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The Reluctant Hotelkeeper: A Memoir by [John Searancke]

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John Searancke

The Reluctant Hotelkeeper: A Memoir Kindle Edition

by John Searancke (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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A rescue mission originally thought of as lasting for a year or two turned into a 35 year lifetime love affair with a beautiful old building.

There were to be battles royal with neighbours not wanting their status quo to be altered, and with the local fire authority who sought to impose draconian new safety measures.

John Searancke came to the role of hotelkeeper almost accidentally, and most definitely with much reluctance. After his parents’ marriage fell apart, he was dragooned in, at the age of 22, to pick up the pieces of their new venture, a barely-trading country house hotel that had, frankly, seen better days. Not only was it posting an annual loss, but the fabric of the building was crumbling and there was no money left to make improvements.

Over the years, and with the steepest of learning curves, the grand old building was renovated and transformed to meet the requirements of the modern discerning traveller. Accolades for the hotel and its restaurant were won; together they became a well-regarded destination for a number of celebrities – and those that deemed themselves to be celebrities but were not. Stories abound featuring idiosyncratic guests, overbearing public bodies, fractured family life and animals of all shapes and sizes. The local fire station next door was demolished one foggy night, people were frightened by flying dogs and snakes in the long grass, and there were, as befits a country house, strange goings on in the night. Many were the guests who checked in who really should not have been seen together.

This is a tribute to all the people behind the scenes who helped to make the hard-won transformation into a great success.

Print length

164 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

December 11, 2018
File size

2939 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite
The Reluctant Hotelkeeper by John Searancke is an engaging memoir that takes readers into the life of the author who ended up reluctantly being a hotelkeeper, and how his rescue mission ended up being a love affair with an old building. His parents had bought the place in the countryside to save their crumbling marriage, and the author was pulled into this venture when he was just 22. The role of a hotelkeeper is not as easy as many think because the reality of life in a hotel is very different, and the hours required to make it a success are punishing. The memoir is also a tribute to all the people who worked behind the scenes and helped in making this grand transformation a huge success.

The memoir is straightforward and honest, entertaining and insightful, and the author opens up about the difficulties he faced, and how he managed to keep his faith in long-term planning. There are a lot of interesting stories about eccentric guests, how many guests who checked in should not have been seen together at all, and how it ended up being one of the favored stops for a number of celebrities. The author goes through the entire process, speaking about transforming the hotel methodically and in detail, taking readers along with him and his experiences while getting the old building renovated to cater to the needs of a modern traveler. There is not one boring moment in this memoir and the positive narration and outlook make this memoir an encouraging and motivating read. The author's story and experiences are enriching, and the ups and downs of his life and the accolades he received for the hotel and its restaurant will encourage many readers out there to become hotelkeepers.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07LB7WLZM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Troubador Publishing (December 11, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 11, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2939 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 164 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #856,158 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #134 in Hotels & Inns Travel Reference (Kindle Store)
- #338 in Hotels & Inns Travel Reference (Books)
- #5,954 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies

Customer Reviews:
144 ratings

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John Searancke

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John Searancke is restaurant reviewer for the Tenerife newspaper Island Connections. Born in 1943 at Derby Royal Infirmary, a war baby, he lived his early life in Ashby-de la-Zouch and was sent away to be educated at Kings Mead Preparatory School, Seaford and afterwards at Rugby School. Later commissioned into the Territorial Army, he has been variously a director of a light engineering company, an hotel and restaurant owner, director and chairman of a marketing consortium, and latterly a partner with his wife in a commercial legal services company. He has enjoyed working in England and Switzerland and has homes in England and northern Tenerife, where he now lives with his wife Sally.

To learn more about John please visit his website:

www.johnsearancke.com

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

144 global ratings

5 star		53%
4 star		29%
3 star		13%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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Kindle Customer

Excellent Example of Learning As You Go

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 23, 2021

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Can Do Spirit in Action! Bravo to John for his entrepreneurial spirit and sharing the story of his beloved hotel from first day to last. I do admire a business owner with tact, discretion, willing to pitch in the unexpectedly vacant spots, welcomes animals, and not impressed by fame or money when it comes to some of the most obnoxious, or, just noxious personalities.
This is the first book I've read of John's, but certainly won't be the last.

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Valmarp

Fascinating insights that keep you glued to the page

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 24, 2019

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I really enjoyed this book very much indeed. It's a fascinating read about the the author's life as a hotel owner and manager, a career he was somewhat landed with by his parents and for which he was completely unprepared. How he kept going against huge odds makes a remarkable story of resourcefulness and, yes, courage. The fact that the hotel ended up hosting the rich, the shameless and the glamorous was all down to his hard work and determination and I developed great admiration for the author while I was reading the book. However, what made it entertaining were all the background stories and anecdotes about the various guests that they entertained. From obnoxious rock stars to a prison inmate and his wife booking a room for a quick couple of hours, there seemed to be no end to the potential for scandal and gossip at this ostensibly genteel hotel.

I loved it and I loved John Searancke's story telling style. Well-written with gentle humour, the author's affection for his staff, his dogs and his mother shine through. It's a lovely book to read at the end of the day and altogether delightful. I now want to read the author's first book about his dog!

6 people found this helpful

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LuLu

Great read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 2, 2020

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So real and honest but also heartwarming and funny. It was a great respite for me to read this and understand that life is full of trials but it’s how you deal with them that make your life worth living and those experiences worth sharing. Well done!

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Laurie

What a delightful read this is!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 11, 2019

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The author does not become a hotelkeeper because it is a dream of owning and running an hotel. It is basically thrust upon him to get this English, Queen Anne building up to snuff and running smoothly.
John takes on the task and spends 35 years building up a lovely hotel.
We get a glimpse of the hard to get along with neighbors, the pesky town council, outdated rules from the fire authority, the regulars and not so regulars that come to stay. Some so bizarre they are asked to leave.
This read has so many endearing moments I wanted to fly across the pond and holiday in the village. The Reluctant Hotelkeeper will give you plenty of smiles and a few laugh out loud moments.

6 people found this helpful

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B. Woodson

Great Fun

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 13, 2020

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For anyone who has travelled, is travelling or who will travel, this book will give you an appreciation of your host and make you glad you chose a different profession.

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Oreon S. Skinner

The Book and John Searancke Fascinating

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 10, 2019

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I won't go into the story because that is covered above in the well deserved excellent reviews. My reaction to the book: I delayed finishing the book because I did not want it to end. I'd love to have Mr. Searancke as a next door neighbor. What fun to hear more about his life. I guess I'll have to move to his island. Those who have read the book will no doubt agree the author certainly has a way with words. Thank you, John!

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fabulouschrissie

The perils of hotel keeping

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 13, 2019

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I'd read Prunes For Breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it. So my hopes were high for this book by the same author. And I wasn't disappointed. John didn't expect or plan to become a hotelkeeper. He kind of fell into it as he started to assist his parents. This is a charming and mostly humorous collection of anecdotes based around his 35 years in the hotel trade. An insightful and humorous look at the people he met, and the situations he encountered. I enjoyed it so much that I'm off to find his other book and purchase that.

4 people found this helpful

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Greg

Made me want to stay there

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 16, 2019

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There were a few very British colloquialisms that I didn't understand. But that did not stop me from enjoying a thorough romp through the English countryside, learning about the pitfalls as well as the glories of working extremely had at a project that drives one to exhaustion, challenges one's marriages, and takes years to profit from.

3 people found this helpful

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Julie Haigh

Marvellous, what a great book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 18, 2019

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What a delightful cover! On seeing that, I just couldn't resist this book. On further investigation, the contents were amazing too. There's a lovely map of the village at the front, beautiful presentation. This is a prequel to his memoir 'Dog Days in the Fortunate Islands', but it’s not necessary to have read any of his other books first, you can still enjoy this one just the same.

This was not a short-lived thing; he had been in this business for over 35 years. The book starts where they have sold their country hotel and the new owners are now in. Then he's looking back on those years in the hotel business. Also, childhood memories-school, holidays in the Isle of Man etc.

It was a fabulously fun book. And what a hoot, a fair few chucklesome passages in here! I just seemed to keep laughing at his misfortunes! Uh oh! The things that can happen in a hotel. I love 'behind the scenes' memoirs like this! A bit of celeb gossip-without naming any names..... Beautifully English expressions. Some great word choices, it seemed like so much thought has gone into this to keep it fresh and entertaining. Or I imagine that's how he talks all the time. An experienced speaker maybe? Beautifully written. A total delight.

I finished John Searancke's book in just a day and a half and it was fantastic. He is responsible for serious lack of any sort of housework by me over the weekend-I just had to keep on reading! I've read and really enjoyed both of John Searancke's previous books. I knew this would be good-but I didn't realise just how good it was going to be! It's marvellous, what a great book.

2 people found this helpful

Swizzlestick

Beyond the call of duty

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 4, 2019

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What a dutiful son!

The author takes over a dilapidated hotel, a hasty purchase by his parents in an attempt to save their failing marriage. Neither he nor they have any experience, nor have they any idea how to run a hotel.

I sensed immediately that John wasn't the sort of person to be satisfied with making a go of the hotel, but was going to make it the very best hotel it could be. There is no help from his father who leaves the story quite early on, and his vague mother doesn't contribute much either, so it's down to the author to pick up the reins.

He acquires some excellent staff, and some rather bad ones. There is a strange lady who seems to live in a cupboard. The local villagers are hostile - anybody who has moved to live in a small village in England will know that you'll never be considered a local for as long as you live, and it will take 25 years before you even become accepted, so they are obstructive to all his plans for development and improvement of the business.

John keeps his head down and moves forward with his plans, finding ways around and over all the obstacles put in his way and gradually raising the standard of the hotel until after only 35 years of hard work, it is time for him to sell and move on to a new life.

He comes across as a decent, honest and very hardworking man, who strives for perfection in all he does, doesn't suffer fools and expects high standards.

A well-written and enjoyable memoir.

One person found this helpful

Veronica Moore

5 stars from me!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 7, 2019

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The style of writing makes such a difference to the enjoyment of any book and John strikes a good balance between description, humour and sentiment. His stories of running (reluctantly) this amazing hotel housed in a listed building really do take the reader behind the scenes and expose some of the secrets not normally revealed to hotel guests. This book is so well written, I completed it in just one sitting so I'm now off to enjoy one of John's other books, Dog Days in the Fortunate Islands - again!

2 people found this helpful

Brigid P. Gallagher

A Fun Memoir

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 14, 2019

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John Searancke inherits a run down hotel that is struggling financially. Thus begins a 35 year journey full of hard work and challenges from clients, staff, hotel inspectors...
He writes with great humour and there are many laugh out loud moments throughout the book. Indeed, I was astounded at some of the antics of his guests.
Happily, the author transforms his inheritance into a fine award winning business, and deservedly reaps the financial rewards.

2 people found this helpful

Trekker Girl

Interesting and well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book is well written and easy to read, full of anecdotes on the challenges of taking over a run down hotel in a small English village. Certainly it wasn’t easy and not the author’s first choice of career. However, he stuck at it for some 35 years with great success, learning a great deal about human nature along the way. I appreciated his no-nonsense approach to the sometimes quite outrageous behaviour of some customers.
An entertaining memoir which makes me want to read more of John’s books.

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