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BYE, BYE BASIL – BRITISH HOTELS NEED TO LOSE THAT FAWLTY IMAGE
29 April 2009
British hotels need to shake off reminders of the Basil Fawtly era if they are to fully cash in on the boom in home-grown tourism.
A new survey says dozens of Fawlty Towers establishments still exist, damaging the industry’s image and putting off holiday makers.
Oxford-based customer research specialist, Retail Active sends out thousands of “Mystery Shoppers” every year to monitor service and performance standards in hotels, restaurants and shops.
Retail Active’s director, Julian Chamberlain says: “We get dozens of horror stories.
“With more British people deciding to holiday at home – the hotel industry needs to say “Bye Bye” to Basil once and for all.”
Recent reports include:-
• A couple on a “Romantic Weekend Break” sharing their love nest with a bees nest.
• Guests in the bar of a Devon hotel being told to go to bed at 10-30 if they wanted their breakfasts in the morning.
• Dressing for dinner in a chilly Cardiff hotel meant putting on overcoats and borrowing an electric fire.
• Guests unwittingly booked into a Swingers Weekend in Blackpool being asked to share with three other couples.
• A hotel in the Lake District stopping breakfasts at 9am on a Saturday and telling guests “you’re too late – the chef’s gone home”.
Julian Chamberlain said: “Our Mystery Shoppers complete hundreds of hotel assignments every year – so we get to visit more hotels than most people would see in a lifetime.
“Its thirty years since the hit TV series Fawlty Towers – but as our research shows, the British Hotel industry needs to weed out these lingering bad examples.
“The hotel industry is largely in great shape and we play a vital role in helping the industry to monitor and maintain its high standards.”
ends
From John Hemmingway Communications Ltd 0115 906 5734 0786 764 1983
john@jhcomms.com
• Retail Active, Sequential Solutions Ltd, Start Electron, Fermi Avenue, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QR, United Kingdom.
• +44 (0)1235 438413
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