Seaside hotel owner Adam Greenfield was expecting this year to be his best yet - until the coronavirus crisis struck.
But the Hotel Victoria Lowestoft owner has managed to see the lighter side of lockdown, and created a series of morale-boosting comic turns in and around his hotel, featuring spoof solo exercise regimes and cleaning activities.
Channelling Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky movies and Freddie Mercury of Queen performing hit song ‘I want to break free’, Adam’s stellar performances have attracted tens of thousands of views after they were posted on social media by operations boss Nicola Pack.
MORE – Retail chain introduces cough-proof screens at checkouts in coronavirus outbreakAdam bought the hotel – which dates back to 1887 and sits on top of Kirkley Cliff in Lowestoft – three years ago and recently refurbished it. Before taking it on, he had worked at the Victoria on and off for 20 years, and since his arrival, the business has grown every year.
“We were expecting this year to be our best yet from the ongoing recent refurbishments made to the hotel and function room,” he said. “Of course, with the recent situation from the current coronavirus we have seen an impact with all bookings across the board.”
Functions, accommodation and weddings have been cancelled as far as July after the hotel had to close its doors following the government-ordered lockdown of leisure and hospitality businesses to combat the spread of the disease.
But Adam has been keeping morale up and staff informed, setting up a ‘Victoria Family’ group on Messenger to keep in daily contact, he said.
“I have also been coming in every day to keep an eye on the building. As you can imagine, this is an old building and we need regular checks for maintenance and security.”
Although devastated by the situation at large, he wanted to lift spirits, he explained. It seems to be working, with his first video has received 13.5k views to date.
“I have been remaining on the positive side and looking at the future of my business but also putting a positive spin on things by personally making some funny, light-hearted videos,” he said.
“If it keeps people smiling through this time and also helps us keep in contact with our customers while we are unable to open then we are still doing our jobs.”
His aim was to keep a “business as usual” attitude, so when the hotel does reopen, it can continue where it left off, he explained.
“I have been in the industry for more than 20 years now and I have always wanted to own my own hotel now this is a reality,” he said.
They were “lucky to have one of the best hotels sitting on the doorstep to one of the country’s best beaches – we can’t wait to see everybody soon”, he added.
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