The last five years have seen the hotel breathe new life into one of the city’s iconic buildings, win awards and overcome a global pandemic and we couldn’t have done it without your support.
We sat down with Hotel Indigo Durham’s GM Tom Orange, who discussed the challenges he and the hotel have faced over the last 5 years and what he sees as the hotel’s biggest achievement since opening.
Q | Over the last 5 years, hospitality including hotel Indigo Durham has seen some uncertain times, what has been the biggest challenge throughout the previous 5 years.?
“We faced one of the biggest challenges to ever hit hospitality. The hotel had one aim, to survive. Survival on all levels from the closure of the hotel, to managing furlough and then reopening with a lot of anxiety and unknowns as the world started to get back to normality after 13 long months.”
Q | As the hotel reaches its 5th birthday, what has been your stand-out moment from your time here?
“The hotel’s key achievement during that time was that we retained every employee throughout the lockdown which made our reopening easier. The stand-out moment from me was winning the Large Hotel of the Year for North East Tourism awards and a Silver award for Visit England in 2022. A reward for all the hard work the hotel’s dedicated team put in to get the hotel open and back to being one of the best in the city”.
Q |The hotel has seen great success since opening, how do you make the next 5 years as successful or even better?
“Looking forward we want to maintain the service and product, that our guests love, continue to build awareness of our facilities as well as keep the momentum of attracting and retaining the best staff in the industry. Helping to improve all aspects of our guest’s journey from check-in to check-out. It’s all about the people! Achieve that and the business will continue to flourish! “
‘Tom Orange, GM Hotel Indigo Durham
