AN Aberdeen hotel racked up almost 1000 reservations within an hour of its booking system reopening for customers.
The Chester Hotel – which will open its doors on July 8 and operate from Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm until 10pm – took 996 reservations for its Gallery Al Fresco Experience in the first hour of its booking system going live; the number of bookings rose to almost 1400 within two hours.
The outdoor dining experience – a 25-metre long outdoor marquee which caters for 70 covers under a two-metre physical distance and has a transparent roof has been constructed in the hotel’s outdoor area – has a new summer menu which features tandoori chicken, fish and skinny fries and the Chester hand-cut rump burger. The hotel has ordered a second marquee to further extend its capacity.
Measures, including a one-way system for customers and staff, staffed toilets, two-hour reservation periods and cashless payments have also been adopted by the venue.
Stephen Gow, general manager at The Chester Hotel, said: “We’ve been working hard throughout lockdown to prepare for the day when we can reopen, but I don’t think anything has prepared us for the reaction that we’ve had today. We had been considering erecting a second marquee, and it looks as if we will put a second one in place to service demand. There will be a partnership between our team and our guests to make the new way of working a success.”
