Travelling the UK supporting hotels through audit processes is something I’ve been doing for the best part of 28 years. Even after leaving the AA, and even whilst working as a GM I continued to visit hotels and restaurants to assess quality and performance. Keeping tabs on best practice is...
It’s always the Governments fault! Maybe, but your destiny is ultimately in your own hands.
I can't think of a tougher time for hospitality. For the first time in several generations, businesses need to charge more (rampant increase in costs) to customers who have less money in their pocket (cost of living crisis). How exactly does that work and how can you escape the centrifugal...
The Monkey Trap – With becoming so obsessed with ‘doing’, have we forgotten to make time for adaptive ‘change’?
We’ve all seen the Monkey Trap. Hunters in the bush place a piece of fruit in a vase. The monkey reaches in and grabs the fruit but can’t remove it’s hand with the fruit in its grip. Rather than release the fruit and move on the monkey just sits their...
Cyclable success in hospitality isn’t unlike the process of photosynthesis in nature? Have you got enough sunshine in your business?
A few years ago I assisted a property who were looking to reposition themselves in the market through investment. The strategy being to increase rates and move from being a mid range three star to strong 4 star product, and in doing so open up new market segments - Spa,...
Yes, of course I can grow pumpkins on your apple tree?
Consultants that claim they can do anything often link into hoteliers that think anything is possible. These types of hoteliers operate within an entrepreneurial doctrine with only light references to reports and budgets, insisting instead on throwing beds, food and humans in the air and seeing how they land each...
I’ve been asked so many times which have been my favourite hotels and restaurants from the thousands I’ve visited. Here they are.
A top 10 wouldn’t do justice to this list so I’ve crafted a top 20 for UK Hotels and UK & European Restaurants. The criteria is based on the wow factor of the time that delivered something I’d not experienced before, or provides a level of incredible service, skills and...
This elephant in the room has been frantically waving its trunk (decorated with fairly lights) at us for over 20 years. Is the industry in self denial?
This blog is about training, learning and developing people as you look to achieve a stable workforce, and an aspirational, successful business model, even within the cost of living crisis and with war in Europe. Payroll is likely to be your biggest outlay. So what are you doing to optimise...
Judge a leader by what they’re passionate about and if they don’t have this passion as their no.1, then it might just all be smoke and mirrors.
I’m in and out of hotels each week with one eye dedicated to consultancy and problem solving, whilst the other remains entrenched with historical inspector vision that sees most things. Within an hour of milling around any given hotel I can tell you what drives it’s leadership, what drives the...
