Managing Director Anna Dowling's Blog
Hello everyone,
I hope you have all enjoyed a few days of glorious sunshine in the last week – which was certainly a welcome relief from the wind and the rain of the last few months!!
This week I have spent many hours number crunching as we finalise our budgets for next year – there is no doubt the 2009/2010 has not been the easiest of years as the credit crunch has affected so many businesses - on the island here the average room rates for hotels dropped by 17% - which is great for our many visitors coming to the island but makes a tough business climate for us hoteliers. However looking to the summer months ahead we are encouraged to see that our bookings are up year on year for every month for the summer - so we are keeping our fingers crossed that 2010 will be a stronger year for all of us.
We have been planning some exciting events for the months ahead – these are both for our residents and for the local market in Jersey - we will be sending out details soon of some sportsman’s dinners planned with guest speakers of Frank McAvennie and Ronan Rafferty – also a gourmet dinner in Tassili in May with Michael Wignall – a Michelin star chef from Penny Hill Park in Surrey – and also as the weather (hopefully!) starts to improve we are getting ready to re-open the Terrace and have some great events planned with London DJs combined with mixology – all the dates and details will be on the website in the next week or so – so we expecting some lively summer days and evenings at Grand Jersey!!!
Our sister hotel Brooklands Hotel – www.brooklandshotelsurry.com is due to open on Monday 8th March so we wish general manager Marco Gervasoni and his team all the very best of luck – the hotel is looking fabulous and the Spa is going to be phenomenal so if you are looking for a hotel in the Weybridge area for a business venue or short weekend break – look no further Brooklands hotel is the place to go!! Our other sister hotel Bovey Castle www.boveycastle.com has been complaining that I have omitted to mention them in my now critically acclaimed world renowned blog (PR are always telling me to talk things up!!) – so not to be out done if you are looking for a fabulous resort hotel with one of England’s finest golf resorts and loads to keep the family entertained – Bovey Castle is a fabulous place to relax and unwind. So now having kept both hotels happy with a mention - both hotels are now likely to enjoy a huge influx of visitors from Jersey and as a result I am sure we can come to an amicable arrangement on commission!!!
Anyway another busy week to get underway – so I wish you all a stupendously amazing week and more exciting updates from Grand Jersey soon!!
Anna