Carlisle woman's 'amazing' work leads to business awards nomination

[Guest Kurt]

Pauline House with husband Derek

 

Spreading the word of God is all in a day's work for Pauline House.

The Carlisle businesswoman runs Bible Tours of London's British Museum from her home at Parkland Village using a network of 32 guides.

Such is the success of her enterprise that her husband Derek has nominated her in the Best Tourism and Hospitality category of this year's in-cumbria Business Awards.

Pauline, 66, set up the faith-building company as an off-shoot of Derek's Bethel coach tours business which is also run from Carlisle. The couple are both Jehovah Witnesses as are all their guides.

Derek said he nominated Pauline because of the “amazing” work she was doing with her Bible Tours venture.

“She has built up a successful team operating these inspirational tours,” said 70-year-old Derek who once ran a thriving printing firm in Carlisle.

 

“We used to run the Bible Tours as a small part of our Bethel coach trips but decided a few years ago that Pauline should run the British Museum trips as a company in its own right.”

Bible Tours – which runs its museum visits virtually every day – employs 32 guides fluent in 14 languages and attracts around 10,000 customers a year from across the world.

In his nomination Derek wrote: “The team has established itself as the foremost provider of this specialist type of tour in the British Museum, and is highly successful with high rate of growth, constantly positive cash flow and guaranteed profit.

“Customer satisfaction produces a very high rate of glowing voluntary testimonials, and in fact the staff are treated almost every day by customers to free lunch and international hospitality.

“Training is accomplished by remote tuition and dialogue as well as through some senior guides in person. It produces perfect job satisfaction for everyone involved.”

Derek sold his QIC Print company, at Durranhill in Carlisle seven years ago to concentrate on his work as a Jehovah Witness.

The Best Tourism and Hospitality award is one of 16 honours which will be handed out at an evening of celebration at the Halston Hotel in Carlisle on November 9 by BBC Media Editor Amol Rajan.

The award will recognise a business which the judges believe can demonstrate innovation, commitment and leadership resulting in the success of a tourism or hospitality enterprise.

It must fall into one of these categories – leisure, hospitality, tourism, visitor attraction or service.

Judges will be looking for:

 

• Outstanding performance relating to commercial success and evidence of growth and investment
• Creation of employment together with staff training and development
• Delivery of innovations and improvements
• Evidence of customer satisfaction

 

To enter go to www.in-cumbria.com/awards

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