‘Groupon will have a Merry Xmas on us!’

 

But Mellington Hall Hotel, which celebrates 10 years on January 2, has warned other businesses thinking of using the site to be fully prepared and brace themselves for a deluge of customers.

 

Groupon offers daily discounts up and down the country, with shoppers buying a voucher for a certain product from them before cashing it in with the company selling the product.

 

It has been used by thousands of people who enjoy discounts of up to 80% on products from spa pamper days to electrical goods. But it has also attracted national headlines over the past month for becoming a victim of its own popularity with some businesses failing to put a ‘cap’ on the number of items they are offering and suffering financial problems after becoming inundated with orders.

 

One family business selling baked cakes lost thousands of pounds after being forced to take on 18 temporary staff to meet orders, which were being sold at a loss to drum up interest in the company’s products.

 

But Mellington Hall Hotel (left), near Churchstoke, says it was swamped with business after using the site to offer knock-down weekends away.

 

The hotel offered two luxury nights of bed and breakfast at a 65% discount of £129 and, within hours, staff were sifting through hundreds of emails from Groupon members looking to redeem their vouchers.

 

“Earlier this year we tried it with KGB Deals and it worked very well so when we were approached by Groupon, we thought we’d give it a go with them too,” said a spokesperson. “The offer sold out on all weekends until May. It was a tremendous response and we are still taking bookings now.”

 

Mellington Hall is set in 280 acres of landscaped Mid Wales countryside and normally offers luxurious stays for the discerning traveller, but their Groupon offer made it cheaper to stay there than most Premier Inns, making it an instant hit with the site’s members. However, while the hotel was able to stay on top of its tsunami of bookings, it can see how other businesses could struggle.

 

“One warning I would give is that a small business can be put under tremendous pressure with enquires and we found it hard work to keep on top of. Also Groupon sold over 600 vouchers, and there are a lot still out there who have not booked. Unless we get the voucher codes we cannot claim our money, so Groupon has had a lot of customers buy the vouchers from them who are yet to redeem them with us. They have made a lot of money out of us.”

 

Meanwhile, Mellington Hall Hotel enhanced its reputation as a sought after wedding destination by reaching the finals of the Welsh National Wedding Awards held at Scarlets Rugby Ground last month.