Staff cuts at Fermain Valley Hotel due to ‘low demand’
One of Guernsey’s leading hotels is cutting its staff numbers.
The Fermain Valley Hotel, part of the Hand Picked Hotels Group owned by Guernsey residents Guy and Julia Hands, has partly blamed transport and tourism difficulties for the decision.
It has said that less than 8% of its staff in the island – its total staff numbers are not known – have entered a redundancy process, though all have been offered the chance to take up vacancies at sister hotel St Pierre Park. It confirmed that the Fermain Valley was not closing.
It issued a statement in response to Guernsey Press inquiries over the weekend.
‘Hand Picked Hotels looks very carefully at demand for our hotels and what this means for staffing levels,’ a spokesman said.
‘Unfortunately the low demand and the inability of guests to get to Guernsey has meant that sadly a number of our colleagues have entered a redundancy process.
‘The people whose roles have been affected have been notified and our priority is supporting them and the wider team during this period.
‘In the future hopefully the cost of and the ability of people to visit our beautiful island will improve and we will be able to grow.
‘We remain fully committed to Guernsey but like a large number of Guernsey hospitality businesses it has been a very challenging few years.’
Fermain Valley runs two popular restaurants, the Mexican-themed Buho and the Rock Garden Steakhouse, and their opening hours are being cut back.
‘In the short term the hotel will not have all restaurants open. However, Buho will remain open as it has a strong local presence and we thank the people on the island for their ongoing valued custom,’ the spokesman said.
‘The hotel is aiming to have the others restaurants open again for the summer with new offerings that are attractive to islanders.’
The hotel’s website indicates that the Rock Garden will be closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays from January with Buho closed on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays.
Hand Picked Hotels runs five hotels in the Channel Islands, also including the Braye Beach in Alderney, and the Grand Jersey and L’Horizon Beach in Jersey.
Hand Picked bought the Fermain Valley and Braye Beach in May 2021, and was believed to have paid in the region of £7m. for the 45-bedroom St Martin’s hotel.
