The hospitality sector has to “work harder than ever” to keep thriving according to manager of four-star Pittodrie House hotel in Aberdeenshire.
Andrew Leggat believes that despite on-going challenges the outlook for the industry is positive.
Pittodrie House, in Chapel of Garioch, near Inverurie, has benefited from a sharp upturn in meetings, events and other corporate business during the past six months.
With 2024 fast approaching Andrew is determined to make sure the hotel continues to flourish and attract guests.
‘Need to be creative’
He said: “It’s all about determination. We have to work harder now than we did in the past.
“I’ve been in the hotel for more than two years now and when I came in it was the middle of Covid catch up season.
“We had a very high demand for weddings and a mount of business that was coming.
“But that’s finished now and for us we need to be more creative on how to make us stand out from the crowd.
“The most important thing the team can focus on is an urgency and emphasis to offer a great experience to people who visit the hotel.”
Staff important for success
Andrew, who started at hotel, owned by Macdonald Resorts, as a wedding and events co-ordinator in 2021, believes one of the tools for success is making sure the guests feel welcomed by the whole team of staff.
There’s currently 16 members of full-time staff and some casual staff taking numbers up to just beyond 30.
Andrew, who took up the role of hotel manager in April, said the cost-of-living crisis has been felt by the hotel with more people being careful with their spending.
He said: “What we are finding is that people are more targeted with their spending.
“We are having to look at new and more creative ways to engage with our customers and our clients.
“People that come to Pittodrie House for a dinner or afternoon tea it might be that they are celebrating an occasion and a special experience for them.
“We have a very hectic festive schedule and we need to be looking at why people should come and spend that money at Pittodrie House.
“It’s all about delivering the experience.
“There will be on-going challenges. There’ll always be the cost-of-living, food costs and staff wages.
“But it’s a positive outlook.”
Plans to improve outdoor setting
The hotel is set within 300 acres and its outdoor setting proves popular with guests thanks to its woodland, extensive lawns and Victorian walled garden.
However, the walled garden was left damaged following Storm Arwen.
Andrew said: “One of the big tasks we have for next year is sorting the walled garden. It’s a big task but one that a lot of us want to get done.
“It was left in quite a bit of disrepair following on from Storm Arwen.
“We want to have a programme to get things tidied up which includes planting new trees, shrubs and flowers.”
Established in 1990 by Donald Macdonald, Gerry Smith and colleagues, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has successfully expanded from its beginnings in Aberdeenshire to become one of the UK’s largest privately-owned hotel groups.
The Scottish-headquartered company runs 28 hotels and 10 resorts in the UK and Spain.
