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17
Apr 2021
Fifteen years ago Paul Donkin applied for a job as a waiter at the St George Hotel in Harrogate.
Now he is the hotel's general manager and recruiting his own team of staff ahead of re-opening on May 17.
At 35, Mr Donkin may seem relatively young to hold such a senior position at one of Harrogate's premier hotels.
But he has worked in hospitality since he was 15, lived in Harrogate for the last decade and a half and is brimming with ideas to revive the 90-bed St George.
The hotel, opposite the Royal Hall, is steeped in history but has had a troubled recent past.
After a multi-million pound refurbishment in late 2018, it closed during the first lockdown 13 months ago and then its owner, Shearings Hotels, went into administration in May.
The St George was one of 39 hotels in the group bought by Coast and Country Hotel Collection under an agreement with management company Bespoke Hotels.
Few people, besides a caretaker, have been inside the building for the past year, so it remains in superb post-refurbishment condition.
What does he think will be the biggest challenge in the new covid world? He replies immediately:
Although he welcomes the impending reopening of Harrogate Convention Centre, he says the town's hospitality sector needs to be less dependent on it and "explore other avenues, such as leisure and corporate travellers". He adds:
Mr Donkin, who is married with two children and plans to run his first marathon in October as part of an ambition to complete a triathlon, clearly has a task on his hand. But he knows what he is letting himself in for.
He has worked at many of the town's major hotels, including the Cedar Court, Old Swan and Crown, and knows the other hoteliers.
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