‘Unexpected’ hotelier journalist discovers historical links
When entrepreneur and journalist David Boddy purchased a run-down country house hotel to support members of his family, he had no idea he was in fact following a line of ancestors who had managed and worked in properties in the hospitality sector.
The New Zealander had sold his London-based international marketing company and was looking for other UK investment opportunities.
“My wife’s family members were managing B&Bs in the Brighton area but wanted to upgrade. We found a very sad looking Northcote Manor Hotel in North Devon which needed lots of TLC. I don’t really know why, but as soon as I saw the place with its long sweeping drive, I fell in love with it. The connection with hospitality seemed strangely close and familiar,” he said.
Today, 25 years later, courtesy of an ancestry site, he has discovered a possible reason: both his Great Grandfather and Grandfather were hoteliers and publicans in London.
Great Grandfather Boddy managed the Richmond Railway Hotel in Surrey in the 1890s, and Grandfather Boddy was a publican in Leytonstone in the East End in the early 1900s.
“It was my grandfather who abandoned his pub and became a chef on one of the steamers carrying the £10-Poms, as they were called, emigrating to the far end of the world. On board was the Chelsea milkman’s daughter. They fell in love, he jumped ship and the story of the New Zealand clan unfolded from there,” said David.
Even more extraordinary is that David is now resident in the Richmond area, passing the Railway Tavern (as it’s now called) almost on a daily basis.
“I had no clue about the family connection until it popped up on Ancestry. When I found out I went to the Railway Tavern, introduced myself and was shown maps of the property of when great-grandfather was there. The current manager, who lives on site, says he is probably sleeping in my ancestor’s bedroom,” David commented.
After purchasing Northcote Manor Hotel, David invested heavily in a total refurb, after which it began to win a series of awards, including the Johansen’s Country House Hotel of the Year. He hired a professional manager and chef and secured two red rosettes for culinary excellence.
His business philosophy has always involved supporting the local community, a strategy he said which saved the hotel through many difficult periods, especially the foot and mouth crisis of 2001. He said:
“ The purchase of Northcote Manor was more on gut instinct than rational thinking or spreadsheets. I just wanted to do it. And I loved it. But I knew squat about REVPAR or stuff like that. The only thing I really knew was that if you could deliver excellent customer service and care, people would keep returning. And they did. When I finally sold the hotel seven years later, we had 90%+ occupancy across the year, including the winter months. It turned out to be a great investment – which surprised everyone, especially the bankers!”
David was an award-winning journalist in his native New Zealand, and although he has had a series of business ventures he has always maintained his gift for editorial storytelling. He has now been commissioned by an international magazine to write a series of feature articles on distinctive UK boutique hotels.
“There’s nothing like a genuinely warm, host-led, hospitality stay,” he says. “The value of our hoteliers to the UK economy is far more than just the revenue generated. The soft-power arising from the way we look after our international guests should never be ignored or under-estimated. I would like the Government to do more than just mouth platitudes in support of the whole hospitality sector,” he said.
Fate and DNA may have brought David directly into the hospitality sector but he hopes his writing about UK boutique hotels will enable him to provide support to the community which gave him one of the best experiences of his working life.
Owners of boutique hotels in the UK are invited to get in touch with David at dj.boddy@gmail.com for their establishment to be considered for inclusion in his forthcoming articles.