Crerar Hotels CEO joins fellow hoteliers to cycle 450 miles for HIT Scotland

The chief executive of Crerar Hotels has revealed he will be cycling 450 miles in September to raise funds for at least 30 scholarships that will support future talent in the industry.

 

Chris Wayne-Wills launched HIT the Crerar450 initiative in May. Its name indicates the nature of the route, which covers the distance between all seven Crerar hotels, as well as the purpose of the bike ride, which is to raise funds for HIT Scotland.

 

HIT has a history of fundraising challenges, such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and walking the Great Wall of China, and the Crerar450 was designed to continue that legacy.

 

Wayne-Wills, who is also a trustee of the charity, will be cycling for six consecutive days (amounting to roughly 40 hours in total) alongside industry peers, starting from the Balmoral Arms in Ballater.

 

Although he has cycled in shorter-distance charitable initiatives, such as Pedal for Scotland, he has “never tackled anything so long and consecutive”, and has been “consciously training” for the ride since February.

 

He told The Caterer: “It’s been intense, but I’m getting used to it. It’s not a race; it’s a resilience event. I’ve got a couple of road bikes and I train on a Peloton. I have a personal trainer in the hotels to work on lower body strength.”

 

As a recipient of HIT Scotland’s Leadership Scholarship in 2008, he was able to study the general manager’s programme at Cornell University. Since then, he has always harboured a “sense of wanting to give back to HIT Scotland”.

 

He added: “I’m so passionate about HIT Scotland because the scholarships are empowering. Rather than just giving someone a fish, we teach them how to fish. We provide the skills to help them further develop their skills and I can’t think of a more important piece of work than support the industry and support future talent.”

 

The initiative aims to raise in excess of £10,000 to fund at least 30 scholarships. He said the charitable aspect of the bike ride is “more important than ever” as learning and development budgets across the industry are increasingly “under pressure”.

 

“We’ve got lots of people getting involved and that means they are training and working together out in the fresh air, so the mental health benefits are hugely important as well,” he said.

 

David Cochrane, chief executive of HIT Scotland, has also joined the challenge alongside other hoteliers. All participants will have the chance to experience the hospitality at the ‘pit-stop’ hotels.

 

Cochrane added: “HIT the Crerar450 Challenge is a way for us to come together as an industry and raise as much money as possible, as none of us know what the next few years will bring. We’ve had some brilliant sponsors sign up to support us, with all sponsorship funds going directly to HIT Scotland, and we’ve seen teams of colleagues sign up to take part together which is brilliant to see.”

 

Spaces are still available for people to take on the full Crerar450 ride, as well as for groups to participate in the virtual element of the fundraiser, which involves hitting 450 miles over six days via any means of transport – be that running, cycling or swimming.

 

Those handling the challenge virtually will also be able to compete with the cyclists on a leaderboard.

 

HIT the Crerar450 is due to start on 17 September. Those who would like to join the challenge should email events@hitscotland.co.uk and donations are welcome via this link.