The Lancashire hotels that bounced back from Covid to look after 14,000 guests

With the pandemic having put the hotels at risk of permanent closure last year, a bumper summer season since their reopening in May has seen the two hotels – Liberty’s in Blackpool and the Strathmore hotel in Morecambe go from strength to strength.

Reflecting on a hectic few months, the hotel management teams were pleased to see the numbers of guests they had served in that time after the quiet closure period - and by the end of August, they calculated they had served 9,514 breakfasts to 14,637 guests between them.

General Manager of Liberty’s, Carlo Petza, said: “Looking back on what we’ve achieved in the last few months is always a rewarding feeling, but when you put some numbers on it, it just makes it all the more eye-opening.

"In hospitality, you’re often very much focused on looking after the in-house guests, so you can easily forget just how many people you’ve looked after over a period of weeks and months.

"To think that, between us, we’ve had more than 14,000 guests in already since reopening really underlines how much the hotels and our destinations have to offer and how hard the hotel teams have worked, whilst also offering great positivity for the future.

"It’s not just for the hotels either. Another layer of reward comes from knowing that we’ve supported that many people visiting Lancashire.

"Given we’re an area usually popular with tourists, the positive impact for other businesses in the area is huge.

"We look forward to both working with, and serving the local community with our hospitality offering – it’s great to think that everyone else around us is also hopefully bouncing back alongside us”

The two hotels are part of the newly formed Coast and Country Hotel Collection, which consists of 37 properties, spread across well-established leisure destinations throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

Formerly part of the Shearings brand, the hotels were at risk of permanent closure but have bounced back under new ownership.

The wider group is also reflecting on a successful first quarter since re-opening, having looked after a total of 437,966 guests across the portfolio.

Mr Petza added: “Just to say as well, given the superb demand we’ve been seeing, we are always looking for more people to join our amazing teams.

"So, if anyone is looking for work – do please get in touch.”

Portfolio managing director of the Coast and Country Collection, Paul FitzGerald, said: “Following an enormously challenging re-opening period, we’re delighted to have had such a busy summer season.

"It is always interesting and fun to review some of the quirky statistics that are generated by our business – such as having cooked and served more than 350,000 sausages to our guests at breakfast, which is quite extraordinary.

"Our teams across the collection have all been working so hard throughout the summer and it’s fantastic to see how busy the hospitality industry has been.”

The collection includes celebrated spots such as the Windermere Hotel in Windermere, The Great Western in Oban, Argyll and Bute, and the Ship and Castle in St Mawes, Cornwall.

Many of the hotels, as their collective name implies, are within areas close to coastal or rural attractions and offer guests a base to visit established regional tourist attractions or take part in active outdoor pursuits.

The group is actively recruiting across all its properties for a variety of roles and welcomes applicants, whether they be experienced hospitality operators or those looking to explore a new career.

For further information, please visit: www.coastandcountryhotels.co.uk