Richard Whitehouse Managing Director
Rudrum Holdings Group, Bristol
The Cornwall Hotel and Spa www.thecornwall.com

I’m Richard Whitehouse, I am the managing director of the Rudrum Holdings Group, Bristol. Which is a successful company in coal, energy and property. About two years ago we opened The Cornwall Hotel which was our first venture into the hotel industry. We thought that running the hotel would be as easy as we find running our other businesses…it wasn’t. It was a very different animal.

Drew Flood General Manager
The Cliff Town House, Dublin http://theclifftownhouse.com

Because the world has got so tight and the world, to use that cliché that everyone speaks about ..‘challenging’, every business no matter whether in England or Ireland, has to be run so close to the wind. Because if systems are not in place-  and the systems have to be in place – and we’ve seen that with a big turn over , and then we have seen keeping our turnover but with the systems in place in relations to our margins how are business has grown and how our GOP has grown.  And that at the end of the day, there’s no point being a happy fool and HBIM put those systems in place.

Adam Fox-Edwards Managing Director
The Arundell Arms Hotel, Devon www.arundellarms.com

I have no hesitation of recommending HBIM. The cost is, whatever the day rate is you are negotiating that is appropriate for your business. The benefits for us financially have been five or ten times the cost of the outlay of the training program.  But more importantly for me is the increase in sales, increase in service and increase of responsibility from the management team, that previously had little exposure to this sort of thinking. They now take ownership of their own budgets and areas. So that for me is a far greater benefit and one worth the investment.

Toby Ashworth Managing Director
The Nare Hotel, Cornwall www.narehotel.co.uk

Well, within the first year I could see it, a) because I could actually see what we had and hadn’t done and I put it to maybe the fact that we can see what has been gained from it and that was within the first year. I haven’t actually done the calculation over ten years but even knowing that within the first year we had done it, we could see that, because effectively we were showing it ourselves within the figures simply within that first year.

Jeremy Palmer Regional Business Coach
HBIM www.hbim.co.uk

Why HBIM, I think it’s because we bring it to the level that it is needed, we would then help you as a director owner to gain from it, to actually gain from it because actually in most cases people are actually running it. Management should be running your hotel and you as an owner or managing director have time to actually look at how to develop your company further.

Andrew Palmer Director
Priory Bay Hotel, Isle of Wight www.priorybay.co.uk

HBIM came about 2 and a half years ago, to do a full ten day program over about three months. Broken down in to two day periods. The initial bit being the financial and then just going on to more general management skills. I think that the critical part was the financial part.

Richard Whitehouse Managing Director
Rudrum Holdings Group, Bristol
The Cornwall Hotel and Spa www.thecornwall.com

Anyone that is sceptical of consultants, join the club. There is no one more sceptical than I am and I’ve never given an endorsement to any other consultant that we’ve used. That’s not to say that there aren’t good consultants, of course there are. But we’ve not the best experiences with them until this moment. That’s what I would say to anyone in that frame of mind.

Drew Flood General Manager
The Cliff Town House, Dublin http://theclifftownhouse.com

We will see the improvements to our margins and to our bottom line and at the end of the day one can’t get a more transparent success than that. And it was literally going back to the basics and putting in the disciplines in relation to forecasting , keeping an eye on the margins, and it has definitely had a big impact in our company.

Adam Fox-Edwards Managing Director
The Arundell Arms Hotel, Devon www.arundellarms.com

They adapted themselves, we’ve adapted to our circumstances and now we have the heads of department having weekly budget meetings when I don’t need to be there and they are telling me how things are going to be and report back on how things went. And they now take great ownership of the whole process something of which didn’t happen.

Toby Ashworth Managing Director
The Nare Hotel, Cornwall www.narehotel.co.uk

Peter was challenging and that was good. You need to be challenged otherwise one can get too complacent and cosy and it gets all too comfortable and we have got to be challenged. He challenged me, and he made sure I was thinking far enough ahead on having strategies, which again helps me now. So I think that is the everlasting tangible thing that actually comes out of it, which I thoroughly recommend.

Richard Whitehouse Managing Director
Rudrum Holdings Group, Bristol
The Cornwall Hotel and Spa www.thecornwall.com

I am proud to say that from December 2010 to date, we have never made a loss. Every month we have made a trading profit.  So the hotel has been turned round very rapidly and very quickly and far more quickly I think than we would have turned it round had Peter not been there to guide us.

So I am very happy to have been a part of this presentation, because I genuinely believe in it and if I didn’t I wouldn’t.  So it certainly worked for us and I’ve got no doubt at all that any hotel that is in need of better cost control and better disciplines would soon benefit.  The benefits in our case far out way the costs by an incredible degree.

Andrew Palmer Director
Priory Bay Hotel, Isle of Wight www.priorybay.co.uk

In all business I have been involved in its easy to get a consultant in to come and talk to people about stuff and they go away and nobody takes any notice of it and it’s just a “I went on this course” there on their CV and it doesn’t really have any impact. I think that the personal challenges, that are often quite direct, try to make sure that there is a real result from the process.

Peter Nannestad Managing Director
HBIM www.hbim.co.uk

My trainer used to say to me “look Peter, live, love learn and leave a legacy. Live your life to the full. Love intensely and learn every day. Read a book every day. I read every day, 15 minutes every day. I’m just two thirds through the latest Richard Branson book which is Responsibility Culture, which is me, which is very good. Then leave a legacy. Leave what involvement you have in life, where you are. Leave it a better place when you go, than when you came. And this is a pretty good feeling philosophy. And that’s really what it’s all about’.

For more information please contact info@hbim.co.uk

HBIM, Profit Improvement Programme.

Hospitality Business Improvement Management have worked with 100’s of hospitality and leisure businesses, over the last 20 years, with proven results, achieving:- a rise in standards; increased profits; motivated management teams; reduction in staff turnover and increased sales.

If you want to know how you can ride out the recession and stay afloat, with increased profits then call us today on 01225 443483, or email angela@hbim.co.uk quoting BLOG11 for a free no obligation business review meeting.

Along with Ian Laverty, Intelligent Mobile – Peter Nannestad, HBIM will be covering the session entitled Action Stations! - Trimming the Fat – How to be a lean clean and highly profitable machine. Are you losing pounds or saving them? Practical tips and advice from the experts on the best way to cut costs and drive revenue.

Peter will be presenting a breif overview of the 12 Economic Levers (watch this space for a transcript of the session). For more details contact info@hbim.co.uk

HBIM Past, present and future clients can attend at a discounted rate £195 + VAT, instead of £245 + VAT. Quote HBIM when booking.

Click here to view The Conference Guide See you there!

Here is an excerpt from the article.

In recent recessions, notably in the early 1990s, the recovery has been as dangerous for hotel and restaurant businesses as the original downturn. Seasoned hotel consultant Peter Nannestad offers his survival guidelines: primarily that you cannot have too much brutal clarity about the figures in this industry.

A lack of mental arithmetic may condemn the new generation of graduates to repeat the experience of the last – or, from the lexicographers view of ‘manager’, the issue may be in the culture.

Last year the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal won the Training & Development and Hotel of the Year category at the Westmorland Gazette Business and Tourism Awards.

As Tim Rumney – Managing Director, Castle Green Hotel said ‘Our entry was based around the HBIM programme and we won!’

For more information about the Castle Green Hotel, do have a look at their website www.castlegreen.co.uk and of course if you want to find out how they did it with HBIM’s help, have a look at our website www.hbim.co.uk.

HBIM Past and Present Clients

Google Maps is not only an excellent tool for finding where places are, but did you know that you can plot locations and save them to your own map and view several locations at the same time.

A good exercise to carry out if you want to plot where your clients are.  In this case, we saved the locations of all the hotels and restaurants that HBIM have worked with in the last few years. What was surprising was that they were fairly well spread out across the UK and Ireland.

Next job is to plot all the hotels who we are currently in discussions with, where the HBIM Training Programme is yet to start.

Giving you the tools for survival.

Achieving your Profit Potential

• The Industry Norms
• Building a Budget
• Food & Beverage Costing
• Managing Cash-Flow

Involving, Developing & Empowering Your Team

• Communication Skills
• Setting Objectives
• Organisational Structures
• job Clarification
• In House Training Programmes

Growing Your Business

• Analysis of Markets
• Sales & Marketing Plans
• Pricing Strategies
• In House Sales Techniques

Gaining & Keeping Control of Your Business

• Delegation Skills
• Leadership Development
• Decision Making
• Time Management
• Effective Meetings

To find out how to put these tools into practice – drop us an email info@hbim.co.uk or call for more details 01225 443483.

Allow one of our Business Coaches to drop in and see you for a no-obligation chat.  It will only cost you a cup of coffee – but could save you a whole lot more!

By nature of the fact that it is a leisure industry, have we forgotten about why were are in business in the first place?, yes to make a profit, but if we work too hard without actually reaping the benefits, what is the point?

That is where HBIM come in, we are a group of qualified, experienced and skilled hotel, restaurant and hospitality professionals, pretty much all of us have owned and run hotels, restaurants and pubs at one stage or another. Even down to our admin staff – they too have worked on the other side of the desk/bar/kitchen!

So why do you need our help now, its just about surviving through the tough times at the moment isn’t it – yes of course it is, but knowing how to use the tools to be profitable, develop your team and grow your business are just as important, if not more important now than ever before. And there are businesses that are doing more than survive – they are prospering.

Have a look at our website www.hbim.co.uk for some of the ways we can help.