A Very British Hotel Chain: Viewers brand CEO ‘excruciating cringeworthy’

Viewers branded the CEO of a hotel chain ‘excruciating cringeworthy’ after he thought ‘give a s***’ was an appropriate brand value in A Very British Hotel Chain: Inside Best Western.

Lats night’s episode of the Channel 4 show featured first-time CEO and Australian Rob Paterson, who spent 18 months rallying the troops with his ambition to double the number of member hotels.

But it wasn’t long before it was revealed he had also been busy inspiring the team with his new set of values at the Best Western HQ in York.

‘The first one is ‘give a s***,’ second one is ‘own it,’ ‘be courageous’, ‘take a risk,’ ‘be bold’, ‘beat yesterday’ and ‘smash it,’ he explained. ‘So we don’t just want to hit out numbers, we want to smash our numbers.’ 

Many who tuned in were quick to take to Twitter following the revelation – with many comparing it to scenes from hit comedy The Office, which starred Ricky Gervais as the famously awkward office manager, David Brent.  

‘#InsideBestWestern on is excruciatingly cringeworthy. The MD is proud of his new values… ‘Give a s**t’ and ‘Smash it’ being two of them. It’s like watching the worst of The Office. #embarrassing,’ wrote one, while a second penned: ‘The CEO hasn’t got a bloody clue!’

A third added: ‘It really takes a 6 hour training course to yell ‘own it’ and ‘give a shit’ with irritating enthusiasm,’ while a fourth wrote: ‘Rob is David Brent. I swear Ricky Gervais wrote this.’ 

Shortly after the new brand values were unveiled, viewers were introduced to Rob’s right-hand man Mark – head of development – who showed the camera crew the old ones which were still mounted on the wall.

These included the likes of ‘put a smile on somebody’s face everyday,’ ‘think big and act now,’ and ‘make magic happen by stepping outside your comfort zone.’

When asked what was wrong with the old values, Mark said: ‘There’s nothing wrong with the old values. We’re just going to the next level now. We’re moving forward.’ 

And after a cameraman questioned why the old values couldn’t still stand, he continued: ‘If you have too many values you confuse people. Five is what you need to have. If you have ten it just gets ridiculous, doesn’t it?’

Elsewhere, hotel inspector Alasdair investigated a Best Western member-hotel in Driffield, East Yorkshire – and took major issue with its deep pile carpet and out-of-date logo.

So it’s no surprise that viewers struggled to see past the comedy element of the show – and were confused as to whether it was supposed to be a serious documentary. 

‘I am still struggling to believe its not a mockumentary. Love it,’ wrote one, while a second commented: ‘Please can we have this on every week it’s so funny. I have so much material for management courses from this series. And it’s all in the dont run a business like this section. Pmsl.’ 

A third questioned: ‘Is this a comedy skit docu drama with real people and hotels? Or clever marketing that has gone above my head?’ while a fourth wrote: ‘Did Rob get Ricky Gervais’s permission to do a remake of the office?’

A further added: ‘Inside Best Western’ is the new ‘The Office’ spin off we didn’t know we all needed.’