Grumpy British hotel staff deterring visitors

Grumpy staff and poor value still blight British hotels, deterring foreign visitors when the economy needs them most, said the government's tourism boss.

The fall in the value of the sterling against the euro and US dollar should make holidays in Britain attractive to foreigners, but a failure to provide basic services such as soft towels and fresh bars of soap may keep visitors away, said Christopher Rodrigues, chairman of VisitBritain.

Earnings could fall by £4 billion, leading to the loss of up to 50,000 jobs this year unless standards are raised, he told The Independent.

"We've had a period in which people could get away with not being of the highest quality," he was quoted as saying.

"We're now in an environment where you have to do quality. Poor value for money and poor service costs jobs and will cost more jobs in a recession.