A HOTELIER who had to close the doors of her business at the beginning of the recession, laying off eight staff, agrees the situation has at last improved.

Tricia Tolley’s family has run the Sunnyside Hotel on Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton for more than 30 years, but was forced to close it in 2009 for seven months.

But now she says the business has been steadily improving, once again providing her family with a steady income.

Mrs Tolley said: “You’re always a bit wary when things seem to pick up but we’ve been saying, ‘no, it’s definite,’ this year.

“We actually had difficulties before the banking crisis. We found that businesses were chopping expenses, stopping people having overnight stays for work. Then it was things like shopfitters not coming because shops weren’t upgrading. The economy really affects us because of things like that.
“It was a difficult decision to cut our losses and close, but it was the right decision. We re-opened and cut our prices from £55 for a single person in an en suite room to £40.

"We now have a working business. It is paying the bills where before it was my husband’s wages paying the bills. On Monday night we were full.
“We’re by no means where we were before. We’ve kept on the bar licence but don’t open it and the top floor is closed and there’s no restaurant. But it’s improving without a shadow of a doubt.”