Britannia Hotels, Aviemore

An administrative error, my ‘behind*! The letter is perfectly clear in what it says. How can that be interpreted as an error? ‘Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to sack you all.’

It’s great to see MacDonalds step up to the plate, those poor workers must have been in utter shock.

As for Britannia - did you see the film on the news? When the tv crew asked for their response they sent some hapless young lad who looked barely out of short trousers to answer their questions. Despicable.

Yes - an ‘admin error’ once the media got hold of the story. I hope that people remember the name of the hotel once this is over and give them a wide berth. Absolutely disgusting behaviour from management.

This is in my local area and it was heartbreaking to watch the hotel workers sitting outside what has been their homes for the past few years surrounded by all their possessions in plastic bags. Thankfully locals rallied round with offers of food and other help and then MacDonald Hotels stepped in. The ex-staff are Latvian and Spanish and are unable to return home obviously at this time. One chap had been here in Scotland working for the past five years and these are the people Scotland has relied on to service our tourist industry - shocking!!

I'm a fan of Macdonald Hotel group too as I have done some work for their staff in the past and stayed in many of their hotels.
Had lots of fun on corporate weekends.

They're claiming 'an administrative error'.

I wonder who penned the letter.

I haven't seen 'a spokesman' make a physical appearance yet!

Heartless morons how can anyone be so bloody unfeeling. Some companies deserve to go bust.

Well done the Macdonald chain. They have lovely hotels.

From the BBC website:

On Friday hotel chain Macdonald Hotels stepped in to help sacked employees at the Coylumbridge. A spokeswoman for the company said: "The entire hospitality industry is being hit really hard, with temporary closures and lay-offs across the board.

"However, when we heard of the situation at Coylumbridge Hotel, we immediately contacted the management there to offer their employees access to our staff accommodation at the nearby Macdonald Aviemore Resort to ensure they wouldn't be put out on the street. Any workers from Coylumbridge Hotel who require accommodation should get in touch with Macdonald Aviemore Resort and we'll be pleased to help them."

Now that's what you call a decent company.

Britannia Hotels have a reputation for being cheap (which they are) and often pretty downmarket. But we stayed at Bosworth Hall in Market Bosworth very recently and had a lovely stay (for next to nothing). The staff were, without exception, always cheerful and helpful, even though they were run off their feet at times.

I sincerely hope this disgusting letter hasn't been sent out to them, or to other employees in the Britannia chain, and that it is a one off. What a callous thing to do. Losing your job is bad enough, but how frightening to be told to leave your home immediately.

I once had the misfortune to stay in the Britannia Hotel in Birmingham ( a mistake when booking, long story) it was the most disgusting place I have ever spent the night in.
Should have left immediately.

So sorry for their workforce, I hope they can go on to better things.

I heard the interview on the Today programme this morning. Shocking treatment of their staff, the Britannia group should be ashamed of this callous and probably illegal behaviour. The waiter interviewed had worked at the hotel for 2 years.
And yes, they probably won’t be the only ones.

I believe they are now backtracking and contacting and apologising to staff. Still heartless but I feel they aren’t the only ones.