This is a story that would probably scare anyone wishing to run their own hotel business. I owned and operated The Wheatsheaf Inn for four years. It was, and still is, a gorgeous period property, in a wonderful slice of the English countryside. It was a favorite haunt for many of the high flying young London executives wishing to get away for the weekend.

The Wheatsheaf Inn

Six months into commencing trading, I took my first wedding booking for 150 people. The hotel was booked out for two nights. It was an exciting moment, because I knew the wedding market was a profitable one.

The day prior to the big day, the marquee company arrived to set up this vast tent which covered most of the rear garden. The bride and groom were ecstatic with the look and feel. The function went perfectly and my staff performed an admirable job. Two long days later, and with myself having hardly slept, my guests checked out, all very happy and well fed.

And then….the disaster erupted!

After lunch, my Sunday guests started to arrive. I received a call in the afternoon from a lady saying that there was no water coming through the taps in her bathroom. I rushed upstairs, took a look at the problem and apologised profusely. Then another customer rang with the same problem.

I called my local plumber. He came to investigate and could not work out the problem. There I was with a hotel at 60% occupancy on a Sunday night with no bath or sink water. Luckily, the showers operated on an electric supply so worked sufficiently well. I spent Sunday evening keeping my guests calm and offering them all a complimentary stay.

The next morning, the water company quickly discovered that the marquee company had drilled poles through the water pipes linked to the hotel bedrooms in the garden underneath where the marquee was located!!

The ensuing few days involved very stressful phone calls to the marquee and insurance companies. I had to close my hotel bedrooms for a week. Finally, I persuaded the insurer to pay for most of the works. But the marquee company completely walked away from the problem.

As a lasting note, later that month, one of my Sunday guests wrote a fantastic letter. She praised my staff for the way we handled the problem. They were to return two months later for what was a memorable weekend!