A popular and long-running York hotel is to shut at the end of this month.
The news comes as the manager says conditions for all of the hospitality sector are “really tough”.
And he’s now trying to find new roles for the hotel staff who’ve been made redundant.
The Best Western Kilima Hotel on Holgate Road will close in four weeks.
Its final guests will leave on Sunday 28 September, and then all the fixtures and fittings will be returned or removed.
Like all Best Western hotels, it is a franchised business that is in private ownership. It’s housed in a former rectory dating from the 19th century, and comes complete with bar, swimming pool and gym.
It is one of the top 20 hotels in York according to TripAdvisor.
Long-serving manager Chris Betteridge told YorkMix why it was going. “The owner’s from China. So the building is privately owned, and they’ve decided to get out of the hotel trade now.”
People are dismayed by the news. One said on Facebook: “Absolutely gutted to hear this, such a lovely place with amazing staff.”
Another wrote: “This is really sad news. It was a family tradition to come every year at Christmas.”
Chris first worked there 30 years ago, and aside from a short break at another hotel, has worked at the Kilima ever since.
“It’s not a job, it’s more of a lifestyle,” he said. “I live here now, so obviously I’ve got to move out as well.
“My own daughter grew up here. My partner’s kids, my nieces and nephews, they’ve all learned to swim in the swimming pool. It’s sad.”
The Kilima comes with a lot of memories. “It’s been a hotel since 1968. The last proprietor prior to these, which was six years ago, had had it for 42 years,” Chris said.
“A lot of people have had weddings here. They’ve had different events here. They’ve been for dinner, although we stopped doing dinners about five or six years ago. A lot of people have been through the hotel.”
Everyone with bookings after the closure date have been informed and most have already been refunded.
Now Chris’s priority is the staff. They are all being made redundant, so he’s asking the York hospitality trade if they can take anyone on – if you can help, contact him via his LinkedIn page.
“Some of them have been here for 17 years. I’ve got mothers and daughters. It’s kind of a family hotel, so it would be nice to see some of them get re-employed quickly.”
This has been a challenging time for his industry, Chris said.
“For all hospitality businesses, it’s been very tough since Covid. You have to go back pre-Covid for any really good years.
“All the wage increases, the gas, the electric utilities – and being an end user, everybody else passes it on to you.
“A laundry company puts the price up. You can’t put the price of a room up just because the bedsheets have cost you more. Food’s gone up in price.
“It’s getting very, very tough. I think there’s an awful lot of hotels that are finding it very tough, but that, I don’t think is the reason that this one is is going.”
