Sharon Hodgson MP for Washington and Sunderland West, yesterday paid a visit to the Holiday Inn Washington to tour the hotel and meet constituents.

As part of a $1 billion global programme of refurbishments, the Holiday Inn Washington has undergone some major changes to improve guests’ comfort and is now ready to show them off.

As well as touring the hotel, Sharon Hodgson MP met Tim Hooton, general manager, Holiday Inn Washington to discuss the issues facing the hotel industry in the recession.

Mrs Hodgson said:

“I was pleased to be able to meet Tim and the staff who have shown great commitment to the hotel throughout the recession. I was proud to hear about how not one job has been lost thanks to the willingness of the team to learn new skills and take on new tasks. It’s a great example of how robust the economy and the workforce is here in the North East.

I’m concerned that if the Tories put VAT up to 20% then our hotel industry will have to compete against European countries where it is just 5%. Coupled with cuts in spending and a loss of corporate business this could be a debilitating double whammy for an industry which has fought hard over the last couple of years to do the right thing by staff and customers.”

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Sharon Hodgson MP
House of Commons,
London SW1A 0AA

E-mail: hodgsons@parliament.uk

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