Riccall Care:

The company currently plans and delivers more than 6,000 care visits every week, 52 weeks a year, across York and Selby and began 2016 with a successful recruitment drive.

Yet retention of good care workers for Riccall Care and indeed across the industry has proved to be very difficult and this autumn was extremely challenging, with the company’s managers and directors working weekends to ensure continuity of care support.

As the needs of social services from North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council increase, the pressure to offer more home care support and help to free up hospital beds is constant.

Director Gill Conroy said: “We would like to offer more capacity and grow, it is very disheartening to say no to an individual who needs home care visits when we have experienced co-ordinators and a robust infrastructure, but just not enough care workers – we simply can’t let down those we already care for.”

Its care training team, based at its dedicated training suite, has gone from strength to strength.

The company was a national finalist for The Best Provider of Learning & Development with Skills 4 Care in March this year and finalists in Achievement through People at The Press Business Awards.

“We are also currently the only home-care provider to meet the Yorkshire and Humber NHS Health Education England, quality assurance standards for clinical skills and simulation training, of which we’re very proud.

“2016 saw the launch of our monthly community care café, welcoming those cared for at home and their carers, particularly those with disabilities, whether it is stroke or dementia, to come and have a cup of tea and cake.

“Everyone is welcome and our expert care training team offer activities, support and advice. It’s free to everyone and a great way for us to give back.

“The delight and honour of winning at The Press awards was wonderful recognition for our whole team, for their hard work and dedication.

“For 2017 we very much hope that we can expand what we do by attracting more people to what is a highly rewarding job. Much of this depends on local authority funding and keeping social care high on the agenda, as it is something that affects all of us at some point in our lives.

“We also want York and our region to be known for the caring and great place to live that it is.”

Richard Mansell, general manager at The Principal York Hotel (formerly The Royal York Hotel):

“Our greatest triumph has been to accomplish our vision of relaunching an iconic property, after a significant investment was made to restore York’s historic grande-dame hotel. We want to put The Principal York back on the map as a great destination, on both a local and national level.

“We have created an amazing setting for food and drink in the form of The Garden Room for afternoon tea, The Refectory for great Yorkshire food and The Chapter House is now one of York’s most popular cocktail bars. The live music every Friday in The Chapter House has been a particular success for us.

“This year’s award wins - Visit York’s Hotel of the Year and our recent The Press Business Award - rounded off an exciting year at The Principal York.

“There were a number of challenges along the way in realising our ambition. There are some unique logistical issues that come with transforming a building that is 138 years old. We also had to train 200-plus members of staff, installing new values and a high standard of modern British service in every individual that works at the hotel.

“Mainly, our biggest challenge was reintroducing locals to a newly revitalised building that they had previously fallen out of love with, bringing them back to see the sensitive and luxury restoration that we’ve achieved.

“The response has been great so far to The Principal York and we’re looking forward to welcoming more York residents to a new jewel in the city’s crown in 2017.

“We are looking ahead to building on 2016’s successes - showcasing the property to more residents in the city, local clients, businesses and visitors from further afield.

“Our staffing has already increased by 30 per cent and we’ve put a great deal of investment in to this. We’re looking to further grow our staff in the new year, welcoming more talented local people to the hotel’s team.

“We want to become a destination that is known for its great, modern service built on traditional and respected British values of hospitality.

“The local community is important to us and so we’d also like to get involved in more amazing York events. We’d really love to make more use of our beautiful outside grounds in 2017.

“As we continue to grow, The Principal York wants to maintain our vision and continue to recruit great people. It’s been widely reported recently that, due to the growth of the industry, there is a shortage of skilled workers in the hospitality industry in York. This is definitely a challenge that The Principal York shares with other local hospitality businesses.

“Graham Usher, chairman of the York Hoteliers Association, is already doing great work to raise this issue with relevant bodies in education, training and local government and we fully support these efforts.

“I believe that continued investment in to our local infrastructure is really important and initiatives such as York Central are key to positive growth for our city, allowing us to bring new business to York.

“York continues to be a popular destination for both UK and international visitors. Due to current preferable currency rates, we have seen an increase in guest figures.

“We’re seeing a rise in ‘staycations’, with increased inquiries from Brits that are choosing to holiday in the UK instead of going abroad, and we believe this trend will continue in 2017.”