The luxury art deco Burgh Island Hotel, situated on a private island off the coast of South Devon, has announced its purchase of Korniloff care home. Through a £500,000 investment, Korniloff will be transformed into some of the best staff accommodation in the UK, complete with large gardens, sea views and ample space for relaxation including a gym.
Korniloff will take six months to complete and will provide 22 high end ensuite double bedrooms when finished. The provision of such quality staff accommodation will ensure that Burgh continues to attract and keep the best staff; bucking the trend of some hospitality venues, which find it hard to find staff.
At the height of summer, when over six million tourists flock to Devon's magnificent coast, Burgh employs almost 100 members of staff to run, maintain and deliver its first-class service to guests throughout the hotel. In return the Burgh's owners want to make sure that the staff have equally great accommodation to look after their wellbeing and happiness.
With only 16 staff bedrooms currently on the island and, given its remote location where access is controlled by the tide, it's important that staff can live nearby. House prices in South Hams have bucked current economic trends and remain expensive despite a drop in prices nationwide.
In 2022, amongst the 29 local authorities in the Southwest, South Hams recorded the highest property price rise, increasing by an average of 24.3%. Average house prices are now over £400,000 as the area becomes a popular destination for second homes and summer holidays.
Rents too are rising at the highest rate for decades across the UK. Earlier this year, the median monthly rent in England was £795 - higher than at any other point in history, according to the Office for National Statistics. Although rent rises have now started to moderate, they are still unaffordably high.
Burgh's purchase of Korniloff is a move to shield employees from rising house prices and increasingly unaffordable rents, allowing them to focus on their roles at the hotel and progress their careers.
This is not the first project Burgh has undertaken to provide staff with accommodation. In 2018 as the hotel expanded, Burgh bought Warren Cottage in Bigbury-on-Sea to help staff who were based further away from the island. As business continued to grow, often fully booked, it was clear that additional staff accommodation was needed.
Burgh had been interested in buying Korniloff for the past few years, but it only recently became available. Korniloff was originally built as a hotel in the early part of the last century and the intention is to give staff living quarters that match those on the island.
Giles Fuchs, owner of Burgh Island Hotel, said: "Since I bought the hotel, we have always tried to provide suitable accommodation for our staff, which is challenging given its location on a tidal island, so I am delighted to announce the purchase of Korniloff. Once renovated it will allow us to provide our hard-working and highly valued staff with a very high standard of accommodation. Our success over the past few years would not have been possible without them so it is very much deserved.
"South Hams is very expensive both in terms of rent and house prices, which makes it difficult for people to pursue a career in hospitality at the Burgh Island Hotel. Through providing quality accommodation, we hope to attract and retain the best hospitality talent to help give them a good quality of life and ensure that our guest enjoy the best experience while staying with us."
