Concern has been raised about plans to house Coylumbridge Hotel staff in caravans to make more room for guests.
Britannia Hotels wants to accommodate up to 20 workers in five residential caravans in the grounds of the Aviemore venue.
It is seeking planning permission after being instructed by planning officers, who visited the site following calls from local people.
There are concerns about the possibility of staff living in caravans during the area’s harsh winters.
Staff rooms ‘needed for guests’
Britannia says the Coylumbridge has no dedicated staff accommodation and live-in employees are currently staying in hotel rooms.
The company says the hotel has been running at full capacity and the rooms used by staff are needed for guests.
Aviemore and Vicinity Community Council contacted Highland Council and the Cairngorms National Park Authority about the caravans.
The community council will discuss the planning application at its meeting this month.
The park authority did not call in the application.
It says staff accommodation within the grounds of an existing tourist accommodation provider does not meet the threshold.
But a council spokesman said: “Planning officers made a visit to Coylumbridge Hotel following reports of caravans having been placed on site as staff accommodation and notified the property operator of the requirement to seek planning permission for this.”
Local councillor Muriel Cockburn questioned Britannia’s actions at a time when the hospitality industry is short of staff.
She said: “They have a duty of care to employees.
“To have people in a caravan at the bottom of the Cairngorms in winter is really worrying.
They have a duty of care to employees.”
Councillor Muriel Cockburn
“It doesn’t sit well with the warm Highland welcome we are giving to people.
“The company has a responsibility for anyone in the workforce, to look after them and make them feel valued and nurtured.”
Highland MSP Kate Forbes has also been notified of the situation.
She said she is pleased to hear that visitor demand is high.
But she added: “I would encourage Britannia Hotels to ensure their staff are well looked after and adequately accommodated.
Hotel is a major tourism business in national park
“I don’t think many people would relish the prospect of staying the winter in a caravan, especially in an area renowned for its snowfall and skiing.”
Neither Britannia nor its agents responded to a request for comment.
However, the planning application states the caravans are needed to ensure the hotel’s successful operation as a major tourism business in the Cairngorms National Park.
“The hotel has been experiencing full guest occupancy and therefore the provision of alternative staff accommodation will allow for additional rooms to be available to guests.”
The caravans are about 10.7m x 3.7m with kitchen and living room areas. They would be connected to the hotel’s water supply.
Britannia says they would be screened from the public road and nearby timeshare lodges.
One of the lodge owners says no neighbour notification was given about the caravans.
They said: “Are these caravans suitable for habitation during our very cold winters?
“What is the Covid isolation policy if someone tests positive and is sharing a caravan?
“Will it set a precedent if these mobile homes get planning permission?”
Hotel was previously criticised by first minister
Last year, Britannia caused outrage when it ended the contracts of around a dozen employees and told them to leave staff accommodation following the Covid outbreak.
Among those who criticised the move was first minister Nicol Sturgeon who “unreservedly condemned” the hotel’s actions.
Britannia later said workers were contacted due to an administrative error.
This year the Coylumbridge was criticised by a former teacher who sent a catalogue of complaints following a six-night stay costing more than £1,500.
An investigation by the Press and Journal found that the hotel’s average score on TripAdvisor has fallen drastically in the space of three years.
The hotel had an average score of 1.55 out of five between June and August 2021.
Over the same summer period in 2018, six months before it was taken over by Britannia Hotels, it scored an average of 3.64 out of five.