The wandering Leeds family and their "our 1st holiday in 26 years" followed by "we usually go to my sister's caravan in Bridlington" (or somewhere. cant remember). That's called a HOLIDAY love
Anyone else notice that Mark sometimes forgets to mispronounce his hotel's name as says Grosvenor with the silent 'S'?
Funnily enough yes. Just a few steps further down the same road towards the coast. We stayed there last year when we couldn't get into the Grovesnor. It was surprisingly fully booked! There we were unloading the car and my partner shouts "Look up there. Isn't that the...?". And my little face lit up at the wonderous sight!
The wandering Leeds family and their "our 1st holiday in 26 years" followed by "we usually go to my sister's caravan in Bridlington" (or somewhere. cant remember). That's called a HOLIDAY love
Anyone else notice that Mark sometimes forgets to mispronounce his hotel's name as says Grosvenor with the silent 'S'?
yes :D:D
Marks logic that people arriving in Yachts would come sleep in his hotel, No Mark they will sleep on board their yachts you fool
The wandering Leeds family and their "our 1st holiday in 26 years" followed by "we usually go to my sister's caravan in Bridlington" (or somewhere. cant remember). That's called a HOLIDAY love
Anyone else notice that Mark sometimes forgets to mispronounce his hotel's name as says Grosvenor with the silent 'S'?
I think they meant that it was the first time they'd had a holiday in a hotel. Perhaps they don't regard a caravan stay as a holiday, being self-catering? I guess there's a point there... kind of!
Mark seems to always say 'Grovesnor', although when he used the megaphone in the bar, he didn't. Must have forgotten!
I really feel like Mark and his style of 'management' (for want of a better word) is completely outdated and harks back to perhaps a bygone era. It didn't seem to me that anyone worked professionally, probably didn't have clearly defined job roles and certainly weren't having regular assessments. I mean really that place makes Fawlty Towers look business like. The work areas were cluttered, shabby, and slack. Mark tried to up his game too little far too late. A shame though.
I don't think Mark ever stood a chance. Poor management skills aside, it looks like he simply over-stretched himself.
He bought the Grosvenor, a hotel that clearly needed investment but didn't have the funds to refurbish it and by filling it with cheap coach parties, he was never going to generate the funds to plough back into doing the place up. It was catch-22.
Don't forget the other two hotels, just up the road. We never saw them but on the basis that they went into administration around the same time, one has to assume that the same problems existed there too. Perhaps if he'd not bought three, he could have used the funds with which he paid for the third to reinvest back into the others? Three was probably being greedy - he couldn't afford all three. If there was just one refurbished one, he might have been onto something and that might have given him the opportunity to expand later on, although TBH given his hosting abilities, he would probably always have been better off concentrating on just one and that may well have worked.
I don't think Mark ever stood a chance. Poor management skills aside, it looks like he simply over-stretched himself.
He bought the Grosvenor, a hotel that clearly needed investment but didn't have the funds to refurbish it and by filling it with cheap coach parties, he was never going to generate the funds to plough back into doing the place up. It was catch-22.
He certainly made some bad decisions and his choice of staff wasn't much better either. One comment made during this particular episode which nobody appears to have picked up on. Prior to Marks announcement rumours were buzzing around and one staff member said to the lady who deals with the accounts...."and he (Mark) still owes you a lot of money doesn't he?" No idea if that related to unpaid wages or money she had lent Mark.
OT here but relevant to The Hotel documentary, I watched the three part documentary on daily life "Inside Claridges". OK totally different Hotels without doubt, but Mark would have done himself a big favour by meeting Thomas Kochs, the German Manager, and learning from him.
In professionalism we are talking not just 'chalk 'n cheese' but light years apart and it was very very easy to see from the beginning why someone like Kochs had been appointed Manager.
Come to think of it, had Mark still been running the Grosvenor, I could have seen a very interesting 'follow up' documentary taking shape by bringing Thomas Kochs in to advise.
Far odder than Mark's managerial failure is Christian's apparent ability to hold down jobs within the hotel industry for so long, even though it's painfully clear that he's only ever really been happy when dragging up. He finally seems to have found somewhere that allows him to do that and that alone, but it's still quite mysterious how he's been indulged for so long in various 'conventional' hotel jobs.
"This is the first holiday we've had in 26 years because we haven't been able to afford one until now"........yet they rolled up in a fancy car. That would be on finance though. :rolleyes:
They had been left a "nest egg" in a will from his parents.
Mark, get rid of that secretary woman, she is the pits, no one should tell their boss what to do, make her know her place or it is the high road, cut out the arguing with her it is contemptible, tell her in no uncertain terms that you are the boss. Start with training for your front office staff, I am apalled at their unfriendly untrained attitudes to customer requests, it is dreadful. The F&B manager is OK, act more on his ideas. Tell the chef that he and the F&B manager must get on for the good of the hotel, then get in Alex Polizzi to give yourself a rocket for being so inept.
I seem to remember my holidays to Devon as a child taking about 8 hours to get there and we lived in North Wales.
That was called 'enjoying the countryside'!! :cool:
As a young boy my parents would book a holiday in Devon or Cornwall, though nothing as luxurious as a Hotel....it was always a caravan in some obscure unheard of place! Ever heard of Beesands? No....I thought not!! The drive down would take ages as my Mum and Dad were 'into' picnic breaks. It was a common thing back then long before Little Chefs had arrived.
Also.....no M5 access which we now take for granted. Today everyone wants to be somewhere as quickly as possible.
As I got older, all my friends families used to holiday at Butlins and I used to envy them! With benefit of hindsight i'm now extremely grateful my parents wouldn't go to places like that as it developed a sense of adventure in me, love of the countryside, not to mention a 'wanderlust' which has taken me to many different foreign countries.
Just caught up on Sundays episode. Surely Mark will have formed a limited company, to buy / manage the hotels. This means that his personal assets can't be touched by the debts of the buiness - so how has he (personally) managed to go bankrupt?
Comments
Anyone else notice that Mark sometimes forgets to mispronounce his hotel's name as says Grosvenor with the silent 'S'?
Funnily enough yes. Just a few steps further down the same road towards the coast. We stayed there last year when we couldn't get into the Grovesnor. It was surprisingly fully booked! There we were unloading the car and my partner shouts "Look up there. Isn't that the...?". And my little face lit up at the wonderous sight!
yes
Marks logic that people arriving in Yachts would come sleep in his hotel, No Mark they will sleep on board their yachts you fool
I think they meant that it was the first time they'd had a holiday in a hotel. Perhaps they don't regard a caravan stay as a holiday, being self-catering? I guess there's a point there... kind of!
Mark seems to always say 'Grovesnor', although when he used the megaphone in the bar, he didn't. Must have forgotten!
I don't know why people are picking up on this conspiracy theory. I watched series 1 not so long ago and in episode two he clearly pronounces the 's'.
Any time he doesn't is more likely when he remembers you don't pronounce it.
I don't think Mark ever stood a chance. Poor management skills aside, it looks like he simply over-stretched himself.
He bought the Grosvenor, a hotel that clearly needed investment but didn't have the funds to refurbish it and by filling it with cheap coach parties, he was never going to generate the funds to plough back into doing the place up. It was catch-22.
Don't forget the other two hotels, just up the road. We never saw them but on the basis that they went into administration around the same time, one has to assume that the same problems existed there too. Perhaps if he'd not bought three, he could have used the funds with which he paid for the third to reinvest back into the others? Three was probably being greedy - he couldn't afford all three. If there was just one refurbished one, he might have been onto something and that might have given him the opportunity to expand later on, although TBH given his hosting abilities, he would probably always have been better off concentrating on just one and that may well have worked.
I didn't mean anything.
5 and a half hours from Leeds to Torquay on a clear run. It's only 300 miles.
on a clear run yes, we go every year and it has been known to take us 9 hrs to get home before now,(from bradford)
I must have been very lucky as it has never taken me that long.
OT here but relevant to The Hotel documentary, I watched the three part documentary on daily life "Inside Claridges". OK totally different Hotels without doubt, but Mark would have done himself a big favour by meeting Thomas Kochs, the German Manager, and learning from him.
In professionalism we are talking not just 'chalk 'n cheese' but light years apart and it was very very easy to see from the beginning why someone like Kochs had been appointed Manager.
Come to think of it, had Mark still been running the Grosvenor, I could have seen a very interesting 'follow up' documentary taking shape by bringing Thomas Kochs in to advise.
It is worth around £575,000.
They had been left a "nest egg" in a will from his parents.
Eh? I have BT Vision, service is great thanks.
They had one but they lost it
He pronounced Gros-venor like Mark.
Not to go on about it or anything.
Mark, get rid of that secretary woman, she is the pits, no one should tell their boss what to do, make her know her place or it is the high road, cut out the arguing with her it is contemptible, tell her in no uncertain terms that you are the boss. Start with training for your front office staff, I am apalled at their unfriendly untrained attitudes to customer requests, it is dreadful. The F&B manager is OK, act more on his ideas. Tell the chef that he and the F&B manager must get on for the good of the hotel, then get in Alex Polizzi to give yourself a rocket for being so inept.
As a young boy my parents would book a holiday in Devon or Cornwall, though nothing as luxurious as a Hotel....it was always a caravan in some obscure unheard of place! Ever heard of Beesands? No....I thought not!! The drive down would take ages as my Mum and Dad were 'into' picnic breaks. It was a common thing back then long before Little Chefs had arrived.
Also.....no M5 access which we now take for granted. Today everyone wants to be somewhere as quickly as possible.
As I got older, all my friends families used to holiday at Butlins and I used to envy them! With benefit of hindsight i'm now extremely grateful my parents wouldn't go to places like that as it developed a sense of adventure in me, love of the countryside, not to mention a 'wanderlust' which has taken me to many different foreign countries.
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