Family-run expanding hotel business acquires Cotswolds venue from administration

Elaine and Martyn Booth got the keys to the traditional 22 bedroom property one week ago after completing the purchase from Moorfields CR last month in a deal advised by hotel property specialists Colliers International.

Another nearby hotel, The Royalist, had also been in administration and was considered by the pair as another venture before they decided to concentrate on The Grapevine with a view to possible further expansion in the future.

"We had been looking for the next hotel to expand into and these two came up because they were both in administration together. The Grapevine fitted the model we were looking for - it was the right size, right number of rooms, fabulous location, beautiful building and loads of potential and that is what we look for in the properties we buy," Elaine told BigHospitality.

150-year-old vine​

The couple are now planning a full refurb of the property which includes a brasserie, bar and full restaurant which features a 150-year-old vine growing through the seating area after which the hotel is named.

The Grapevine will become the third hotel in the Booth's portfolio after they acquired the Royal Adelaide hotel in Windsor in late 2007 and the Dial House in Bourton-on-the-Water less than six months later. They also run a B&B in the Cotswolds which they added to their business last year and operate a holiday rental business in Spain.

Both Elaine, a former marketing executive, and Martyn, who works for an Australian bank, had aspirations of operating a small chain of hotels for a number of years but never found a business that suited them. After a period in Australia the couple returned to the UK intent on fulfilling their dream and entering the hospitality industry for the first time.

"We are looking for good businesses or potentially good businesses as long as we feel we can add something," Elaine said. "We have a fabulous restaurant at the Dial House with superb quality food. We can bring some of that expertise to this project, we will be trying to bring more business traffic and it is a great leisure destination."

The pair are also planning to develop a small weddings and events space in the venue.

First-time hoteliers​

Despite having experience in holiday rentals, the Booths had no experience of running hotels before acquiring two in quick succession just before the recession in 2008.

"We hit the ground running! Hard!" Elaine admitted. "The plan was always to operate a small portfolio of hotels of around five or six. I am heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the hotels and my husband knows strategy and business extremely well and for him it was about building a business and one hotel wouldn't do that."

"It has been very, very hard - a lot harder than we thought but much more enjoyable too. There are lots of people who have been in the business forever; they have grown up in it. Sometimes you come in from the outside and bring new ideas and that is what we wanted to do."