Crerar Hotels gives staff £1,000 Christmas bonus as tips fund tops £1 million

By Simon Warburton

December 16 2022, 11:45 am

Crerar Hotels has seven properties in its portfolio, including The Glencoe Inn, above, in Lochaber. Image: Crerar Hotels

A Scottish hotel group has reached more than £1 million in its staff top-up scheme this month as part of a scheme designed to help workers earn more.

Crerar Hotels is boosting salaries by an average of £1,000 during December as part of its Fair Fund initiative to improve employee wages every quarter.

The group – boasting seven hotels and inns across Scotland – reached the £1m-plus milestone via the fund, which is made up of discretionary guest contributions.

Crerar introduced an optional 10% service charge at each of its properties in October last year.

The Fair Fund is paid to more than 200 employees across all departments on an equal basis. Payments have been made quarterly since October 2021.

Some staff will see wages topped up by £2,000

Hotel team members earn around £1,000 on top of their wages, with their Fair Fund payment being proportionate to the number of hours worked during the previous three months.

For some, this has amounted to a £2,000 top-up for three months of service.

Crerar chief executive Chris Wayne-Wills said: “The amount raised by the Fair Fund is directly related to the guest experience at our hotels and inns, and 100% of the amount raised in this way goes directly back to our teams.

“All our team members work hard to deliver authentic Scottish hospitality, so we wanted to give guests a simple way to reward this in a way that would result in a completely fair, transparent structure.

Chris Wayne-Wills, chief executive, Crerar Hotels. Image: tigerbond

“The Fair Fund ensures staff receive a pay-out which is equivalent to the hours they work and means those working behind the scenes are also equally rewarded for their efforts.”

Founded by Paddy Crerar, the group’s collection of seven four and- five-star properties includes five luxury properties and two inns.

The portfolio includes Loch Fyne Hotel & Spa, Thainstone House, Oban Bay Hotel, Isle of Mull Hotel & Spa, the Golf View, in Nairn, and Balmoral Arms.

The Crerar Trust which is chaired by Mr Crerar ensures more than half the group’s distributable profits are gifted annually to local causes throughout Scotland.