The time has come to get the Royal High hotel plan done – Kevin Buckle

The six-star facility would attract the sort of high-end, big spending visitors Edinburgh needs, writes Kevin Buckle

A verdict on the hotel plan for the old Royal High School could be imminent

With the Scottish Government having promised fingers uncrossed that Reporters will finally give their report to ministers about the Old Royal High School hotel next week some might think this was not a good time to be building a hotel should ministers rule in favour.

There is no doubt that economic recovery is going to be measured in years so certainly it is possible for a new six-star hotel to be part of the equation and by the time it is ready everybody will have settled into the “new normal” which will eventually have to involve people going abroad on holiday again.

The current situation is that visitors to Edinburgh spend most of their money on accommodation and food and an ever dwindling amount outside of that, which of course is not great news for the shops of Edinburgh.

Given all the talk already about Edinburgh having too many visitors the best possible answer at a superficial level would be to have fewer visitors spending more money so the economic benefit stayed the same.

However there is one immediate drawback to this and that is while this might be good news for shops by definition it would be bad news for the hotels these visitors frequent as that would see occupancy numbers drop.

This really is the root of the problem as the council constantly talk about the economic benefit for Edinburgh when really what they mean is the benefit to the hospitality industry.

Don’t get me wrong I would very much hope that Edinburgh will always be a place that anybody can afford to visit but there needs to be a balance.

While people don’t buy souvenirs like they used to it has become clear from my time in Waverley Mall that folk still love to buy something that reminds them of their visit. If that be a piece of artwork from the Edinburgh artist Gerry Gapinski all the better but if it is a T-shirt by the Brazilian graphic designer and artist Butcher Billy in their mind it is still a memory of visiting an Edinburgh shop.

However it is also clear that shopping is certainly not something that immediately comes to mind when folk visit Edinburgh often because retail in Edinburgh is not well promoted. Obviously there are lots of quality Scottish brands but what is on offer beyond that needs to be interesting too and Edinburgh needs to position itself as offering something different to all the usual brands seen in any city. It will be interesting to see how Edinburgh St James fairs on that score.

While the current situation will cause problems for the new centre opening they are at least well placed to cater for all that will be needed in the future in a shopping centre when they do open. Similarly with work on Waverley Mall yet to start there is scope there both in building on the roof and in revamping below to plan for the future.

Both centres will very much need to look to offering interesting shops that attract locals as I said last week and in time the visitors will follow.

Which brings me back to that luxury six-star hotel. In a couple of years’ time it will be exactly the sort of place high-end visitors with great spending power will want to visit and I’m sure it would take little to persuade them to support the local economy in a way that is often lacking at the moment.

Add in the hotel’s commitment to the arts and the music venues that will be provided and it would be a disservice to the economy, the arts and indeed the building itself if the hotel is not immediately given the go-ahead.