11 October 1920 marks the date that George and Adelina (Ada) Seymour signed the lease of Merton House in Halkett Place and where the Seymour Hotels story began. 100 years and five generations later, the Seymour Hotel Group remains family owned and continues to play a significant role in the Island’s tourism prosperity.
Three generations of the family are active in directing and running the successful Seymours business which, with three hotels and a waterfront diner, represents over 10% of Jersey’s registered hotel bedstock.
David Seymour, Managing Director of Seymour Hotels comments: “My grandparents, George and Ada were entrepreneurial hoteliers and helped to put Jersey on the tourism map. Their passion for service and dedication to making guests feel part of the Seymour family laid the foundation for the business to flourish through ten decades.
“As a family, we have taken the opportunity in our centenary year to reflect on the last 100 years: the significant changes that have taken place across the hospitality industry; the German Occupation of Jersey in WW2 and having to rise from the ashes to re-build the family business after Liberation from occupying forces in 1945; being the first hotel on Jersey to take internet bookings, and, of course, our exceptional staff without whom our success would not have been possible.
None of us could have predicted the monumental challenges that our industry has faced in these past six months and although the ongoing pandemic has marred our centenary celebrations we know that whatever the next hundred years may bring, our guests will continue to be at the heart of everything we do.”
This week the Seymour Family will be taking the time to thank all the staff personally for their hard work and resilience over the last six months and will be taking the opportunity to raise a glass to the next 100 years.
For further information about the centenary please visit www.seymour100.com
The main picture shows David, Matthew and Robin Seymour.