THE winter conditions have prompted company top brass to much in with everyone else and keep businesses going.

Joanne Taylor-Stagg, the general manager of the Marriott Hotel and also the president of the Swindon Chamber of Commerce, spent part of yesterday with her staff clearing the snow from the hotel car park.

“Monday was the worst day when we lost 50 bookings because of the snow - that meant one third of our hotel was empty,” she said.

“Since then we have had people staying over longer because they have not been able to get home and on Wednesday night more people booked in because the snow was well forecast.

“In fact one lady was trying to get through Marlborough and was turned back by the police. She spent the night with us.

“On the supplies front we’ve had no problem.”

At the De Vere Hotel, at Shaw Ridge on Monday it was the same case where they had 44 cancellations.

At the National Trust in Kemble Drive, where 500 people work, about 50 per cent were unable to get to work yesterday because of the weather conditions.

“We are linked through our computers so we can virtually carry on as normal,” said Jane Travis, the press and PR manager for the NT in Swindon.

“You could say that actually with people not coming into work their carbon footprint is improved and this has been a green week rather than a white one.”

Nationwide’s Swindon offices, which employ 4,500, said the majority of people had made it to work and there had been a tannoy announcement congratulating employees for making it in.

“There was a few who didn’t make it which is normal,” said Steve Cowdry for the company.

“But the good thing is that most people made an effort. We too have the facilities for working from home and that is our people have done.”

Paul Briggs, the chief executive of the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group said: “The amount of disruption has varied across the Thames Valley from being awful on Monday in the east and getting worse in the west yesterday.

“What has been surprising is that disruption has been kept to a minimum because so many people have the capability of working from home. This has been the most popular time ever.”