Douglas Dale has seen major changes during his 40 years working in the hotel industry.

However, throughout the time he has been working for English Lakes Hotels Resorts and Venues he says the essential demands of customers have remained unchanged.

"The emphasis is on attentiveness and friendliness," he said.

"We are still here 40 years later to look after the customer, that is the underlying thing in the industry. We are here to make sure people stay and have a good time. They want to be looked after."

Douglas, who is the group's operations director, is its longest serving member of staff, and started his career there as general manager of The Wild Boar Inn in 1979.

Before being employed by English Lakes, Douglas - who is originally from Blackpool - was working at the Old English Hotel, in Windermere.

"I began to look for other opportunities and I saw that the then general manager of the Wild Boar was leaving," said Douglas, 67, who now lives in Silverdale.

"I managed it for 10 years, but lived there for 20 years and it was my family home."

Douglas played a leading role in the planning, design and build of the group's Lancaster House Hotel between 1989 and 1991.

"We were approached by (Lancaster) university to see if we would be interested in building a hotel on their grounds, which was a bit of a departure then," he said.

"I was selected for that role and designed it and opened it up and not long after I was appointed general manager.

"Other than having a lifetime of working in hotels I had no experience of planning and designing a hotel. A lot of it was common sense."

The 80 bedroom, four star hotel - which would later grow to have 99 rooms - opened "two years from the day we went to talk to the university".

He joined the group's board in 1991 and has served as operations director since then, helping to oversee major developments such as the management takeover of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe in 2008 and the recent refurbishment of Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa, in Windermere.

Douglas said the way hotels charged had changed over the years, with a guests much more likely to be offered deals or a sliding scale of price as opposed to a flat rate.

Guests also expected a lot more from the food available at hotels than they once had.

"As people travel a lot more they come back and expect a higher standard of food and a bigger range of food than what they did 40 years ago," he said.

"The range of cuisine has extended greatly over the years."

He says another change is the move to hotels ordering their supplies and ingredients online.

"I remember well people coming to the back door to try and sell you things and that was common practice," he says.

"The milk came from the farm across the road. It used to come across in churns and out onto the table at breakfast time.

"The Low Wood used to close, would you believe, for two or three weeks. The Lake District and South Lakeland in particular has become a lot more open all year, which is what we want.

"We have invested heavily in the Low Wood Bay and that is where my emphasis is at the moment to make sure that's the top hotel in the area. My emphasis is purely and simply on making Low Wood Bay what we strive for it to be and to be recognised in the same breath as places like Gleneagles. It will bring in overseas visitors particularly with the pound being so weak at the moment.

"Those people who can afford to travel are expecting to have a higher standard. People who are coming from China and Taiwan aren't coming to pitch their tent, they want to come and stay in luxury and you have to be on your game and you have to do it well. It's very challenging, but it's also very rewarding, I would recommend it to anyone.

“It's been a fascinating period for a career in the hospitality industry, where cultural change has been increasingly rapid, where the expectations and standards we meet have risen to new highs and where we've seen significant growth in international visitors.

“There so many wonderful memories to reflect on in that time. Ten years managing and living at The Wild Boar was certainly a highlight, especially when the children were young and keen to get fully involved in the way of life at the inn.

“I am also extremely proud of the pivotal work we did to build Lancaster House, a particularly rewarding experience to see it take shape from initial design concepts to opening its doors to guests for the first time.

“It has been, and continues to be, a real honour to serve on the Board of English Lakes Hotels. We have a close knit, family orientated management team with a passion for genuine hospitality and a desire to meet and surpass guests’ expectations.”

English Lakes managing director Simon Berry said: “Douglas has given so much to the group with 40 dedicated and thoroughly distinguished years’ service with us.

"It’s been an honour to serve together on the board of directors, where fellow board members benefit from Douglas’ wisdom and vast knowledge and experience of the industry.”