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The recent change of management structure in Herm has allowed the staff to refocus on what really matters, with plans being finalised to close parts of the island over the winter months again.
In recent years, the island has remained almost fully open for business all year round with festive events held at the White House Hotel over Christmas and New Year.
This winter, the hotel may close but the self catering cottages will remain open for bookings and the Mermaid Tavern will keep day trippers and longer stay visitors refreshed throughout as usual.
Hospitality Manager Tom Jones said that reducing the opening hours of the businesses in Herm will enable staff to address the island's maintenance needs without disturbing guests, while they collectively focus on delivering the service and quality Herm is known for.
Mr Jones also said that these decisions are being made in light of the financial challenges that many hospitality businesses are dealing with.
Pictured: Herm Hospitality Manager Tom Jones.
"Things are looking reasonably good so far this year," he said. "We had a very poor April, then a very good May. But Herm’s business is largely reliant on the weather, and that's the question currently; when should we be open and when should we be closed is something that's under review.
"Over the winter months it can be incredibly costly to operate as a business," he added. "You've got the heating on, the lights on, there's wear and tear on everything from décor to boiler systems, additional staffing costs and all for just a few dozen guests.
"Our self-catering holiday cottages will always remain available year-round, and the Mermaid Tavern will always be open apart from, generally a limited period in January/early February for refurbishment. But we are beginning to draw financial models of the affect of varying the periods of time that the hotel is open, which needs a bit of our time and attention before any final decisions are made.
“But for now,” stressed Mr Jones, “our primary focus is to provide a wonderful summer season for all guests visiting Herm, so let’s hope the sun keeps shining.”
Mr Jones said other than some reduced opening hours across the island's businesses, there won't be many other changes in Herm this winter, but any changes that do happen this year will help to ease pressure on the island and its residents who all have a role to play in daily life.
"Whether it's one guest or 10 guests, they all need to be looked after the same, so the staffing cost to open the hotel is quite high, and the cost of running the heating and the hot water and other costs. One of our primary commitments is to offer service and quality. That is really our focal point.
Pictured (l-r): John Singer; Herm leaseholder and acting CEO, Michael Fletcher; Head of Finance, Anne Devenport; Sales & Reservations Manager, James Hastings; Technical Services Manager, Kate Evans; Marketing & PR Manager, Tom Jones; Head of Hospitality, Shaun McDonald; Hotel General Manager.
"Even though we're having a change of senior management with Craig (Senior) moving on there's no big changes happening, the whole island and all of its staff are completely focused on delivering excellent customer service and products. That's really the key part of why people come to Herm and we've got some good people running the hotel at the moment, so that is really shining through."
Craig Senior has recently stepped down as CEO of Herm and is moving back to the UK with his family.
The new Management Team - led by leaseholder John Singer as Acting CEO - was recently announced, and they and the rest of the staff team in Herm mean Mr Jones is feeling very positive about the coming months.
"We've managed to retain employees from last year, which is good because you can only achieve the continuity of your product if you keep the people. That's it, you know, that's the key, and I think we pay fairly, we have reasonably good accommodation for seasonal staff, and we look after them as best we can. So it's almost like the reset button has been pressed.
"Our focus is not just on sales - yes sales are important because without the sales, we don't need the staff, and if we don't have the staff we can't deliver, so yes sales are important, but our immediate focus right now is on quality of products and quality of service.
"That is our immediate focus because it's about next year and the year after, and what we are looking to really drive forward is the future of Herm and hopefully people will feel welcomed and warm."
Meet Herm's new management team
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