Lots of positivity among Northampton hotel owners despite lack of guidance on when they can reopen

Northampton hotel owners are keeping positive as they wait in earnest for the green light from the Government to welcome guests again.

Rumours abound that hotels and B&B will be among the businesses able to reopen from July 4, with an announcement expected from Prime Minister Boris Johnson later today (Tuesday, June 23).

Dodford Grange Bed & Breakfast owner Frankie Jackson said: "It's a very peculiar time for everybody.

"It's not quite the norm or what we know but at Dodford Grange we're cracking on as best we can and staying positive with no doom and gloom."

Under the hospitality umbrella, hotels are among the last group of businesses who are allowed to reopen after the coronavirus pandemic.

Owner of The Poplars Hotel in Moulton, Susan Henderson, has been spent the lockdown volunteering to help the vulnerable and elderly in the village.

The hotelier has lost a lot of trade from guests booked to visit family members, country houses or events at Silverstone Circuit - as well as regular business clients during the week.

But Susan and her furloughed employees are looking forward to reopening, whenever that is, with many odd jobs completed and hotel spruced up during the closure.

"As a small business, I'm going to work around whatever I have to to get us moving again," she said.

"I've got a great team of staff who I'm constantly in contact with and they are ready to work.

"It's taken me a long time to build this team so it's very personal and they are chomping at the bit which is fantastic.

"Hopefully there will be enough trade to keep us going but we will see what happens."

Allowing hotels to reopen is one thing, but it is another thing entirely to get people to stay again with concerns about whether it is safe, necessary or affordable.

Susan said she has reopened her diary but no bookings have been made yet but Frankie at Dodford Grange believes Northamptonshire has a lot to offer visitors and they will return.

"We're really thinking big and positive and Northamptonshire is a fantastic county with lots of tourism, lots of beautiful countryside and lots of things to see," she said.

"We're a high-end B&B so we want it to stay that way."

The lack of any official confirmation of when hotels and B&Bs can reopen nor any guidance on how to do so has annoyed owners.

Brampton Grange Wedding Venue in Chapel Brampton has three cottages available to stay in but mainly caters for weddings - most of which have been postponed this year.

The venue's events planner, Tracey Onley, said: "It's really frustrating as it's really unclear for us at the moment so we're just waiting for the official confirmation of when we can reopen.

"At the moment we're not accepting any guests and with the wedding venue we have got couple waiting for answers but we don't have those answers."

Despite the concerns, many hoteliers are remaining optimistic with the promise of 2021 being a bumper year for events to hopefully offset this year's losses.

Plans to extend Dodford Grange have been submitted to the council with owner Frankie feeling upbeat at what is to come.

"We pride ourselves on giving a very good service so we are planning for the future," she said.

"We think it will probably not be until early next year until everything is back to normal but we've got a lot to look forward to so you find any doom and gloom here."