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Re: Tomdoun Hotel - No more.....

Well, at the risk of nipping a few heids - this was never a hotel, except in a brief incarnation. It was built as a shooting lodge - and now will revert to a private residence. Which is just fine in my book.

The stark economics is that it's simply not possible to operate a hotel in this kind of location - at the end of a road that goes to nowhere. I've posted on this in previous. You'd be lucky to pull in £120K gross over a season for bed-nights. You might pick up an additional £45K for food and drink. There's no way in the world that you could service the debt and make payroll.

Contrast this with the very wonderful restaurant/hostel in Dalwhinnie - who reach out to a diverse demographic. Or the Alexandra Hotel in Ballater - old-school family hotel, and doing very well.

The Challenge is not an important event for providers. Sure, it's a couple of extra meals and maybe a fully-booked establishment for one night. But in the big take for Scottish tourism it's simply one or two days of possibly guaranteed revenue.

Re: Tomdoun Hotel - No more.....

That is a really succinct reply. It never was a "real" hotel.Always
seemed to be on the edge. Now we can understand why.Cheers.

Re: Tomdoun Hotel - No more.....

Just to add another blow to this news - I stayed in a lovely B&B, Curlew Cottage, in Inch Laggan just along the road from the Tomdoun Hotel, this year and found out that they also are going to be giving up shortly.

Re: Tomdoun Hotel - No more.....

Hardly a surprise. Why would anybody want to risk the necessary investment for a hotel in the least populated part of the UK? Catering is the most risky venture at the best of times. It was good while it lasted but things change.