Executive Magazine talks rural business at the Boat Inn and Restaurant
Pictures by: Sherie Beazley
This month’s business lunch took us to Boat of Garten, for a tranquil setting at the Boat Country Inn and Restaurant.
With the leaves of the trees all changing colour, and clear blue skies it was a perfect day to get away from the office. Inside the Boat Inn, log fires were burning providing a welcome warmth from the nippy October air.
The hotel looks onto the Strathspey Railway, so for the avid trainspotter it is a great place to watch the steam train rolling past.
Darrel and myself were greeted by the wonderful staff, Ean Scott and general manager, Magda Mazurkiewicz who soon got us coffees and gave us a look around the place.
It has been a busy summer at the Boat Inn, and Magda tells me that they are now looking forward to their winter plans, with a special offer for both guests and locals.
Magda has worked at the Boat Inn for five years, and is the mother hen to her staff, making sure that they are all looked after and feel supported.
I asked Magda how she would describe the Boat Inn, to which she smiled, and replied: “A great atmosphere, amazing food, fabulous service, and tranquillity.
“We find people can relax here, and find rest. After Covid a lot of people faced loss, and they found some space here to rejuvenate and be looked after. We’ve also made it dog friendly, so the whole family can come along.”
She is now hoping to offer a similar experience for others, with an affordable winter offer coming in place during November and December.
“Our winter deal will offer discounted rates on rooms, with different surprises on the length people stay,” she explained.
“The longer people stay, the cheaper it works out. I want to make it accessible for people to have holidays at the moment.”
Open all day for food, including breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner, the Boat Inn is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat. Meat is locally sourced from the farm along the road.
Magda is kindly offering a pensioner discount on tea and coffee so locals can heat up and save on their electricity bills.
Our waiter for the lunch was Ean who has worked in hospitality all his life.
He said: “I thought I was going to do maths, or be a teacher, but I started in hospitality when I was a teenager and fell in love with it.
“I was put on earth to make people happy, so that’s what I do.”
As each of our guests this month run a business in the rural Highlands, our discussion focused on the benefits and challenges of this.
Kicking off the conversation, Jennifer MacDonald-Nethercott, managing director of Strath Communications, said: “I find it really rewarding. It allows me to live and work in an area I love, and a place I call home.
“There are challenges, but I have brilliant connectivity at my house. I can work internationally and have helped clients as far as Brazil, all the while being at home.
“I like the community aspect of a rural business, as you build up different relationships.
“Relationships are really important in the Highlands, and most of my business has come from that.”
“But its also important to have face-to-face meetings, as people need that connection.”
Karen Martin, an enterprise facilitator for GrowBiz, added: “Covid has brought that out in people, people see the value in connection.
“GrowBiz now offer blended sessions, as rural people haven’t had to travel afar for sessions.
“We now want to give an opportunity for people who want to meet face to face, and for those that can’t.
“People are now trying to cut the cost of travel, and we want to give them the opportunity to meet others.
Clare Humphreys, owner of Will-to-Win said: “Building a coaching business living in a village may sound ludicrous, but its about building relationships.
“You can be in a city, and think you have lots of opportunity but that’s not necessarily true.
“Blended options are great.”
Magda said: “Running a restaurant is tough just now. We lost revenue during Covid, but Brexit has had a big impact on us being able to get staff.
“We have to get people from Inverness as we don’t have enough accommodation here. This then means we have to cover expenses for fuel, and pay more per hour.”
“Costs have also gone up on everything, so this then means we have to put our menu prices up to cover the difference.”
Karen replied: “I have a self-catering bothy, and we were reliant on the international market in coming to stay.
“They are starting to come back, but it has been tough.
“Those in the tourist industry have had to adapt their business models to attract a UK market which has been hard.”
The discussion then turned to the lack of housing stock available in rural areas, which in turn is having an impact on recruitment for businesses across all sectors.
Our guests had a couple of ideas as to how the issue could be tackled.
Karen said: “There is a property in Grantown up for £90,000, and someone buying that as a first-time buyer would be able to get a mortgage for that.
“But to secure that they have to offer £120,000 or £110,000 as houses are going for at least 20 per cent over.
“People need to have cash in their pocket.
“I know people who have second homes who are no longer going to rent them out, due to the new self-catering legislation. This means less money is going to be spent in the local economy.”
Jennifer said: “What frustrates me is that this is not a new problem.
“When I went to buy a house, I couldn’t afford to get it as people were offering to pay much more.
“This problem has been going on for over 20 years, so I don’t know how we are going to solve it.”
Talking about a solution, Karen said: “With my community hat on, we wondered if a group of people could buy an empty property, and then rent it out as affordable accommodation for rural staff that are needed for the area.
“There is a big push for community ownership, but there is a community volunteer fatigue. It’s the same people volunteering all the time – so I don’t know what the answer is.”
Jennifer said: “There was a dentist trying to move to Grantown from Mull, and they said if they couldn’t find a property they wouldn’t be able to move.
“This is then having an impact on the services for communities.”
Marta added: “Maybe it should be a law in rural areas, that homes must be occupied a certain period of the year.
“I see mum’s here that don’t have a place to stay as there are just no homes.
“Most of the houses here stay empty. Our staff don’t have anywhere to stay, and can’t rent out these homes, as there are certain periods they can rent for.”
Clare said: “It should be a basic right for everyone to have a roof over their head –we are all entitled to that.”
Karen said: “Who could blame someone for wanting a second home in such a beautiful area? But it is having an impact on local communities.
“Rules and regulations for the housing sector need to be looked at to be able to release some of these properties.”
The Boat Country Inn & Restaurant
Deshar Road,
Boat of Garten,
Near Aviemore
PH24 3BH
E: info@boathotel.co.uk
T: 0333 254 6398
