A white Christmas? Snow joke for hotelier if it isn't

Published on Sunday 29 November 2009 22:44

A HOTEL boss is dreaming of a white Christmas – as it will cost her a fortune if it doesn't snow.

Hotelier Jenny Cox has been forced to fork out thousands of pounds after losing bets with customers over the years.

It is now the fourth time Jenny, 38, and her husband Andrew, 43, have offered guests a 50 refund if it fails to snow. But the couple are confident that the odds are on their side this year with temperatures already dipping well below zero.

Jenny, who co-owns the Loch Kinord Hotel in Dinnet, Aberdeenshire, said yesterday: "It all started when Andrew placed the bet with a customer and lost.

"Since then, we decided to continue the wager with all our customers, but so far luck has not been on our side.

"It's all the hotel guests are talking about on Christmas morning – whether they are going to get paid or not.

"Some of our customers even end up ordering bottles of champagne when they know they are getting paid out."

The couple, who have owned the Deeside hotel near Ballater for 12 years, said they were fully booked this year with 28 guests.

Bookmaker William Hill said a "pessimistic" punter in Perth, Australia, had placed a 1,000 wager that it would snow in Aberdeen on Christmas Day.

As a result, the firm has cut the price of snow in Glasgow and Aberdeen from 6/1 to 4/1.

A spokesman said: "Met office predictions of a record-breaking cold winter have stimulated unprecedented interest in the White Christmas betting."