The Hive at 52 B&B | Harro Dorsch

"Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of an intelligent effort."

In this episode, we sit down with Harro Dorsch, owner of The Hive at 52, a charming B&B in the heart of Weaverham, Cheshire, creating unforgettable guest experiences with his extensive background in hospitality.

We explore the inspiration behind transforming his and wife Lucy's Victorian home into a welcoming retreat, the challenges and triumphs of running a boutique B&B, and how they have woven sustainability into every aspect of the business. From energy-efficient upgrades to thoughtful eco-conscious choices, Harro and Lucy's commitment to a greener future makes The Hive at 52 stand out as more than just a place to stay—it’s an experience with purpose.

Join us for an insightful conversation about hospitality, home, and the impact of making small but meaningful changes for both guests and the planet.

Subscribe to the VIP list https://bit.ly/VIP-Newsletter-signup

The Hive at 52
52 High Street
Weaverham CW8 3HB

T: 07583 942 579
E: stay@thehiveat52.co.uk
www.thehiveat52.co.uk

Follow on Social Media:

facebook.com/TheHiveat52
instagram.com/thehiveat52bnb/
linkedin.com/company/the-hive-at-52

If you would like to feature as guest on a future episode of This Place, Our Voices, submit your application via our form: https://bit.ly/podme

"This Place, Our Voices" Credits:

Host: Elyssa Germain
Produced By: OneZeroCreative https://www.onezerocreative.co.uk/

Transcript

We're joined by Harro of the Hive at 52, a B&B buzzing with character in Weaverham, Cheshire with a story or two to tell. Hi Harro, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me today.

Hi. Thank you very much for having me.

So, what inspired you to open the Hive at 52?

I worked in hotels for about 20 years at a time and then we moved up to Cheshire from London. When we’re looking, we're looking for houses where maybe in the future we could start a B&B. So, it was in the back of my mind, or our mind, myself and Lucy my wife. and then we, as I said, we started looking for houses a little bit bigger because there was only four of us. So, this house was quite big for the four of us. And that's really where it started. I've always been in hotels so it's something I only can do. I can't do anything else. So, it was an easy one to do really.

Was there a specific moment or experience that sparked the idea?

Well, as I said, I've been in hotels for a long time, and it really came to fruition after I did a maternity cover for a hotel, and I couldn't find a job in the fields I wanted to work in. So, then I took a temporary job locally as an F&B manager, which I hadn't done for a long time at the local hotel, working all hours of the day, in the evening, on my feet the whole time. And that's really where it started that I didn't really want to do that for the rest of my life and also, I couldn't find the position I wanted to. I was a revenue and sales manager. So, sitting down and doing strategies rather than serving people, being on my feet. So that's really where it came about. I then did find a position but already we started to look at planning, organising and looking if we can start a B&B.

Can you tell us about the process of finding this property and transforming it into a B&B? It's an absolutely gorgeous property.

Thank you very much.

When you found this property, what was your starting point?

We moved here in 2006 which was, well, 10 years before we actually start thinking about B&B. So, when we did actually was considering starting at B&B, we actually looked at a, B&B which was already up and running.

Okay.

And we also looked at a bigger house locally as well. When you done look at that, it would have been a big investment, a bigger mortgage, sometimes with running a previous B&B, there might be some, you know, bad habits, bad guests or anything like that. So, then we sort of thought, well, what if it doesn't work out? So, we then start looking at converting the house, which again it was an investment, but it wasn't as much as a, you know, say a million-pound investment and stuff like that. So, and that's where we started looking at the house, submitted the plans, start thinking about it, got an architect in, had help from the council, the planning commission. So, you know, that's when to start really to change this house from a family home into a part business, part family home.

Were there any challenges that you faced when you first started?

I think it's just the idea really. I mean it's an old Victorian house from 1876, so the rooms are big enough. Luckily, one of the rooms already had an ensuite. There were a few challenges, but to be honest it was actually quite an easy process that the planning officer was quite helpful from the council and sometimes you don't hear those positive things about it. The architect, well, it's an architect. So, they all got big ideas. Yeah, you know, you tell them a budget. So that was really the challenge to get him to design something within our budget. And then obviously working with the builders, with contractors, finding the contractors and then working with them were the challenges. No, they were pretty good as well because I was on site most of the time when it happened. So that part was, although it was impacting on the house and family life, that was pretty okay. But the challenges really came to when we start furnishing the rooms, what are we gonna do, how are we going to do it, what we're going to put in it. And then obviously the biggest challenge was getting our first guest. When we told friends that we going to do a B&B, they sort of said oh yeah yeah. And then once we started it, they said a B&B and Weaverham? you know. So that was really the challenge to get the first guest to come get the reviews. And then with good reviews following guests come. So, the biggest challenge was really we've restart started from zero with no business here to what we are now. So yeah, overall, it wasn't too bad really.

Do you still remember that first guest that you had?

Yes, I do, yeah. Yeah. One of my first guests, he stayed with me until just after Covid. so, he'd been with me for five years at least two or three times a month.

Wow.

And during COVID actually, he arrived with Me, I think it was the Monday before they announced the lockdown.

Yeah.

And he left me 140 odd nights later.

Oh, wow.

So, he stayed with me because he was in the food industry.

Yeah.

And so, he stayed with me. He was the only one. I had a fridge down here in the breakfast room, for putting milk and some juices in there. He could use that. And he cleaned his own room, made his own bed. I just washed the linen and washed the towels and that was it really.

That's not something that really occurred to me that would have been happening during Covid.

Yeah. So, I was quite lucky because even at that time there was nights where, especially on a Thursday Sunday where I didn't tend to have guests I him in seven days a week. It was great. And then unfortunately he got a job near get closer to home. So, he hasn't been back. And funnily enough, at the moment I've got a guest staying me. I was talking to him yesterday and he's been staying with me since I think it's 2016. And he's still here. So yeah, about the same. When we started, I've probably got about 10 guests who still come two, three times a year. So, yeah, it's really nice actually. And I think that proves that we must be doing something right. I know it's only 10 rooms with 10 guests, but still.

Oh, gosh. The repeat custom is a huge indication that you're definitely doing something right. How long did the conversion of the house take for it to be ready for a B&B?

I think the actual building work took. I think it was about three months, three to four months. And then we did a lot of the painting ourselves. Then we started purchasing furniture and things like. So, we probably could have done it quicker, but because Lucy, my wife, was working full time and I was sort of working full time as well, it was done in the evenings and the weekends. So, I think the whole process, probably from building work to really be ready, was probably about seven to eight months.

That's not bad.

No. and we wanted to make sure that we were fully ready.

How would you describe the experience that you aim to offer the guests that come to stay with you?

I really want to try and give a guest a home from home. I know it's not the same, but we're trying to just give them a luxury feeling, a hotel feeling, but with comfort as well. And then breakfast in here. Have a chat with me if you want a chat. If not, then I'll just leave you to it. Just wanted to make it comfortable, relaxed, welcome experience and just let the guest be. You know, they've got the key for the front door. They can come and go as you like. You know, it's not like, like some B&Bs or you have to be back at 10:30 because the owner goes to bed. No, the room is there’s. If they want to come back at 3:00 at night and go out again at 6:00. But we don't mind as long as they're quiet. But yeah, just to really. A home from home for business travellers and leisure travellers.

Is there a particular feature or detail that you think makes your B&B stand out from others?

I think one the experience I have in the industry, I work from a reception to chef to restaurants. I've done everything in hotels. I do think I know how to look after my guest. Being a Victorian house, the size of the rooms, that tall ceilings, quite big rooms, people like that as well. And I just think the relaxed atmosphere, comfortable beds, great showers and of course the freshly cooked breakfast. I cook it myself and also, I welcome the guests. I take them up to the room, I clean the room before they come. I, do the ironing, I cook the breakfast, I serve the breakfast, and I chat to them as well and say goodbye. So, it's just me. It might not be for everybody because some people like to be just by themselves.

Yeah.

But a lot of people who come here, they're like, I have a chat in the morning. It's really the personable service that get here.

Absolutely. And we've got a lot of budget hotel chains these days. and although it might just be suitable for people, it does lack that personal touch and, it is a bit like a conveyor belt for them, isn't it?

Yeah. And I think there's a market for that. The five star. There's a market for that. You know, I haven't got a bar on side, which is probably a blessing. If they want a bar, they do tend to stay at Premier Inn or another budget hotel. So, yeah, there's a place for everybody really.

Whenever I've stayed anywhere, you hit upon it. Absolutely. The things that you're looking for is how comfortable the bed is, including the pillows. I stayed somewhere recently where I barely slept because the pillows were horrible. And it really impacted the next day as well. And it was at a wedding, so that wasn't great. The shower at home, my shower is really bad, so I like to go elsewhere. And the breakfast, because what's better than Someone else cooking your breakfast in the morning 

And fresh.

Yeah, it's not been on under a hot light or anything like that, but I think what you say is well we looked at starting it, we bought bed and slept on it ourselves for a couple of months. When we are away a good shower, or a bath is necessary. So those two things and just simple things. A decent tv, you know, it doesn't have to be, you know with everything on it but a decent tv. And for us as well obviously. I'm Dutch, I like my coffee strong. I like proper coffee. I don't like the instant stuff.

Yeah.

So, in the bedrooms you’ve got freshly ground coffee in a cafetiere. Lucy, my wife is a tea drinker, but she doesn't like the little uht things.

Oh no, they’re terrible.

So, people get fresh milk in the room and those kinds of things that are appreciated by people. Yeah, and as a budget hotel or a hotel it's more difficult to do things like that. So, and that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to do a B&B where we would stay as well. And I think that's the important part.

Of it really trying the bed out yourself for a few months. You've got the confidence that that's not going to be a problem for people when they come and stay with you.

Yeah, I think most hotels have decent bets but that's one of the challenges being a B&B. It's not really a comparison. I mean if a traveller goes and stay the Premier Inn or the Travelodge in London, they know they get the same in Edinburgh, they get the same in Cardiff, you know, everywhere and they've read the B&B, you know I've been in B&B where you know it seemed to be the better comes from, I don't know, say Ikea or something like that. And that's the thing for us as well. It's like well if I stay somewhere, you know, I sleep in an Ikea bed at home, do I really want to? Yeah, and it's that kind of thing. So, we wanted to make sure that we were up to hotel standards. But it works. You know we get quite a lot of good comments on the beds and the showers and the breakfast. So, you know, I think that is the USP really, isn't it? That's why bed and breakfast, you know that's what important 

The clues in the name. 

Exactly, yes. Exactly.

What is the breakfast that you do?

So, I do the full English, I've got vegetarian option, I've got a lighter option. If somebody just wants poached egg on toast, I can do that, if they want scrambled eggs, you know. So, there's a bit of flexibility there as well.

Yeah.

And to be honest, it's like probably only about 50% of the people will have a full English which is quite good as well with does get really hard to, you know, cook a full English, do six full English every morning. So, I'll do a variety and again it's the flexibility which you don't get.

At the not really places.

Not really, no.

Can you tell us about the journey to making the Hive at 52 a sustainable B&B? Was this always part of your vision?

So, we moved, and we looked at the house and it was lovely, warm and toasty as they do because they probably had the heating on for three weeks before we had the viewing. And then we moved in, and we discovered yeah, it's an old house. You know, the windows are not great, there's no insulation in the house. So, when we moved in, we almost like really were forced to look at those kinds of things. So, we replaced quite a lot of the windows. We had all the external walls insulated cause there’s no cavity because it's an old building. So that's really what started us off. Also, I think we will start to think about the young dots we had at the time in their future because obviously we were talking about, I think that time was El Nino and global warming and things like that. So, it was in the back of my mind now we nowhere near be fully sustainable. So, we just want to think how we can improve it and what we can do as a small business. And I think if we can do it as a small business then I think a lot of people can do it. And I also say if everybody does a little bit, it will help. It really started after we moved into the house, and we insulated. So also, the roof space was insulated and things like that. And then when we started the B&B, probably about 60% if not more off the furniture is either reused from what we already had or was bought second hand and upcycled. Things like beds are obviously new and linen and things and towels and things like that, they'll all be new, but. So that was really another choice we did. And also, the quality, you know, a lot of the quality of second-hand stuff is, is very excellent. And even in this room, probably only that table is new, and the rest is all recycled. All.

Yeah, well it was built to last when these were built.

Exactly, exactly. And if need be, you know if we want to change it, we'll just put a bit of paint on it and changed it. So that's what starts. And then slowly, you know more and more people talk about sustainable and obviously you know it's coming more and more to the forefront. We replace all the windows and now replaced with double glazing. We started to put things like blinds in front to keep the heating in the winter, or cold night. And then October 22nd we actually had two air source heat pumps installed. So that was a big thing. Took the gas boiler around. So, we haven't got no gas boiler. The only gas we have is a gas stove. And then early 2023 we had 18 solar panels installed on the top. So that was a big investment for us to you know again in that journey to become sustainable. Initially we used cleaning materials which weren't very good for environment and then you start thinking about those kinds of things. So, all the cleaning and laundry is now done with eco-friendly materials. We buy it from a local refill shop so can buy it in bulk. Simple things like tea bags are compostable. You know as I said we don't use the little sachets for coffee. We don't use the little cups of plastic uht milk, it's fresh in little flasks. We reuse and clean. Get the breakfast on the breakfast menu, say if you don't like something leave it off your plate. Or we do a small one so there's no foot waste. But even that, you know a lot of people still want it to eat everything which is a little bit annoying. We try to use as little plastic as possible but it's hard. You know it's a choice as well. Like if I need something do I jump in the car and go to Northwich which is I don’t know, five, six miles from here and buy stuff loose or do I go to the local Tesco, coop and buy my tomatoes or mushrooms in a plastic. So, it's really hard. You know you're trying your best and that's where we can become better really. Items on the breakfast, the, the sausages and bacon come from George the butchers which is literally five minutes’ walk from here. Our egg are delivered by Northwich eggs, you know to do a big round they’re farm eggs, and I think to come from a farm six miles from here. So, I think that's pretty good as well. Yeah, we buy a Honey from local beekeepers or there's a big bee shop on the A556 in Plumley. Again, I think it's fairly local. It's five miles from me I think it is. Or six miles. So, you know, those kinds of things, our garden. We start to leave the garden wild in the summer. We just put a pond in this year as well for the wildlife. So those kinds of things really, we're trying to help both inside and outside. But as I said there's still plenty to do and there's lots of new stuff coming up.

It is something that people can be inspired by because not everyone can have solar panels on their roofs, not everyone can have a heat pump, but everyone can look at local produce, everyone can look at what they're purchasing and what packaging it comes in and make a conscious effort to recycle that packaging where possible and perhaps avoid certain packaging. So, there's lots of little things that people can do.

Yeah, I think we need to blame for it anyway because we wanted perfect vegetables and, and we wanted in plastic, and we wanted to keep it and things like that. We going say well the supermarket did this, but the supermarket only really done what we wanted 20, 30 years ago. So, I mean they are a lot better if I buy my mushrooms say from the supermarket they're now in, in some of the supermarkets are in cardboard punnets rather than the plastic ones. But it is hard, you know, fruit on the buffet. Do I get strawberries from Peru? Do I buy frozen fruits which you know people do like but they're in small plastic bags. You know it's. Yeah, we do put the plastic in the bins at the supermarkets, you know, things like that. But it is hard, it is really hard. And I think if we say we don't want to buy this stuff anymore, then the supermarkets and things like that, well, hopefully listen to us. But I think what would be lovely, have the local markets back again where you can lose fruits and fruits and vegetables is. But people don't want to do that anymore because they want to go to the supermarket, they want to do one shop and that's it really, isn't it?

I think it is changing just slowly. Do you involve the guests in your sustainability efforts?

In the bedrooms we do have a bin where it has a little recycling part of it. Before they arrive, they fill in the form and they will ask if they want milk in the room. If they don't want it, you know, we don't put it in the room. So again, it's wasted as I said on the menu it actually asks if they have a smaller appetite, or they don't want something on the plate though they don't like something. I'll leave it off. And even like now if somebody ask a full English, I said do you want everything on it just to avoid sort of wasting food. Obviously when they arrive in the summer, they see the high grass because of the flowers, the wildflowers and things like that. But there's a sign out there explaining apologising for the high grass because we're looking after the bees. So that sort of involvement. But we're not going to like.

Preach and tell people off.

No, no, we're not about that. I mean the one thing really where is a little bit more involved, we've got smart radiator valves and we have to explain because they really, you have to really use a soft touch to turn them up and down. You know, it's not like at home where you really have to pull all your power into. And that's really the biggest thing really those things. But otherwise no, we're not as you say, we're not going to preach on it. If they want to have a chat with us about it, then fine. If not, then really for us that we wanted to be a more sustainable business. If the guest likes it, fine, if not, you know, so be it.

Have you had some good feedback about the guests that have noticed the efforts that you're going to be more sustainable?

Yeah, some people will ask about, you know, like they ask is it saving you any money, you know, the solar panels and the air source. Because that's what it's a lot about with people. They say about the garden that it looks really nice, you know, because some people do like it and then other people say oh no, I like a more polished garden, you know, so those kinds of things but nothing really negative as such.

Have you got any future eco-friendly upgrades or projects that you're looking at doing soon?

I have some ideas, but they might differ from the other half. we've got an electric car. Well, my daughter drives an electric car so an EV point would be quite good, you know. As for my guest point of view, but to be honest I've heard people who have them as B&Bs or hotels and not many people use them or ask for them, but I think that will come. So that's one. If we generate solar, we don't have a battery at the moment. It goes into our hot water. So maybe something like that. And you don't know with all the development, all the technology and things like that. What I might want today is completely different from what I might want in two years’ time. Just looking at the small things, what we can do with our local shopping. I quite like to have a charging point.

If you can use it yourself, that's definitely a benefit. And yeah, it's an added extra, like you say, for any guest that might turn up in an electric car.

Yeah, exactly. I'm just something to offer because that's one of the things as well. I've got quite a lot of people who travel from south to north or north to south or east to west and used as a stop gap because we're what three hours in a bit from London, we're about four hours from Glasgow and Edinburgh. So, there's a lot of people who used to as a stop, if they have an electric car they can charge it. Yeah, it be ideal really.

Have you got any goals for the Hive at 52 for the coming years? Or are you pretty much where you want to be?

Yeah, I think so. I mean, you know, I could say I want to make more money and all that, but not really. I just want to keep my regulars coming. I want to get new guests, new regulars, which happens. I want to become even more sustainable, you know, I don't know, it's. I've talked a lot about sustainability, but I want to, I would say, look after the environment a lot better, because we have to both as a business and as personal, as a family. But yeah, so otherwise it's. Yeah, I think I'm pretty happy with what it is. I'm not going to be a millionaire, but that's not what it's about.

A millionaire in other ways.

Yes, exactly.

Yes. Thank you so much for your time again today, Harro. It's been really, really interesting. I think there's a lot of things that I've learned and hopefully people have learned things from your passion about sustainability. Majority of these listeners are gonna be semi local to you. So, if anyone wants to have a little short trip to Weaverham and have a little stay, it's not too far.

A lot of my guests actually visiting friends, family, relatives who can't stay with their relatives or don't want to stay with their relatives just to give them a bit of freedom really. So, you know, it's important that we actually reach out to the locals rather than people far ahead because they will find us anyway if they need to be here, so. Yeah, but I'm on TikTok. Come Instagram, which is the hive at 52. B&B. Facebook, the hive at 52. I'm on LinkedIn. So, if you just search for the high for 52, I'm sure you will find us, obviously follow us like us and comment on the social media as well. That's, you know, important for us.

And it doesn't cost a thing either to do that.

Exactly. Exactly.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you very much for having me.