PROFILE
and during his tenure the hotel ’ s chefs were commissioned to bake the now King Charles III ’ s christening cake in 1948 . The Goring ’ s connection with the royal family reaches back to the early days of the hotel when some 20 royal guests booked to stay at the hotel during the coronation of King George V in 1911 .
It has since gone on to act as an overflow to Buckingham Palace for the most esteemed royal occasions , including the coronations of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and the current King earlier this year . In 2011 , it hosted the Middleton family on the night before their daughter Catherine ( now Princess of Wales ) married Prince William ( now Prince of Wales ). The Goring ’ s ongoing connection with the royal family resulted in the property becoming the first hotel to receive a Royal Warrant for hospitality services .
While Goring does not divulge any specific details of the royal family ’ s patronage of the hotel , he confirms it is something that helps drive business , particularly from the North American market , which accounts for around 50 % of all guests during the peak summer season between May and September . And consider that Winston Churchill frequently came to the hotel to visit his mother , Lady Randolph Churchill , an American who moved into the hotel for a period in 1919 . There is an unmistakable aura and mystique .
“ The default position of American guests is to have fun ,” said Goring , whose focus is to create a haven of joy . Hence , they love the individual quirky touches evident throughout the hotel , whether it is the cuddly toy sheep placed on every bed or the nativity party hosted prior to Christmas featuring a life-sized snow dome .
BEMOANING BREXIT With London experiencing an explosion of major new hotel openings — The Peninsula London , Raffles London at the OWO , The Emory and the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair all opened this fall — The Goring is enthusiastic that the city has got its “ mojo ” back ” after the devastation wrecked by the COVID-19 pandemic . “ It ’ s the critical mass thing , confirming the status of a city that people want to visit rather than being a Brexit backwater ,” Goring said .
He does not hold back on his contempt for the current Conservative government , which he believes has displayed “ a supreme act of self-indulgent arrogance ” in driving through the Brexit deal , which has resulted in thousands of talented workers in the hotel sector returning to their home countries across Europe .
“ Recruiting and retaining staff has always been our biggest challenge , but now it is harder than ever ,” he said . “ This government has done more damage to hospitality than any other event during the hotel ’ s 113-year history and I ’ m including two world wars .”
Concerned by the desperate skills shortage , The Goring joined forces with Mick Clarke , chief executive of The Passage , an organization focused on homelessness , to set up the Hotel School ,
The sitting room in the Royal Suite at The Goring .
50 hotelsmag . com Nov / Dec 2023