‘The phone never stops ringing,’ Eastbourne hotels see an increase in bookings

Two Eastbourne hotels said they have seen another boom in bookings since the end of lockdown.

Lockdown across the country ended on July 19 and residents have been making the most of their freedom by booking staycations.

The owner of Langham Hotel in Royal Parade Neil Kirby said, “Business has certainly gone up.

“Ever since we opened on May 16 it has gone up.

“The phone never stops ringing. We have had to hire more staff on reception.”

Port Hotel managing director Peter Cadwallader said, “It is going really well. On the whole we are having really positive feedback.

“Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

“It is great to see a hotel that is full of people who are happy.”

Mr Cadwallader said the Royal Parade hotel is at 95 per cent capacity most weeks and could be at 100 if they didn’t close off rooms.

Mr Kirby said, “It is fantastic. It is great for me and my business and my staff. It keeps my staff employed.

“It is great for the town and the shops. It cascades down to the coffee shops and the taxi drivers. Long may it continue.”

A new study from Saga Travel suggested 36 per cent of Britons have been unable to book staycations for a number of reasons including demand.

Mr Cadwallader said, “We want this to be just as popular in the winter as it is in the summer, but we will have to work hard in promoting that.

“There is naturally going to be a trail off in the winter.

“We bought the hotel before the pandemic. We did not know this was going to happen and there was already a trend of more staycations.

“There was really a trend of people coming back to the traditional seaside towns in the UK.”