Comparison with Basil Fawlty a ‘compliment’, says hotelier
Being compared to Basil Fawlty is a compliment, a hotelier who was convicted over his “dump guest house” has said.
John Dixon Hart, 60, was convicted of six offences in relation to his guest house near Beverley Minster in east Yorkshire, which he claimed was four-star accommodation.
He tore into customers like the character played by John Cleese in the 1970s sitcom when they complained of “shabby, awful and unclean rooms”, a court heard.
Speaking after being spared jail for using misleading photos to advertise Minster Garth, he said he found the Fawlty comparison “a compliment because I think he’s a wonderful, hilarious man”.
“But I don’t try to emulate him. I’m my own person, obviously. I can only hold my hands up and apologise in general.”
Hull Crown Court heard how he claimed the hotel had a four-star rating and used slick pictures on Expedia and Booking.com that bore no relation to its facilities.
One complainant said they had found bloodstained sheets, mouse droppings in a drawer, missing bathroom tiles and mouldy shower curtains.
Hart was handed a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting six charges relating to misleading commercial practices last week.
Judge Mark Bury said he had chosen not to send him to prison so he could have another chance of running his hotel “not like Basil Fawlty would”.
Mr Hart said: “I think the complainant in the case – although they have their valid reasons for putting in the complaint – they are not at all indicative of the general standards of the guest house.
“It’s true, I should have been more on top of things, but with my own personal problems as well, I didn’t do what I ought to have been doing.
“But intrinsically, I’m a decent and honest person and I don’t rip people off. And if someone turns up and they’ve genuinely got a problem, I’ll refund their money.”
East Riding Council had launched an investigation into Minster Garth during a nine-month period between 2021 and 2022, the court was told.
During this time, a number of guests who stayed at the residence complained both about the state of the rooms and Hart’s conduct towards them.
The court heard how the B&B was described during this period as “tatty and rundown”, “shabby” and “an absolute dump”, with unkempt grounds and poor security.
Guests also found issues with the cleanliness of the room and said Hart was “extremely unwelcoming” towards them – branding one a “sponger”.
An investigating council officer who later found the false adverts told the court that even a one-star rating would have ‘flattered’ the establishment.
Speaking about the court revelations, Hart said he had not always kept track of where he had advertised the hotel and felt some of the reviews were unfair.
He said: “When it’s just me running the place and doing all the repairs every day, it’s difficult to find the time to go and search where you’ve got published information and make changes to it to try and properly reflect what you are actually selling.
“Occasionally, there’s been reviews by people who I don’t recognise and I don’t even believe they have stayed.
“People exaggerate stories about me on social media… And once you’ve got that exaggerated stuff out there, the rumours and the gossip spread.”
‘Everything starts from my arrogant attitude’
Hart also admitted that mice droppings may have been found in a draw in one of his guestrooms, but said it was normal to find such rodents in old properties.
He added: “The judge mentioned mouse droppings at the bottom of a draw. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t wise, but I said, ‘Probably, your honour, if you go home, you’ll find mouse droppings in your own draw’.
“It’s not absolutely impossible to find the odd mice around. There’s mice in probably every house in this country.”
Hart said he hoped to turn the fortunes of the hotel around in the future and was implementing new measures to improve its quality.
He said: “I guess my inspection routine should be more stringent and will be more stringent. But it’s a 24/7 job… Certainly, everything starts from my arrogant attitude.
“If you are polite to people and friendly and kind and you listen to what they are saying and respond to it, these problems would never have arisen.
“If someone’s got an issue with things, I realise now that I have to take it on board and apologise and accept that it’s not as ideal as they might have dreamed it would be.”
