Oban hotel is now ‘home’ for key workers
A prominent town centre hotel in Oban has provided a base for key workers helping on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis.
The Royal Hotel on Argyll Square has opened its rooms to those from the NHS, police and military providing extra hands to support vital services.
Usually the 91-bed property hosts up to 160 visitors and would have been fully booked for Easter and looking forward to a strong summer season.
But following the coronavirus, owners the Strathmore Hotels Group decided to make rooms available to those essential workers keeping the country running, saying: ‘More so than ever, they need our support.’
Strict social distancing guidelines have been put in place at the hotel as well as a restructure of the food and drink offering to adhere to protocols and keep staff and residents safe, explained manager John Horne.
Guest numbers had been strictly capped at the five-storey property to a maximum of 30 to ensure safe distancing, he said.
However, it had only ever had under 20 guests staying at any one time, with numbers down to just three or four on occasions, said Mr Horne.
Despite the crisis, a number of staff had been kept on at the hotel.
Mr Horne said: ‘Absolutely everybody is happy to be here to try and still keep a normal life going as much as you can in these times and to do our bit to help.’
Contact is being kept to a minimum with stringent guidelines in place and safe distances observed, with everyone in good spirits, he said.
Mr Horne has worked in the trade for 25 years and while the future of tourism remains uncertain going forward, he is optimistic that places such as Oban will bounce back once the crisis is over due to its stunning location and loyal customer base.
Mr Horne said: ‘We are hopeful our industry can get through this with much support being made available through the government but the main thing is everyone’s safety,’ said Mr Horne.
‘We will worry about the industry when all of this has passed,’ he said.
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