A HIGHLAND hotel has raised raised over £54,000 to help keep their business afloat choosing to opt out of the government paid furlough Scheme in favour of a crowd funding approach.
Dornoch Castle Hotel made the appeal for assistance last week to help them raise £40,000 to safeguard the future of the business.
Colin and Roz Thompson have since thanked the public for their support after they launched the ‘pay it forward’ scheme when they saw a decline in sales.
The scheme allows customers to purchase vouchers that are redeemable when the hotel reopens and will last for four years and be used in conjunction with other discount vouchers.
For £800 guests will get a private dinner for 12 in the castles vault cooked for by the head chef Grant McNicol with each course being wine matched by the bar manager.
The hotel passed its target withing 48 hours of the fundraisers launch following an outpouring of support from customers.
Within 48 hours of its launch, the couple were stunned to discover they had surpassed their initial target, following an outpouring of support from loyal customers.
The castle had been owned by the Thompson family for the past 20 years and they were planing to celebrate the milestone with a year of special events and offers.
However, as a result of the pandemic like many hotels they faced cancellations costs upwards of £70,000.
Colin explained that the hotel’s rates are the second highest in Dornoch, with a rateable value just too high to qualify for the £25K grant that has been offered by the government.
Colin Thompson said: “Our customers, thankfully, are mostly happy to leave their deposits and defer to a later date – which is unknown at the moment. This is very heartening and shows great faith on their part.
“This crisis has made a deep and lasting impression on the health and wealth of the entire world as we currently know it, and involves every country within its sphere – a scenario which has been previously unheard of.
“Due to COVID19, this excellent view of the future season has had to be quickly put to one side. Our customers, thankfully, are mostly happy to leave their deposits and defer to a later date – which is unknown at the moment. This is very heartening and shows great faith on their part.
“Whatever the final total – and will be eternally grateful to those who stepped forward to show their faith in Dornoch Castle and its employees when so much is going on in their own lives. We thank them all from the bottom of our hearts.”
