TODAY. 25 YEARS AS THE HOTEL MANAGER!

It isn't often I use the word 'I', because when working in Hospitality it's usually always about 'We' ...

Today however, I can make an exception ...

It was a beautiful morning back on 31st October 1992. I rode a black BMW K1100RT over The Forth Bridge, and into The Kingdom of Fife. Approximately 22 minutes later, I rode into Balbirnie’s Courtyard! Balbirnie's new general manager had arrived. I was 25 years old. 

I was met in the courtyard that day by hotel porter Michael Costello, former station master of Markinch train station, a most kind and gentlemanly guy. 

Michael said, ‘Sir, I welcome you to Balbirnie!’

To which I replied, ‘Michael, please don’t ever call me Sir again, my name is Nicholas’.

And that’s how we started!

As you can see from this original 1990's press image, I have hardly changed in 25 years. 

And I still feel literally, like I am 25 years old. 

Like Balbirnie House, we are only ever as old as we think we are! 

Original postcards: 

Starting at Balbirnie October 1992, we had 55 in the brigade. 
Within 2 weeks, the number was down to 35. 
And then we started building. 
Month on month, and for years to come, we steadily increased turnover. 

1994 saw Balbirnie receive: 
Scotland on Sunday 'Word of Mouth' National Restaurant of the Year

1996 saw Balbirnie receive: 
Macallan / Taste of Scotland Hotel of the Year, for Scotland. 

I have so many memories across the span of my first 500 Saturday nights working taking guest dinner orders. Those dynamics shifted as a necessity however, when we added our Millennium Ballroom in 1999, as I quickly realised the brigade size was doubling, and I needed to align and deploy my own resources into the aspect of meeting new clients. That aspect was to become the loveliest part of the working week, which remains the case today. 

I remember looking at the management accounts before I started in 1992, and thinking 'if I can achieve £900,000 through the tills, we'll probably be fine'. 
Within 9 years we were heading £3,600,000 - in that process creating the continuing ability to prioritise and reinvest back into the Grade A Listed National Treasure. That challenge remains no easier today. 

In 1992 we had 1 typewriter, and 1 PC. And no mobile phones or email!
Issuing 2,500 hard copies of a newsletter, was a very significant task.

Today, we have 12 workstations behind-the-scenes, and multiple tablet devices.
And ability to speak directly with 25,000 individuals via an ongoing organically-accumulated social media. 

2000's press image via Lifetime Photography: 

A quarter century of serving the communities (a) working inside Balbirnie House, and (b) through local community, I can certainly say ‘it really has been the honour of a lifetime’.

2014. Scottish Hotel Awards, awarded 'The Fellowship'. 

Out-of-the-blue, as you can probably tell from my expression of combined pride and absolute astonishment!

Fast forward. The happiest hotel manager in Scotland. After years and years of pushing and always doing our absolute best to progress, the brigade has just won the award for '2016 National Hotel of the Year'. 

(That day had started at 6am. I participated in the Etape Inverness bike ride, then straight back to Balbirnie, and on to the magic bus heading to Scotland's annual hotel Oscars.) Photo taken on the dance floor circa midnight. Without being aided by any Red Bull. 

So here we are today. 31st October 2017. 25 years onwards from a beginning. 

It all kind of makes me wonder what we'll all be doing in another 25 years time. What changes will Hospitality see in the years to come? For sure, continued change, and always seeking to adapt to the future, is an absolute necessity for survival. 

Back at my desk this morning, albeit with 3 incredible new Haute Grandeur global awards, collected last week in Thailand. 'Europe's Best Destination Wedding Hotel' is open for business. 

So, what's next today? Well, preparing for our usual 'last Tuesday of the month' meetings today, 12 noon - 4pm - and simply thinking as always that we must all pull together and work cleverly to do all we can to ensure the next quarter century brings continued success. 

Over all these years, I've had the opportunity to work alongside many individuals who have been amazing in Hospitality. Many of Balbirnie's brigade have gone on to achieve great success elsewhere, that's always great to see. Countless couples have also met working at Balbirnie, and even begun married life here at Balbirnie, as we say - an accumulating History of Memories Made of This. 

When employing the sons and daughters of 17 and 18 year olds who I myself employed 25 years ago? Well, that's quite something! 

It's fair to say that the brigade's previous success and all that has been achieved at Balbirnie, has been driven by one main thing - hard work. Onwards we go, the future is always there to be created. 

These signs are on all of our outgoing service doors:

All best wishes,

Nicholas Russell / hotel manager/ Balbirnie House (1992 – 2017)

And a very special thanks to all who I have served beside, as company directors. My father, the late Alan Russell. My mother Elizabeth, sister Rosemary, brother-in-law Wolfgang, and my very lovely wife Gaynor. 25 years gone past, in a blur of organised chaos

A PROJECT OF A LIFETIME

Dedicated today, to the people who made it happen.

Tomorrow morning we will be extending Balbirnie's traditional warmth of welcome, to Gordon McIntyre-Kemp, Founder and CE of Business for Scotland. Gordon has very kindly agreed to cut the ribbon. 

Balbirnie’s 2017 Project of the Year!

We have very purposefully decided to open our new Drawing Room, tomorrow, on Friday 13^th October.

We could have chosen any date, allow us to explain:

NUMBER 13

The Number 13 is a karmic number and is the number of upheaval so that new ground can be broken. The number 13 has great power. Adapting to change gracefully, will bring out the strength of the 13 vibration.

Our 2017 project of the year is certainly new ground for Balbirnie. ‘Wildflowers, Balbirnie’, is the single most special item ever introduced to the house.

And that’s stated, since the year 1777. 

(Main oil painting images will add after we open!)

13 reflects tradition, hard work and organisation.

And that’s certainly what we all do at Balbirnie House! 

(Archie Forrest with daughter Maya, January 2014)

The 13 vibration is associated with genius, trials and testing.

This is relevant in tribute specifically to all those who have helped us, from across the span of interior design, trades and crafts. Our sincere thanks to everyone who has helped. Osborne Heath, Bute Fabrics, Brintons Carpets, Charlotte James Furniture, Brilliant Lighting. And a very special thanks to our in-house crew of Andy, Duncan, and Craig. 

Aspects 'born' on the 13th, at outset reflect a love of working with hands. Translating into maturity, the energy translates into fixing, mending, constructing and creating.

We look forward to serving you, our guests, in this wonderful new area. We look forward to applying our love of Hospitality, into creating so many Memories, for you.

Undeniably, the lucky character of the number 13 has an impact on the date of Friday 13th. The positive energy that is favorable to good luck circulates much more freely on Friday 13th, and the date is conducive to positive events. The date is conducive to being interpreted as one of the luckiest and happiest days.

For so many years to come, so many guests will have commemorative photographs taken for milestone occasions, beside ‘Wildflowers, Balbirnie’.

Our hearfelt gratitude to Archie Forrest.

A project of a lifetime.

Ability to maintain such reinvestment, is the living of a hotelier’s dream. And that ability is always created by our customers. Heartfelt thanks to one and all.

Our working priority is on safeguarding, maintaining and improving Balbirnie, as a Grade A Listed national treasure. A labour of love which never ends.

And finally, I thank and congratulate my very lovely wife Gaynor. This has been a 1 year long design project, which has required such dedicated project management x

Nicholas Russell / MD Balbirnie 12.10.2017

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THE GOLDEN EGG : A FIRST FOR SCOTLAND

Each of us in life is of course a product of the people we’ve been with, the experiences we’ve had, the conversations we’ve had, and the things we’ve seen and learnt.

Quite a few years ago my brother-in-law Robbie Macmillan was working in Norway, at Oslo’s incredible GolfKlubb - OSLO GOLFKLUBB 

I received a very kind invitation from Robbie, to fly over for a few days holiday.

Sitting in Oslo, drinking beers with Robbie and his Norwegian work colleagues, the discussion turned to how Norway’s society functions. I heard the word ‘Janteloven’, followed by the phrase ‘The Law of Jante’, and there began a significant life-changing experience, as I began to very quickly realise that what I had previously accepted as ‘normality’ in Scotland, was in so many ways a complete contrast to how life actually functions in a standalone Norway.

Janteloven, - the needs of society are prioritised over the needs of any individual. And it certainly isn’t considered cool, to play up individual achievements. The result is a society that is for many people, the envy of the world. And that applies across the entire span of politics, culture, socialism, morality, and ethics. As a Scot, this realisation really was an epiphany. I wondered to myself, ‘what would Scotland be like if we also embraced Scandinavian mentality?’, and there began a journey of discovery. 

Worth highlighting, Norway is currently the winner of the 2017 accolade, ‘the happiest country in the world’. And Denmark took the title in each of the 3 preceding years! 

WORLD HAPPINESS REPORT 2017

In turn, I’ve been so very fortunate to return to Norway, and then to visit Sweden, and Denmark as well. The latter resulted in a 3,000 word Case study on Copenhagen for wordpress Twitter: @YesDayScotland, so if you want to know what goes into physically creating and maintaining the world’s happiest country, via:

Twitter: @YesDayScotland COPENHAGEN CASE STUDY

These are all combined benchmarks which an unrestrained Scotland can aspire to emulate, world class systems of excellence, driven by self-discovery and a necessity to define great ways for a society to function. Noted it would maybe take 5 decades for Scotland to get going, but it really is all there to be done. If Independent, we could function very similarly to any of these amazingly happy and successful countries.

If you have never done so, visit Scandinavia. A quick flight from Edinburgh, over to Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki or Reykjavík. Go see for yourself!

And one thing for sure. Many wealthy Scots who remain blinkered by Unionism, would be in for a very quick change of mind if they even considered Denmark alone, and realised that Scotland could funtion in so many similar and incredibly successful ways. No need to reinvent any new wheels, when we can emulate so many amazing existing successful systems. With a few elements of Janteloven!

It was such an honour to be asked this week, to write an article for Business for Scotland, Scotland's largest campaigning business network and think tank, passionate about unlocking Scotland’s potential.

BUSINESS FOR SCOTLAND: Scandinavian mentality in the Scottish workplace

And in turn, I’m so very humbled indeed, to see the social media reactions to that article, and footage in tandem.

Pulling the footage together was a 3 day job, centred with a 12 hour straight in the Balbirnie House editing suite. Every piece of font, every shade, every tiny second of switching, received everything. Sincere thanks to all of Balbirnie’s team who helped. When running the halfway test shows, and seeing emotions as they already were, we knew that we were heading somewhere special, and we then speeded the edit and raised the emotive further. Those watching the first final edit test shows, were very clearly so full of joy, and I can certainly say there were a few tears as well. And that’s why we work in Hospitality!

Whilst the footage has streamed from Facebook, here’s a direct link to YouTube: 

THE GOLDEN EGG, via Balbirnie House YouTube

The footage is a first for Scotland, because this is the first time any hotel has ever used YouTube to explain how Scandinavian mentality is translating into the continual never-ending strive to provide our absolute best warmth of welcome of Scotland Hospitality.

It’s also been poignant and emotive to use DRAW’s Incidentally, as the backing track. What a belter of a tune! Janteloven doesn’t prevent me from confirming that DRAW were a former Radio 1 Session in Scotland live band of the year, the recording was via Castlesound, Scotland’s top recording facility. And all 4 band members were under 20 when it was recorded. #Youth #Scotland

And thanks again to Carlsberg, for paying for Balbirnie’s new external Courtyard facility, as a celebration of our incredible year of 2016. Aye, if Carlsberg did an external dining facility … LOL!!!

At night, with fairy lights across the Courtyard, overhead heaters, Carlsberg blankets, Euro Downtempo Bossa Nova house mix tunes on, Bistro food and chilled beers, it simply doesn’t get any more Hygge at Balbirnie. It really is so very special, and magical. Pass the Aquavit!

Our bond with amazing Scandinavian brilliance grows ever stronger. And we very much look forward to further embracing Janteloven and Hygge.

I thank my very lovely wife Gaynor for all the times we’ve already had in Scandinavia. And for holding my hand on our many adventures together. And here’s to many more in the future x

Peace, Love and Best Wishes to One and All 

Nicholas Russell / MD Balbirnie 

Memories Made of This, in Stockholm:

Gaynor with the two youngest xxx