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  • Fleeced Richmond
  • shuhockey
    Free Member

    Anyone able to confirm if The Fleece Hotel in Richmond (NYorks) is actually open. Looks like  it closed Sept 2023 and was sold July 2024. But I nearly booked it on Booking.com for October half term! But luckily saw there were no recent reviews on google. If someone could confirm either way, then I can report to booking.com as fraud. Any recommendation of a hotel would be great. Thanks

    3
    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    Looked on FB and they are permanently closed.

    Sounds like someone didn’t know how VAT and business costs work…

    Dear Customers
    I am very sad to tell you that I have taken the difficult decision to close The Fleece. The combination of unrelenting chronic staffing issues and ever-increasing costs mean we are simply unable to continue operating at this time.
    Our bar and restaurant will close at 5pm on Sunday 30th July. In order to honour room bookings for our guests over the remainder of the summer, we will operate a bed and breakfast only service throughout August. The hotel will close fully on Friday 1st September.
    I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our team for their commitment, resilience and positivity over what has been an extremely difficult period of time. In particular, I would like to thank Claire, Ali and Shelley for their unrelenting efforts in doing everything possible to make The Fleece a place we can all be proud of.
    I would also like to thank our loyal customers for their support over the past few years. We have thoroughly enjoyed serving you.
    To be absolutely clear, The Fleece has not “gone bust”. I am choosing to close at this time to ensure that we can do it on our terms and in an orderly way. All of our employees, suppliers and other creditors will be paid on time and in full as they always have been.
    Whilst I do not want to appear bitter (although I am a little to be honest!), it is imperative that our Government take action to provide much needed support to businesses like The Fleece. We do not need a hand-out but we must be able to keep more of the money we generate. Since opening in May 2019, in addition to the increasing costs we have had to contend with, the Fleece has paid c£350k to HMRC in VAT and a further £100k in Employer National Insurance and Business Rates. That figure would have been higher had it not been for the temporary VAT reduction in 2020-22.
    It is an enormous burden for a fifth of our income to be taken in VAT in addition to the other taxes we pay before any profit is made. We simply do not have the luxury of passing the 20% VAT cost onto our customers and this decimates our profit margins. We need our Government to recognise this and to help us.
    We don’t want hand-outs but we do need to be able to make profits.
    Let me finish by saying thank you once again to my team and to our loyal customers. I really am very sorry that it has come to this.
    Chris

    https://www.facebook.com/thefleeceyorkshire

    6
    joat
    Full Member

    It always confuses me when businesses complain they have to pay VAT. Because they don’t, the customer pays it, they’re just entrusted to pass it on. It would be very cumbersome for the customer to calculate it and pay it separately.

    shuhockey
    Free Member

    Thank you. I’ve reported to Booking.com and edited the Google Maps Business Details.

    dafydd17
    Free Member

    shuhockey – How does one edit the business details on Google Maps? (If it’s not your business). I have a non-existent (or defunct) business shown at my address, even showing my house on streetview, and would like to get rid.

    1
    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Every other pub/hotel in the Dales passes the cost of VAT onto the customer without it having a ruinous effect on their prices.

    northernremedy
    Free Member

    Confirm it’s closed, sorry

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    @dafydd17

    Just go on the listing on Google Maps on a browser – click on it and then scroll down there is a ‘Suggest an Edit’ button.

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