10th April 2009

It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, but the general manager at the Hatherley Manor Hotel has no regrets that his business went independent.

The three-star hotel between Cheltenham and Gloucester was part of the Macdonald group from 2000 until 2007.Then last autumn, the owners decided that the Hatherley Manor and its four-star sister hotel, St George’s in Llandudno, would go it alone.

For General Manager Stephen Trowbridge, it was a great move.“Being with Macdonald was good. But this is better. It’s been brilliant to be the masters of our own destiny in every area of business,” he said.“We’re free to react instantly to new challenges. Decision-making is quicker and easier. And we can capitalise better on our individuality – the hotel is a very unique building.

”Purchasing, promotions, finance and training are all now handled in-house by Stephen and his 50 staff at the hotel in Down Hatherley Lane. One of the immediate effects was that the 50-room hotel was able to source locally for everything from stationery to meat – it now gets Cotswold lamb from Martin’s Meats, and whole pigs for its summer barbecues from the Forest of Dean.

“We instantly became a more local company, working closely with our neighbours all over Gloucestershire,” said Stephen.

Owners of the Hatherley Manor, Anderbury Ltd, injected £200,000 into a refurbishment of the Hatherley Suite, its car park and extensive grounds. And the customers kept coming.

In 2009, the hotel has 93 weddings booked, along with a host of conferences, special events and parties, and expects to see more than 100,000 guests through its doors.

It has joined the Association of Classic British Hotels, whose other members  include the Swan at Bibury and the Noel Arms in Chipping Campden.

For Stephen and his team, there will be no going back. “There were benefits from being part of a large organisation. But we’ve now become masters of our own destiny. We either succeed or fail, depending on our own efforts. That sharpens the mind and gives us a huge incentive to take the business forward.

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