We are aware of a number of Scarborough hotels being closed to the public last season choosing only to house workers from the Woodsmith potash mine in Whitby, at least 5 that we are aware of.
The trend continues this season with at least a further two hotels closing their door to the general public, posting that they are fully booked for the season and cancelling existing bookings.
We believe the hotels opting to go this route do so as it guarantees their rooms are filled all year, given how hard it is to attract bookings in winter.
However the concern is whether we will see these businesses return to the general hotel market when the miners have moved on? With the many hotels that have closed or are currently on the market our accommodation offer looks to be far more limited in the future, changing the fabric of the town.