Guide

and seek Les Routiers has just published its second guide to pubs and inns, but there is much more to being a member than being in the book, as Jo Bruce found out It has been a busy month for pub guide books, with the launch of both Michelin's new Eating Out in Pubs and Les Routiers Pubs and Inns Guide 2005. Now in its second year and with new features such as food producer maps, wine offers and a coast-to-coast pub walk, the Les Routiers guide is certainly a reader-friendly showcase for the 250 pubs it features. And with a target of 15,000 book sales, membership must be money well spent. Les Routiers decided to launch a specific pubs and inns book, separating it from its hotels and restaurants guide last year, recognising a demand from the public for a guide book specifically dedicated to more informal surroundings. Many of its pub members that have rooms also feature in the hotels and restaurants guide, which is published annually as well. When the pub guide was launched last year, former AA guide inspector and Alastair Sawday's Pubs and Inns of England and Wales editor David Hancock, who has more than 20 years' experience of the pub trade, was brought in to edit it. Hancock and his team of inspectors, who travel incognito, work hard to make sure all the pubs in the guide uphold Les Routiers core values. These are a warm welcome, quality food and drink, which is fresh home-cooked food complemented by fine wines and ales ­ locally sourced where possible ­ private ownership, and value for money. Les Routier marketing manager Victoria Borrows explains: Members are inspected every year; it is important to make sure that they come up to the values we have." The company has been trying hard to re-establish high standards since it was bought in 2001 by Nicholas Stanley ­ former managing director of City of London wine merchants Corney & Barrow and former director of London's Clevedon Hotel ­ and a small group of investors. When Stanley took over, he inherited around 650 members. While some met his exacting standards, many did not. Determined to protect the Les Routiers image, Stanley and his team has spent the last three years inspecting every establishment and ejecting those not up to scratch, and this process remains a continuous part of the business. Although pubs pay to be in the guide, if they don't come up to scratch then they won't be allowed in or will be removed. Borrows says: "People know what we are about, which they didn't three years ago. People call us wanting to be in the guide, rather than us calling them. I think we are perceived as a bit more down to earth than Michelin." It was in 1935, in Paris, that the first famous red and blue Les Routiers sign was put up and today use of the sign is fiercely protected by the company, its members and the public, with illegal signs rooted out swiftly. But there is certainly much more to Les Routiers than the guide, with members also benefiting from website listings, bulk purchasing deals, insurance deals, and PR and marketing promotions organised on their behalf throughout the year. Borrows says: "We very much see ourselves as a marketing organisation. Many pubs don't have the time to market themselves properly and we can help them do that. "The guidebook is always going to be a focal point but there are lots of other benefits we offer that are important to members." Marketing has included promotions in magazines such as Delicious, BBC Good Food Magazine, Sainsbury's Magazine and Olive, with deals such as pubs offering a three-course menu for £15 at off-peak times or pubs offering three-nights' accommodation for the price of two. Borrows says: "Some pubs never do promotions. But we usually get 60 to 90 places to sign up. We don't do two-for-one offers, it has got to be something that won't devalue the product. "Pubs say they see an immediate benefit from these promotions, and the people that take part in the promotion come back." Les Routiers also encourages its members to get involved in promotions such as British Food Fortnight and Seafood Week and will mail its members to remind them of forthcoming promotional opportunities such as these. This year there are 250 pubs in the guide, with pubs becoming members through recommendation by journalists, inspectors, by recommending themselves or through calls from the public. But all pubs must be inspected before they are invited to join. This year's guide also sees a big focus on local produce, including maps showing where some pubs source their produce. A local food supporters' award has also been added to the categories in the Les Routiers Pubs and Inns Awards, which were announced earlier this month. Borrows says: "Local food is very topical at the moment and we thought we should take advantage of that with this new feature." It is, she maintains, good to see an incredible amount of new owners coming in to the industry. "It is such a dynamic industry. Things are really hotting up," she says. "People have warmth towards pubs. There is that whole informality that people love. Ten years ago you would go to the pub to drink not eat. Now people go to pubs for a two-hour meal. "There are people coming in to the industry that have never run pubs before, from a variety of backgrounds. The industry has seen such major changes. It is an exciting place." For more information on Les Routiers visit www.routiers.co.uk The British connection Les Routiers was founded in Britain in the early 1970s. Although it has adopted the name, the British Les Routiers has no direct connection with its French counterpart. The French Les Routiers was founded in 1936 to help French lorry drivers find a comfortable bed and a good meal at a reasonable price while on the road. The use of the name in Britain reflected the fact that British motorists travelling in France had come to associate the brand name and its distinctive red and blue sign with good hospitality and value for money. What the members say Being a Les Routiers member is certainly recommended by Lynn Cunnah-Watson, owner of the Kinmel Arms, in St George, Abergele, Wales. She says: "We have been a member for three years, from when we first bought the business. It was a great kick-start in getting business. "In our first year we got involved in a promotion for money off a three-course meal in Sainsbury's Magazine. We got hundreds of people in from that offer and a large percentage have come back again to eat. People do follow guides and it is worth being in it. Les Routiers also gives you lots of feedback on your business, which we have found really useful. It is a quality guide and I would recommend it to other pubs." Nick Sutherland, owner of the Royal Oak in East Lavant, Chichester, said: "It is definitely worth being in the guide. It generates good PR and we definitely get customers from it." Liz Budde, owner of the Unicorn Inn, in Kincardine, Fife, says: "We have found the promotions really good. Being a small business we don't have the budgets to target things like the BBC Good Food Magazine on our own. These promotions, and being in the guide, are really good at letting people know we're here. "We are the previous winners of a Les Routiers award and the publicity generated from it was a fantastic boost to business." "We get lots of people coming in here with guide books in their hands. We have advertised in the local papers but this guide is out for a year and you get much more value from it than doing something in the local paper." Top of the pile This year's Les Routiers Pubs and Inns Awards 2004 national winners Inn of the Year: the Bell at Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Wales Dining Pub of the Year: the White Horse, Frampton Mansell, Gloucestershire Real Ale Pub of the Year: Clachaig Inn, Glencoe, Scottish Highlands Wine Pub of the Year: the Crown, Southwold, Suffolk Les Routiers by numbers 5 the average number of pubs ejected from the guide each year 12 pounds and fifty pence ­ the cost of the Les Routiers Pubs and Inns Guide 2005 18 the number of Les Routiers inspectors 22 the number of food maps showing sources