£150,000 hotel bill for St George's works

Feb 13 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Huddersfield St George’s Square revamp has lost us £150,000, hotel manager claims

DISRUPTION linked to the Huddersfield St George’s Square revamp is set to blow a £150,000 hole in the finances of the George Hotel, it was claimed today.

Mark Wakeley, the hotel’s general manager, has spoken out after months of chaos left him with angry guests and daily compensation bills.

After last week’s rash of power cuts took down the hotel’s vital services, Mr Wakeley blasted Kirklees Council and claimed: “We’ve been kept in the dark.”

He said: “We’ve had three or four power cuts, some short, but one was overnight.

“Each time it knocks out our lifts, heating and hot water.

“People are booking for two or three nights but then after one they just go.

“I’ve had to refund dozens and dozens of customers.

“I’ve had to give 50% discounts and free nights, people have been very, very angry.

“The amount of business we’ve lost has been phenomenal.”

Mr Wakeley said the hotel had to fork out hundreds for lift and heating engineers to restore the services and estimated they could be down £150,000 by the time the project is completed in late March.