Today, The QHotels Collection have announced impressive milestone, having given over a thousand breaks to unpaid carers across their portfolio of resorts.
These are unpaid carers who selflessly give their time, their love, and their energy to look after families and groups who don’t fall into the normal NHS care support service. Eligible carers aged over 18 who provide 30+ hours of unpaid care each week are invited, through Carefree, to take an annual break away with a companion at a time and location that works for them.
Working with Carefree, The QHotels Collection aim to help the wellbeing of these carers, who often suffer from mental and physical ill-health as a result of their caring role. This support will shape the social care landscape for years to come and ensure that these vital workers feel able to give their essential care in the future and beyond.
Carefree is a multi-award-winning charity that transforms vacant hotel accommodation into vital short breaks for full-time unpaid carers, who are rarely recognised for their frontline role and lack access to the same support as NHS staff or paid care home workers. Carefree reports that 88% of carers that have taken a break using their service, wouldn’t have been able to without this initiative. 96% reported an improved wellbeing, 77% said they felt less socially isolated and 85% felt able to cope with their role after taking a Carefree break.
The 2021 census found that there are 5.7m unpaid carers in England and Wales, with 1.5m doing over 50 hours of unpaid care work per week. Collectively the unpaid carer community saves the economy £162 billion per year. (Valuing Carers Report, May 2023)
Carers who’ve stayed at The QHotels Collection’s hotels and resorts have shared incredibly moving feedback following their breaks at hotels such as Forest Pines Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, Belton Woods Hotel & Spa and Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa.
One carer noted, “When I arrived and looked round and saw how beautiful the place was, I actually cried. I cried because I felt understood and valued. Someone who donated that beautiful break must have understood somewhere in their life, that caring is a tough job. For those few hours, I left it all behind. I actually felt human and valued.” – Carer and guest of Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa.
“That feeling of being free; walking in the woodland for miles with my dog; having my breakfast made for me and staff at the hotel were incredibly helpful. The hotel itself was superb. For the first time in a long time I was able to do what I wanted and when I wanted. Thank you.” – Carer and guest of Forest Pines Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort.
Group Chief Executive of The QHotels Collection, Richard Moore, explains, “My colleagues and I feel incredibly grateful to be able to support a truly deserving community of unsung heroes through the Carefree platform. The feedback we’ve received from the unpaid carers who’ve stayed across The QHotels Collection is a testament to the whole initiative lead by Carefree. We are hugely passionate about making purpose-led impact, and we look forward to building on this initial milestone, supporting more and more carers deserving of a break away”.
Charlotte Newman, CEO of Carefree says “The care shown for our nation’s unpaid carers across the business is extraordinary – from the revenue managers keeping the donated inventory up to date, to the staff welcoming the carers at their hotels. ESG initiatives fail when they feel to employees like corporate speak but everyone at The QHotels Collection knows that there’s a carer facing unimaginable challenges behind each stay, and they do everything they can to make that person feel valued and recognised by society.”
