Historic Barnsley hotel secures £70k of new business

Wortley Hall, a historic Barnsley hotel, has secured over £70k worth of new business following its first appearance at an international tourism trade fair.

Wortley Hall has taken its first ever block bookings for coach trip holidays after attending the ‘Best of Britain and Ireland Exhibition’ in Birmingham earlier this year.

The eight mid-week coach trips over the next twelve months will bring in an estimated £70k worth of trade and represent a new income stream for the established hotel.

Wortley Hall’s attendance at the annual Best of Britain and Ireland (BOBI) exhibition was made possible through a joint visitor economy initiative supported by both Barnsley and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Councils, partners in the South Yorkshire Sector Growth Enhancement Programme (SYSGEP).

In the last ten years, Wortley Hall has been run more as a customer-focused commercial enterprise and the business currently turns over £1.5 million a year and employs 62 staff serving its 49 bedrooms, newly-refurbished restaurant, public bar, gardens, lounges and wide range of corporate and events facilities.

SYSGEP is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Yorkshire and The Humber ERDF Programme 2007-13.

The collaborative venture allowed smaller independent commercial venues and attractions like Wortley Hall to share a stand at the costly exhibition attended by over 2,000 buyers and journalists in the tourism industry.

General manager Johnathan da Rosa said: “We are delighted to put Wortley Hall on the map for UK coach tours for the first time and look forward to welcoming groups of guests from all over the country and overseas.

“These new mid-week bookings perfectly complement our existing core business of weddings, conferences, events and so on. They also allow us to make even better use of our stately home accommodation and fine dining offer.”

“Wortley Hall is not part of a big chain and we do find it difficult to put ourselves in front of major tour operators and package holiday agents on our own, so it was great to work with our neighbours on this fantastic opportunity to get their attention.”

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