Collapse for Perthshire hotel not a bad omen, says councillor

Oct 29 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

HIGHLAND Perthshire’s hotel industry is not in jeopardy despite an award-winning hotel going to the wall.

South African ex-pat owner of the Ardeonaig Hotel, Pete Gottgens, is believed to be back in his homeland, while his business is in administration and for sale at around £1 million.

But Aberfeldy Councillor, Ken Lyall, described the scenario as an “unfortunate blip”, stressing it was not a bad omen for the local hotel industry.

“There are a lot of positive things going within a three-mile radius of the Ardeonaig,” he said.

“Taymouth Castle has a new buyer in the pipeline with ambitious plans, the Kenmore Hotel has huge plans for expansion, and Mains of Taymouth Country Estate is in the process of extending at the moment.

“So no, I don’t think the writing is on the wall; there are many prosperous and thriving hotels locally that are bringing a lot of tourists into the area and will continue to do so.”

Meanwhile, insolvency firm Zolfo Cooper has stepped in to operate the 26-bedroom Ardeonaig, subsequently shutting the Loch Tay-side property for winter, laying off all 10 staff.

A Zolfo Cooper spokesperson said a challenging trading climate and critical cash flow issues had driven the final nail in Mr Gottgens’ coffin.

The flamboyant head chef acquired the Ardeonaig in 2003, sinking almost £2 million into it, including establishing Scotland’s first vineyard.

Earlier this year, he won the prestigious best hotel restaurant title at the third annual Scottish Restaurant Awards, telling the PA he credited the glory to his strong team and exacting standards.

“We work hard to develop good relationships with local farmers and suppliers and I spend a lot of time sourcing,” the 47-year-old said.

Hospitality specialist, Scott Thornton of Scott PR in Edinburgh, said winning awards was an important promotional tool but only part of the deal in the dog-eat-dog hotel business.

“And it’s become even tougher; it’s often cheaper to fly to places like Florida than holiday in Scotland, so hotel operators have to pull out all the stops in terms of customer service and value for money,” he said.

“Some hoteliers, however, tend to be too greedy with their rates and fall short of providing that value.”

He said the real proof in the pudding was sustaining a hotel during off-peak periods.

On independent website Tripadvisor, 52 per cent of 169 reviewers recommended the Ardeonaig.

A London couple who posted a review on September 21 said they had stayed on the final night of their holiday seeking a bit of luxury but had been disappointed.

“We paid £300 for the Osprey room and quite frankly it wasn't worth £100 let alone £300,” they wrote.

However, the last post, on October 26, from Melrose guests, was more flattering, with the writer saying he wondered why the staff were a bit quiet.

“That was when we discovered the hotel was in the hands of administrators, and was closing on Tuesday,” he wrote.

“Once we knew the problem, we could appreciate why the remaining staff were uncertain; they had no jobs after the weekend. But they were fantastic – cheerful, attentive but stretched!”