A Perth councillor is attempting to pin down a hotel boss on the future of 23 jobs.
There are fears they could be under threat in the wake of the recent purchase of two Perth hotels by Travelodge.
The Innkeeper’s Lodges, based at the Isle of Skye Hotel in Dundee Road, and the Glover Arms in Crieff Road were among 52 that changed hands earlier this month, when they joined Travelodge as part of the biggest transaction in the hotel sector for some years.
Bosses have pledged they “will seek to retain all 430 staff from Mitchells & Butlers (from whom the firm has purchased the hotel leases) and will look to recruit a further 115 positions.”
However, it is understood 23 staff within the reservations office at the Isle of Skye Hotel may not be covered by that pledge.
Councillor Alexander Stewart has written to the executive chairman of Travelodge Hotels, Grant Hearn to clarify the position of the 23 workers.
A spokesman for Innkeeper’s Lodge said, “We have fully briefed and engaged our employees throughout the process of the sale and have now entered into a period of consultation with the central reservations team. We will use this period to consider all of the available options as we progress with the migration of the hotels to Travelodge.
“It would be unfair to our employees to comment in any further detail prior to the conclusion of the consultation. In the meantime, it is business as usual for the team, who will be continuing to take reservations on behalf of the existing collection of hotels.”
Perth has already faced a number of crippling job cuts in recent months. In May, respected printing firm Woods of Perth went into administration, with the news 57 of 71 posts had been cut days later.
This was followed by the announcement that Clachan Construction had been placed in receivership with the likely loss of 150 jobs.
Staff at photographic retailer Jessops were also left out of work following the sudden closure of the shop’s branch in Perth High Street.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user europealacarte.