A Look Back at 2020...
We’re sure we’re not alone in thinking back on 2020 and saying ‘what a year it’s been’! It has been a challenging year for everyone in our industry. Our business has certainly had some obstacles to face throughout 2020 and beyond. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for your continuing support and understanding during these unprecedented times. Even something as seemingly small as liking one of our Facebook posts is appreciated.
In the spirit of the changing year we’ve compiled a look back at 2020 at Barend. Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom!
Although Barend is relatively quiet in January, it is still a busy start to the year for us. We usually take the opportunity to get into all of the lodges for some deep cleaning. It’s a bit early to call it ‘spring’ cleaning and also undertake any maintenance jobs. The Reception team are busy taking a lot of bookings for the coming year. (‘Blue Monday’ is not a myth!). This year, we also had to prepare for our grading by Visit Scotland, which happens every two years. The visit itself takes two whole days. Each property is inspected individually by the grading officer. They assess everything from light fittings to cushions, then grade the property and write a report with recommendations. Yes, that’s 30+ individual reports to be produced. Rather them than us, it takes us long enough to read them let alone write them!
This year we were given the great news that one of our newer lodges had been awarded 4 Stars. Bumblebee Cottage (Lodge 66) had a full renovation in 2019. It has proven very popular with guests, a lot of care went into this renovation so we were thrilled with the result. We now have eight 4 star properties on site. See here about what differentiates them from a 3 star.
Speaking of full lodge renovations, February saw the completion of another lodge makeover. Swallow Lodge (Lodge 52) had everything from new balconies to new ceilings. Additionally rooms inside were all reconfigured and newly decorated. Due to delays in items being delivered it was a tight finish. There were still a few jobs being completed on the morning of the day the first guests checked in. But all was well by 4.00pm and we’ve had great feedback since! Another new 4 star lodge for our portfolio.
This may have been lost in the loudening chatter about a burgeoning global pandemic. But in March we were thrilled to have received the runner up and ‘Highly Recommended’ title from the Prestige Hotel Awards in the ‘Best Family Hotel’ category. (We were also a finalist in the ‘Best Pet Friendly’ category). A few of the team were due to attend the swanky award ceremony in Glasgow. However, due to the growing seriousness of the situation in the UK, we decided against it in the end. We may still have put our glad rags on at home, for posterity’s sake.
Along with the rest of the country, March 23rd brought us to a standstill. For us the day was spent making sure all of the (now empty) lodges were ‘closed down’ and secure. We were busy cancelling linen and stock orders, shutting down everything from the swimming pool to the coffee machine. The bonus was stress-eating most of the sweets sold in Reception. (Well, they were soon going to be out of date). It wasn’t the easiest day for the Reception team. We struggled against the constantly ringing phone to be able to reach guests who were due to arrive in the coming days and discuss options. However we did take the opportunity to come to work in our pyjamas, just because we could. We’ll spare you a photo of that!
In April our longest-serving member of staff retired after almost 25 years at Barend. We don’t have a photo of Dawn with her retirement gifts as they had to be rather unceremoniously dropped off on her doorstep. But we do have a photo of her receiving a little gift for 20 years of service. Most of our regular guests will know Dawn from over the years. Some of you also sent her cards and gifts for her retirement which was very much appreciated.
The team were very disappointed not to be able to have a get together to mark the occasion but we will – eventually!
While the site was still quiet, the nature in the surrounding area decided to ‘reclaim’ the land. Badgers became braver and deer more daring…
Along with the rest of the country, we adjusted to home-schooling and entertaining a baby.
Because they would be working solo in empty properties, some of our local tradespeople were also able to get into the lodges to begin some planned upgrades. We had one new kitchen, one house bathroom and 3 shower conversions in the upstairs en-suites fitted while the site was closed.
In June the youngest member of Team Barend turned 1 – his training in the maintenance department begins in earnest…
We were also given the good news that we had a provisional date for re-opening the site! The team spent some time making sense of the new cleaning and disinfecting protocols and started to make plans for how things will operate going forward…We were going to need a lot of bubble wrap!
We were a little stunned (and somewhat panicked) when our originally announced re-opening date of July 15th was brought forward to July 3rd! The whole team returned to work to band together and make sure we were ready to welcome guests back to Barend. We got busy deep cleaning lodges, bubble wrapping and packing countless excess pieces of glassware and crockery to be put into storage for the time being. In the end, it worked out nicely for us to have a couple of quieter weeks to get back into the swing of things (and to get used to waking up early again) before the site was fully booked from the 15th. The Bar & Restaurant team also worked hard to open their doors to guests again from July 17th.
As the housekeeping staff got used to their PPE, the office team also had a change of uniform. Since Reception was now closed to guests they took full advantage of being able to come to work in trainers and hoodies instead of having to look a bit more ‘presentable’. It’s going to be a difficult adjustment when Reception does open up again…
To the rejoice of water-babies of all ages we were allowed to re-open the swimming pool at the end of August! Our robotic pool cleaner (who goes by the name Chlorine Doreen) worked overtime to make sure we would be ready for guests to take a dip in Barend Swimming pool again. The office team got to grips with new booking and entry systems, which enabled our guests to book the swimming pool out exclusively for their party. We’ve had great feedback on this system since re-opening so this may be the ‘new normal’ for Barend Swimming Pool – watch this space!
Unfortunately September brought with it a change in the rules with regards to households mixing. It was initially announced that households were not allowed to mix together indoors. 24 hours later we were then told that self catering would be exempt from this, with two households allowed to stay together. This decision was reversed again 24 hours after that!
Needless to say, the office team were pulling their hair out and fielding many phone calls regarding this. We were very disappointed that not everybody was able to have their Barend Break in the end due to this. Thankfully, September was still very busy for us and the guests that were still able to come managed to enjoy some great weather!
October half term was busy as ever for us this year. Unfortunately the last minute rule changes in September reduced any large group bookings. But many of you were still able to get away with the family. It was great to welcome a lot of new visitors to Barend Holiday Lodges. One of the few benefits to Covid has been introducing Dumfries and Galloway to new people. A lot of people who would have gone abroad have found some of the wonderful delights Great Britain has to offer.
As November turned out to be so quiet for us, we got to work on the little ‘projects’ that we didn’t have time for during the busy Summer/Autumn season. We provided some holiday inspiration to those on Pinterest and you may have noticed our Youtube debut – don’t worry, we won’t be attempting TikTok! If you’re missing your fix of Barend check out our YouTube channel for some great videos!
We also hunted out some of the throws and cushions for the lodges so we could have some more professional photographs taken. We must admit it was nice to see a bit of colour in the lodges again! Keep an eye out for these updated photos appearing on the website soon.
As the site was still quiet in the run up to Christmas we were able to get some more lodge updates completed. Two of our lodges now have shiny new bathrooms (Lodge 17 & Lodge 51) which look fresh and fab! There are some more renovations planned in for 2021; we’ll keep you posted.
We look forward to being able to welcome you all back to Barend in 2021. Hopefully there will be less disruption for everyone. We also have a few more lodges coming on board with us next year, as well as some more exciting news…
Thanks again for all the support you have shown us during 2020…see you next year!
