Who's Who at the Hotel

21 December 2011

Mark - Owner/Manager

51-year-old, Mark Jenkins, is the owner and manager of the Grosvenor Hotel in Torquay. Mark bought the loss-making Grosvenor back in November 2010 and has one summer to turn it around.

Mark was born in Bromley, with the leisure industry in his blood.  When he was six years old his family moved to Paignton, a seaside town in Devon near Torquay.  His dad was an entertainer, who in the late 40s and early 50s worked the circuit with the likes of Morecambe and Wise. Later on his parents ran a small hotel. In the height of the summer season, Mark and his brother would often have to sleep in the garden shed, to make room for paying guests.

Mark developed a strong work ethic from an unusually young age.  At 12 he was a kitchen porter working 60 hours a week in a local cafe, where he could be found operating the dishwasher.  He claims that by 14, he had racked up his first 100-hour week and hasn't stopped since.  Over the years, Mark has set up and run a string of businesses, making and losing a fortune along the way; from a painting and decorating company called 'Van Gogh' to a fish 'n' chip shop in Blackpool, famed for its twice-battered, 18-inch 'Monster Fish'.

Part businessman, part showman, Mark describes himself as a cross between JR Ewing from Dallas, Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses and Arthur Daley from Minder:

"If people say what's my profession, I would probably say I'm a sales person... who perhaps should have been an entertainer."

Mark's business philosophy at the Grosvenor is to stack ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap.  Most of the year the hotel is full of coach tours on bargain basement package deals.  His aim is to give his guests the kind of memorable holiday experiences he enjoyed as a child, which he describes as "a cross between a cruise ship and a holiday camp".  Daily entertainment at the hotel includes bingo, inflatable dolphin racing, karaoke and party night - featuring the balloon game ‘Who's got the biggest?'

"What makes a good holiday is when you do things you wouldn't normally do. I remember I once went on a holiday somewhere and I ended up riding a camel. I didn't go on holiday to ride on a camel, but I ended up riding a camel, and it's something I'll always remember.  I haven't got any camels, but at least I can try and do something else that they'll remember."

Mark is a perfectionist who doesn't suffer fools gladly.   His staff at the Grosvenor rarely meet his high expectations, and Mark is the first to admit he is prone to a little micro-managing.  He boasts of having done every single job in the hotel.

"If I had my way, I would actually clone myself into every job in the entire hotel and I would only employ myself.  I would be much happier if I could do that!"

Members of staff who don't measure up to Mark's high standards run the risk of being put into his infamous ‘relegation zone' and according to Mark, what ever the Guests want  "the answer is always yes AND DO IT NOW." 

Mark is divorced and currently lives alone in one of his own hotel rooms.