Luxury hotel buys property to house staff
ONE of the South West’s most famous luxury hotels has bought a care home nearby to turn into staff accommodation and overcome the problem the hospitality industry has in recruiting and retaining staff.
Burgh Island Hotel, made famous by scores of celebrity visitors over nearly a century in business, has secured the former Korniloff care home in Bigbury-on-Sea, which is just a short sea-tractor ride across the beach on the Devon mainland.
The art deco hotel, on a private island off the coast of the South Hams, has invested £500,000 in the care home, which it promises will be transformed into some of the best staff accommodation in the UK. The total renovation project will cost about £2.5 million.
Staff who secure a place to live in the new accommodation, which will be ready within six months, will get one of 22 high-end en-suite double bedrooms. The building will also have large gardens, sea views and ample space for relaxation, including a gym.
In a statement, the hotel said: “The provision of such quality staff accommodation will ensure that Burgh continues to attract and keep the best staff, bucking the trend of some hospitality venues, which find it hard to find staff.”
At the height of summer, when more than six million tourists flock to Devon’s coast, the hotel employs almost 100 members of staff to run, maintain and deliver its first-class service to guests.
In return, the hotel’s owners say they want to make sure that their staff have equally great accommodation to look after their wellbeing and happiness.
With only 16 staff bedrooms currently on the island and, given its remote location where access is controlled by the tide, the hotel’s owners say it is important that staff can live nearby.
Property prices in the South Hams remain expensive. In 2022, among the 29 local authorities in the South West, the South Hams recorded the highest property price rise, increasing by an average of 24.3%. Average house prices are now more than £400,000 as the area becomes a popular destination for second homes and summer holidays.
Rents are also rising at the highest rate for decades across the UK. Earlier this year, the median monthly rent in England was £795 – higher than at any other point in history, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Burgh Island Hotel’s purchase of Korniloff is a move to shield employees from rising house prices and increasingly unaffordable rents, allowing them to focus on their roles at the hotel and progress their careers.
It is not the first project the hotel has undertaken to provide staff with accommodation. In 2018, as the hotel expanded, the firm bought Warren Cottage in Bigbury-on-Sea to help staff who were based further away from the island. As business continued to grow, often fully booked, it was clear that additional staff accommodation was needed.
Burgh Island Hotel has been interested in buying Korniloff for a few years but the former care home only recently became available. Korniloff was originally built as a hotel in the early part of the last century.
Giles Fuchs, the owner of Burgh Island Hotel, said: “Since I bought the hotel, we have always tried to provide suitable accommodation for our staff, which is challenging given its location on a tidal island, so I am delighted to announce the purchase of Korniloff.”
Hotel operators in cities such as Bath, which also has some of the highest housing prices in the country, have previously spoken of the challenges of staff being able to afford to live near the city.