tells Ruth.
On her first visit, Ruth is struck by the stunning priory building, surrounded by rolling countryside. In a chat with Frances, Ruth learns that the B&B does little to market itself, and that Frances mostly delegates the work to her staff of four. “I really don’t do very much at all,” she confesses. “I really want to pursue my other interest, which is music.” Ruth finds the bedrooms to be of a high standard, but the bathroom facilities fall short of what might be expected for £175 a night. “It’s far too expensive for what it is,” Ruth concludes.
After spending the night and inspecting the “scruffy” garden, Ruth gives some typically honest feedback. “The love of this business is not coursing in your veins,” she tells Frances. Her solution is to close the B&B and focus on the wedding and venue-hire trade. “It frees you up totally to do the music thing and it gives you back the house for yourself,” Ruth says.
Frances is tempted by the proposal, but in the meantime, busies herself with following some of Ruth’s other recommendations. In a bid to market Butley Priory as a backdrop for filming and photography, she invites a location agent to view the property. And to give the garden a focal point, designer Frankie Shrapnel is brought in to fashion a beautiful wrought-iron arbour as a centrepiece for wedding ceremonies.
Ruth plans to launch the new Butley Priory at an open evening with picnicking guests and a concert performed by Frances and her jazz band. But Frances is still reluctant to tackle the B&B’s other problems: she makes only a cursory effort to improve the facilities, and refuses to see the need to lower her prices. “It’s mad to bring prices down when people seem to be perfectly happy paying them at weekends,” she says.
The launch party arrives with a bridal fashion shoot booked for the same day. Ruth arrives to oversee proceedings but is alarmed to find little urgency in the preparations. When the photo shoot overruns and guests start arriving early, the event teeters on the brink of disaster. “It’s like having two wedding parties clashing at the same event,” Ruth says. Frances takes a backseat in the organisation and occupies herself with the musicians – furthering Ruth’s impression that the running of the business will never be her top priority.
However, the evening proves to be a triumph – despite the bracing May weather – and the priory is inundated with requests for future events. “Everything can be successful here,” Ruth says. But will Frances finally heed her advice and close the B&B to focus on her venue-hire business? And will she ever get used to having her home swamped by wedding parties and guests?
Right after The Hotel Inspector on Five is ‘The Hotel Inspector: Unseen’ on Five Life, offering further insight into this week’s programme.
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