A hotel near Swindon "cannot handle" the number of guests who want to stay there after it won a competition shown on TV.
The Vale Hotel in Cricklade triumphed in Channel 4’s Four in a Bed, appearing on the channel five times in a week before being crowned winner on the Friday.
Since then, the hotel has been fully booked and does not have enough staff to meet the demand.
Owner Mark Ingle said: “We definitely could not have held any more this weekend. We just can't do the numbers.
“We've got another restaurant on the side that we could have filled but we couldn't have held it. We didn't have enough staff.”
READ MORE: Channel 4 Four in a Bed winners The Vale Hotel give reaction
Mark decided it was better to keep numbers lower and provide better service.
The show has “brought a completely different level” of guest since the win in May.
Guests who have heard about the hotel through the TV show joke with Mark about checking the rooms’ quality.
He said: “Some people said they've been in check, and they laugh, and they say it's amazing. They about going around touching on the wall, and mirrors, and lifting up the mattress.”
Since the show aired Mark was hosted by BBC Radio Wiltshire twice to take phone-in questions about being on the show.The chefs at Jambo Grill and Jicsaw restaurants with the plaque, who owner Mark Ingle called amazing (Image: Mark Ingle)
Guests from around the world have come to stay, including Ava from China who visited the area on a business trip.
She said: “I like the hotel. Mark is very hospitable. And I like the room. There is a lot of life. And I think the location of this hotel is very good.
But the popularity is putting a strain on the hotel’s staff as it reaches capacity.
“We just need staff. We just need the correct staff”, said Mark.
“We're looking for someone who wants to be involved in the business. He's not just rock-up like a nine-to-five. I'd love to have a business partner. That'd be incredible.”
The need for the right staff will be felt more acutely by Mark as he hopes to expand the business with river barges to accommodate Thames walkers.
He envisions the boats, planned to be open in January, providing an on-board chef to guests, sourced from one of the hotel’s restaurants.
The hotel won the competition after receiving the lowest underpayment of the bill from fellow competitors and hotel managers.
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