I’m Anne Durnall and I’m the Deputy MD and the Company Secretary.  Today I’ve been asked by the board to speak about “Managing the Crisis”.  And of course, that’s the COVID crisis. 

As some of you may know, Nick Lancaster left Langdale as MD at the end of February this year and I was asked to “stand in” and become Acting MD for a month or so whilst a new MD could be recruited.   I agreed – willingly - thinking I would just be steadying the ship for a short time.  There was no way I could have anticipated what was around the corner and that I would be managing Langdale through a global pandemic.  Nothing can prepare you for that.  And of course we are probably about to start that once again . . .

When I took over at the beginning of March, we were already dealing with the coronavirus, holding daily meetings, tracking its’ progress and being glued to what was happening across the world.  All made easier by the amazing team I work with, Sarah Spencer, Dan Visser, Linda Turner and Ian Murray.  I could not have asked for more – they were unfailingly determined, supportive and resilient. 

On 21st March your board made the decision to close down all operations as from Monday 23rd March and the Owners Club made the same decision very soon afterwards.  As it happened the entire country went into lock down on 23^rd March so we were very fortunate to have had that decision made in advance. 

Within 48 hours both Langdale and Brimstone Hotels, Stove, Wainwrights and the Spa together all timeshare units were put into hibernation.   It was a monumental amount of work but the team, without exception were totally focussed on the task.  It was a strange time – we all instinctively knew that what we were experiencing was something unheard of, it was exceptional - yes - unprecedented.    But there was a common togetherness, the work of closing down completed without rancour or complaint. 

We made the estate safe, tidy and secure. We then said goodbye to 234 members of staff who were given furlough leave.  It was emotional.  There were offers to work for nothing, people going above and beyond in so many ways.  There were tears. 

We were then left with a core team of 9 people working – we needed 9 in order to man the Estate for security, safety, answering the many calls, and to ensure that the 46 members of live in staff were also looked after and managed.   The 9 did most everything on site; regularly inspecting all lodges, hotel rooms and public areas, complying with the fire regulation requirements on site, 24 hour cover (including overnight), keeping an eye on live in staff (who actually behaved exceptionally well over lockdown) and then talking endlessly to owners and guests much like a public information service. 

I spent a lot of time reading every government update for the latest guidelines, watching every press conference, every news feed on social media, and gathering every industry guidance that was available in an effort to manage our way through the crisis.  And it looks like I’ll be doing the same again this week.

By the end of May, the country seemed to have passed the peak with infection numbers going down.  We were starting to get to grips with understanding what a post-COVID Langdale would look like and had also started to plan for re-opening although of course this was based upon our best guess as to how we would be allowed to open.  Our predictions were pretty accurate as it turned out and so when we were allowed to re-open on 4 July we’d already run a number of scenarios, sourced appropriate stock of PPE and additional kit, and were well prepared.  We based our re-opening plans on what the guest journey would be like – we imagined standing in your shoes and asked ourselves what it would be like for you - our owners and guests. 

During the period of lockdown we made the best use of the furlough scheme but eventually started to bring people back when we needed them to.  As for our staff - we wrote to them, telephoned them, text and zoomed – we held live Facebook meetings and kept everyone informed as best we could.  A special thank you to Kelly Hodkinson for organising all of that.  On behalf of the staff here at Langdale I want to thank you all for the support in keeping all our employees in employment and for the additional support provided early on, in addition to the furlough payments.  The staff are hugely grateful to the company for having a job to return to and continuing to be in work – it means so much to so many people that Langdale is supporting so many families within our community. 

Our person-centred approach to people has again, paid off and I believe will continue to help us in the future.  Despite the challenges of returning to work after a lengthy period of furlough, anxieties around changes to working practices and very understandable COVID concerns, it’s been inspiring and uplifting to have experienced our people returning to work.

On reflection and when I was asked to present this – I can see that managing the crisis has been both light and dark – so many moments of gratitude, compassion and kindness alongside times of fear, trepidation and stress so it reminds me of these words – courtesy of Charles Dickens.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.

I was asked to talk about Managing the Crisis and the fact is we had no time to construct a strategy to “manage” it – we had no theory, textbook or how to guide but what we were able to do was be true to our values.  We were consistent in our messaging to guests and staff, we were honest about what we knew but also honest about what we didn’t know.  We acknowledged the vast and real uncertainty and anxiety that people felt both inside and outside the organisation.  We were able to do those things, I believe, because they are embedded beliefs and behaviours within the Langdale culture – we know why Langdale exists, how it treats its people and how it does business and so those decisions about how to manage the crisis were made easier because of what already exists and what I hope will continue to exist. 

So, those beliefs and values will be tested once more in the weeks ahead but your company is in a good position – you have great people working for you with a shared sense of purpose and commitment – so having bounced back once (as we have in the last 3 months) there is no reason to think that we can’t do the same again.

Thank you