Gary Neville donates hotel rooms to NHS workers during coronavirus pandemic
While some of society's richest are seeking to profit from this crisis, the ex-Man Utd star has shown himself to be a man of real substance
Gary Neville has offered up his hotel rooms to NHS staff fighting coronavirus (Picture: Hotel Football)
By Kevin Garside
Chief Sports Correspondent
March 19, 2020 2:39 pm(Updated September 17, 2020 10:53 am)
Socially responsible, morally progressive, made in Manchester: Gary Neville is only a handsome set of whiskers and a cravat shy of Robert Owen, that great welfare capitalist and reformer of the late 18th century who brought the early industrial age towards enlightenment.
There has always been something of the earnest thinker about Neville, who becomes ever more impressive with each bold initiative, whether it be leading the fight against coronavirus, transforming struggling amateur backwaters into Football League clubs or rolling out hotel chains. It is the latter which brings him to our attention on this occasion along with his fellow philanthropist Roman Abramovich, who like Neville, has placed a hotel at the services of the National Health Service at his own expense.
A message from our co-owner Gary Neville. @GNev2 @GG_Hospitality pic.twitter.com/uy2rEfweho
— Hotel Football (@hotelfootballuk) March 18, 2020
Cynics might argue that this was an easily affordable gesture by Abramovich aimed at persuading the British authorities to reconsider his application to be domiciled in London. So what if that were the case? Practical help in a time of crisis trumps political delicacies. Besides, he could be Jeff Bezos, a man who earns the best part of $9m an hour, whose Amazon-owned Whole Foods suggested that workers could donate paid days off to colleagues forced to withdraw from the workplace because of Covid-19. In other words, the workers pick up the tab for absence.
Read more: Chelsea offer free hotel beds to NHS staff dealing with coronavirus outbreak
Neville presents a more palatable side of great wealth, a public figure heading straight to philanthropic heaven alongside the likes of Owen, Titus Salt, John Cadbury and William and James Lever, all of whom gave at least something of a f**k for those from whom their profits were derived.
The coronavirus pandemic has stripped experience to its essential elements – life or death. While that might seem overly dramatic in the case of the majority, for too many the threat of unanswerable doom is real enough. This has forced each of us to reconsider what really matters and invites us to examine our conscience like never before. Those stockpiling toilet rolls, pasta, rice, cereals, paracetamol and like items might be labelled the Bezos Tendency. More virtuous souls who hold doors open for others at the entrance to supermarkets so that those in greatest need get first dibs at the goods are in the Neville School.
Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos (Photo by Ryder/Getty Images)
"It's obviously been a difficult time for everybody in the hospitality industry and the most important thing is the health of staff and guests," Neville said in his video address (see above). "The second most important thing is that our staff and team members retain their income over the next few months. We will not be making anybody redundant or asking anybody to take unpaid leave. The staff are the most important people, the lifeblood of our business. The third thing is we have been in consultation with the NHS Foundation Trust and our 176 beds will be occupied by NHS workers and health professionals. The whole of our industry needs to show solidarity in these uncertain times."
With this, Neville has shown himself to be a man of real substance who, in word and deed, has left an imprint on British public life way beyond his contribution to football. He is not alone in his generosity, of course, which is reason to rejoice and reinforces the view that no problem, however big, is beyond the capacity of humankind to resolve.