Tourism & Hospitality

Frogmore Paper Mill

Gearing up for a bright future

As tourism in Hertfordshire makes a comeback after a damaging time in the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels, restaurants and other local attractions are gearing up for a bumper festive season. Preparations for the Christmas rush have already begun and there’s hope that the expected boost in business in December will be sustained throughout next year.

One local firm that’s looking to the future with optimism is Fairview Hotels, which runs three hotels in Hertfordshire: Ibis Stevenage, Novotel Stevenage and the Mercure Letchworth Hall Hotel in Letchworth Garden City. All three have a distinctly unique offering and are part of Fairview’s stable of 13 hotels across the UK.

Letchworth Hall has 87 comfortable bedrooms and suites and is set in eight acres of pretty landscaped gardens overlooking Letchworth Golf Club. The Novotel in Stevenage is a modern four-star hotel with 102 spacious bedrooms, ideally located next to the prestigious Knebworth House estate. Meanwhile, Ibis Stevenage is conveniently located in the centre of Stevenage, just a five-minute drive from the historic Knebworth Park, a five-minute walk from Stevenage train station and a short 15-mile drive to Luton Airport. Modern and relaxing, it has 98 fully equipped rooms and its connection to The Forum Conference and Banqueting Suites makes it an ideal venue for conferences, weddings and social events.

Geraldine Mullins, Director of Commercial for Fairview Hotels, says: “All three of our Hertfordshire hotels have a fantastic offering for the corporate customer. For instance, we have banqueting facilities for up to 600 people in the Ibis and these are sometimes underused because a lot of people might not be aware of them. We can cater for awards dinners, corporate events, weddings, parties and themed corporate away days. “The Ibis is opposite the train station in the town centre so we’re well connected to London and main arterial routes. Most of our corporate guests are from Europe so trade naturally dipped during the pandemic but it’s just starting to increase now. We’re confident that travel will pick up as more countries progress their COVID vaccination programmes.” Fairview has made efforts to build partnerships with culture and tourism destination operators in a bid to bring more people into Hertfordshire. Geraldine says: “We’ve invested in partnerships with other companies both domestically and overseas and this has helped us to boost revenues and trade. For example, due to our partnership with a company in the Netherlands, we have regular groups of customers from this country who come over to Hertfordshire, which has brought a boost to our leisure trade. “During the pandemic we’ve also worked with Hertfordshire-based NHS trusts and local councils to support NHS staff. For example, doctors and nurses from the nearby Lister hospital have stayed at the Novotel Stevenage for a nominal fee, which covers our basic cleaning cost. We did this because we wanted to recognise the brilliant work that our frontline staff have carried out during the pandemic to support the general public and keep people safe. “We’ve also worked with councils to provide accommodation for the vulnerable. We have good relationships with ambulance services and local charities too.” Another organisation with deep roots in the local community is the Frogmore Paper Mill, which celebrates the huge contribution that paper has played in shaping the world in which we live today. The mill is operated by the Apsley Paper Trail, a charitable trust founded to conserve the unique industrial heritage of this site in Hemel Hempstead. Frogmore is still a working paper mill but is also a multi-use visitor, education and community use centre. Following the easing of COVID restrictions, the mill was able to open in July. Sue Woolnough at Frogmore says every effort has been made to make a visit to the mill as safe as possible. She says: “While restrictions have relaxed, we’re still operating safe distancing and keeping tour groups as small as we can. On our Thursday and first Sunday in the month drop-in tour days, if numbers swell, we add another tour guide at a staggered start time. We have hand sanitisers freely available and operate a one-way system. “The paper heritage we represent is based in the villages of the Gade Valley. Apsley and Nash Mills were forever changed by the invention of not only the first mechanised paper machine in the world (Fourdrinier conveyor method in 1803 at Frogmore Mill) but also the second (Cylinder Mould Machine of 1809, at Apsley Mill), an invention by John Dickinson. These small villages gave the world machine-made paper. Our local community is important to us.” The offer at Frogmore is broad, to say the least. Not only is it a living museum and visitor centre, with a focus on heritage and education, it also offers conferencing space, office units for rent to small businesses, location hire for film and photography, host performances and events. Whilst Frogmore still makes unique papers for the creative industries and print, it also hosts paper industry training and teambuilding days. Sue says: “Marketing is always hard for a small charity but there’s a noticeable growth in awareness of our existence. We pride ourselves on being friendly and word of mouth is by far the best marketing tool. We use social media as well as local and specialist publications to promote what we do. We’ve recently become Art Fund-registered, which associates us with national museums and galleries and provides our online ticketing.” The Apsley Paper Trail Trust was established to preserve paper heritage and educate people about the importance of the industry. “We educate on every level,” says Sue. “We offer curriculum-linked workshops for everyone from four-year-old children to postgraduates. This includes experience of hand-making paper and a tour of the mill. One of the few working industrial sites open to visitors, we exude Victorian working life and educate people about the versatility of paper and its sustainable credentials. We cover everything from Braille and printing to science and history. Paper is a very topical and relevant subject, especially for young people.”

Marketing is always hard for a small charity but there’s a noticeable growth in awareness of our existence. We pride ourselves on being friendly and word of mouth is by far the best marketing tool. We use social media as well as local and specialist publications to promote what we do.