Dornoch Castle Hotel smashes initial crowdfunding target to stay afloat amid Covid-19

A Highland hotel has launched a crowdfunding campaign to stay afloat during the current Covid-19 pandemic, reaching its initial target of £40,000 in two days.

The hotel has been owned for the last 20 years by the Thompson family. Picture: contributed

Dornoch Castle Hotel, owned for the last 20 years by the Thompson family, had faced cancellations costing upwards of £70,000, with its running costs £8,000 a month.

MD Colin Thompson said the firm was “heartened” by promised state support, but “when we dug a little deeper, [we] found that the reality of help for businesses and individuals is a far cry from what has been promised”.

The hotel has furloughed 22 staff but Thompson highlighted delays in the money coming through from the government and the hotel’s rates being the second-highest in Dornoch.

He added: “We are a seasonal business which works very hard at extending the trade during the shoulder months of the year, and also to build up strong bookings for the forward season which help to carry the quieter times.

“This period is also used for refurbishment and repair to ensure a good product moving forward. The new season’s trading covers this in a normal year. 2020 was showing to be a wonderful year ahead, with strong forward bookings for accommodation and weddings, and high optimism was witnessed in our customer base both from the UK and abroad.

“Due to Covid-19, this excellent view of the future season has had to be quickly put to one side.”

Thompson – who runs the business with wife Roz, Philip and Simon, and manager Matt Logie - said: “For us, inaction was not an option if we wanted to continue trading and growing in the future, plus keep our essential employees. So we decided to try crowdfunding.”

He said it has been a “stunning success,” having raised more than £53,000 – and with a stretch target of £100,000.

“The immediate pressure of wages, dues etc can be covered to keep us in a holding pattern, and this will help us back to be in a good position for the partial then eventual full trading – at some unknown date in the future.”

The hotel also has a gin and whisky distillery in its grounds, and it has been making hand sanitiser throughout the crisis.

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