Turning Around the

Turnaround

Savannah Snowden HFT 2220

Ashley Ortiz Rosario Dr. Wei Wei
Denver Romano March 8th, 2020

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Case Summary

1 2
Ashcroft replaces the
Ashcroft Hotels
General Manager with
acquires Lincoln Hotel.
Michael Wood.
3 4
Lincoln’s Food &
Theo and Michael have a
Beverage Director is
meeting at the Lincoln.
replaced.

Hoping to turn around He is one of the Theo Walters is an This meeting is meant to
the underperforming company’s most upcoming star in set expectations for
property and make it experienced and Ashcroft’s flagship Theo to meet.
successful. successful managers. location.

2
 Case Summary:
Michael & Theo’s Meeting Profit &
Inventory

Theo expressed that he would take

care of things immediately. Maintenance &
Scheduling Sanitation
The list given by Michael included
the following areas of opportunity:

Production Service

3
 Theo’s Department Meeting: Service
Procedures

Theo began his task of food and

beverage director by calling a
department meeting and
Areas of
implementing changes.
Change

Work Training
Schedules Program

4
Problems
Revenue
● Poor service is deterring new
customers.
● No inventory control.
Service
● Table linens are stained and
employee uniforms are
outdated.
● The Director of Sales is
reluctant to bring in
potential clients.
● Food is taking too long in the
kitchen.
Training & Development
● Food quality and portioning is
04 inconsistent.
● Scheduling discrepancies: in high
occupancy periods the restaurant
is understaffed.
● Implementation of new programs
without proper consultation.
01 03
Food Safety
● Sanitation levels are unacceptable.
02 ● Some ovens in the kitchen are not
working properly.
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Causes and Effects
No proper training for Front-of-House
and Back-of-House
Back-of-House Team: there have
been no set quality standards to
meet and portion sizes for the
different menu options is off.
Front-of-House Team: New
standards come as a shock and some
people in the team are not reacting
well to the change.
Food and Service
Quick, unexpected change
inconsistency
Guests are unsatisfied Although for the better,
and are scared away from Theo’s changes have been
the business. Hotel met with resistance. This is
Directors are not inclined due to him attempting to
to bring in clients for make changes too quickly.
business lunches.
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 Forces FOR
Change
Score Force Field Analysis Forces AGAINST
Change
Score

Need to increase Staff are set in their

4 2
profitability ways of performance
Change Proposal
Poorly maintained Time requirement of
2 3
equipment retraining employees

Upfront cost of fixing or

Declining team morale 2 4
Increase guest replacing equipment
Introducing new
Poor sanitation levels 5 satisfaction, retained working practices 3
creates uncertainty
revenue, and staff
Increased competition
in the area
2 confidence at the
Changes in customers’ Lincoln Hotel
service expectations 4
when dining out Restaurant
Changes in food trends 3

The forces in favor of change outweigh

TOTAL 22 the forces against change. TOTAL 12

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SWOT Analysis
Strengths
● Successful history of turning around
properties
● Prepared new procedures
● Plan to implement training program
● New enthusiastic department head
SWOT
Opportunities
● Curate new menu options
● Create experiences based on time of day
● In-house employee training
● Solicit customer feedback
● Recruitment of new staff
Weaknesses
● Restaurant not profitable
● Inconsistent food quality and portions
● Unacceptable sanitation levels
● Maintenance concerns
● Staffing problems
● Inventory levels
Threats
● Competition of nearby restaurants
● Rising wage minimums
● Turnover of servers
● Rising cost of ingredients
● Economic factors
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Short-Term Solutions
Host a team meeting
Clean and sanitize FOH and BOH

Immediately Repair and replace equipment

Take control of inventory

Include guest satisfaction cards with every meal purchased

2 Months Establish guest service standards for front of house staff

Establish Culinary Training for Portion Control.

Roll out new menus

6 Months Implement training program

Reset Sales Goals expectations

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Immediate Solutions
● Team Meetings
○ Meant to foster dialogue between management and both Front of House and Back of House
staff allowing them to communicate concerns and and discuss operational updates

● Clean and sanitize FOH and BOH

○ To ensure location is compliant with Food Safety Codes

● Repair and/or replace Kitchen equipment

○ Partner with Maintenance Department to get equipment back in service and promote efficiency
in Kitchen

● Take control of Inventory

○ Identify items in stock and implement Digital Inventory Tracking with Automated Purchasing
Tools alongside Procurement Department to ensure restaurant is always stocked
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2-Month Solutions
● Partner with Executive Chef to come up with new menu items and retrain
Culinary staff
○ To execute consistent food Quality and Portion Control

● Include Guest Satisfaction cards for every table

○ To gain feedback on Guest Experience and work on areas of opportunity

● Establish Guest Service Standards for Front-of-House staff

○ Theo must meet with Hotel’s Executive Committee and implement Mission & Vision for the
restaurant that they want staff to follow

● Develop a marketing plan to include paid advertisements and Social Media

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6-Month Solutions
● Roll out new lunch and dinner menus
○ Alongside special offers during each meal period
○ Promote these offerings through Social Media and posted signage through hotel

● Evaluate Service Standards and their effectiveness

○ Analyze Guest Satisfaction Scores and relation to FOH performance
○ Utilize optimized scheduling software and online/digital table reservation software

● Set sales goals and evaluate them on a weekly basis

○ By implementing contests for Servers who outsell and upsell restaurant food & beverage options

12
Long-Term Solutions
Update employee uniforms

1 Year Roll out website, email database, and customer loyalty program

Evaluate impact Menu Changes has had on Sales

Re-evaluate marketing plans, track Social Media comments

and Guest Satisfaction Scores.
2 Years Identify and utilize new technologies, policies, and training
programs

Update the interior design

5 Years Implement sustainability practices

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1 Year Solutions
● Update employee uniforms
○ Work with Executive Hotel Committee to create a look of unison between Restaurant Staff and
Hotel Staff

● Determine the best way to eliminate labor and supply costs

○ Work with both HR department and Procurement to ensure costs are thinned and streamlined

● Improve top selling items and remove underselling items from the menu
○ Utilize Guest Satisfaction Scores to evaluate which items will be removed and/or improved

● Create a sleek website, email database, and customer loyalty program

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2 Year Solutions
● Re-evaluate marketing plans based on cultural trends
○ As new techniques and strategies are introduced, evaluate Marketing and Social Media plans
and base them off what is actually working

○ Share feedback with Executive Committee during monthly Executive Meetings

● Update technologies, policies, and programs

○ POS system that integrates in a way to submit orders to kitchen and easily split bills

○ Evaluate: Stock rotation and Opening & Closing checklists

○ Programs:

■ Employee satisfaction programs

■ Training & Development programs - consider a Management-In-Training program

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5 Year Solutions
● Update the interior design including furniture and decorations
○ To ensure we maintain a modernized look and feeling to the restaurant that attracts customers

● Improve on sustainability practices to cut costs and reduce waste

○ Partner with Community to come up with Recycling Procedures to implement and evaluate
through a 5-Year process

○ Utilize energy efficient appliances to reduce utility and sewage bills

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Reflection
Ashcroft acquires the
Lincoln Hotel
Acquiring a failing restaurant,
and making it a success,
presents many challenges
A New Director
A New Direction
Theo was ambitious and
attempted to implement
changes too quickly
What Went Wrong
Theo should have taken more
time to learn about what was
causing problems

● Martin, the new GM, conducted ● Theo’s changes were met with ● Meet with and learn about current
an analysis to identify problem resistance from staff. staff members’ concerns
areas
● Theo isolated himself from the ● Focus on Training
● Martin gave the list to Theo, the rest of the hotel’s management ● Partner with other department
new Food & Beverage Director heads on what they were doing to
● In the end, Theo’s efforts did
not improve the restaurant improve their own departments

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Reflection
Analysis
Our team conducted both
Force Field and SWOT
Analysis
● Force Field Analysis shows that ● Targeted to solve:
the forces for change outweigh
forces against change
● SWOT analysis was used to
identify problems and allowed
us to propose solutions to
overcome these problems
Short Term Solutions Long Term Solutions
Broken down into Broken down into
Immediate, 2-Month, and 1-Year, 2-Year, and
6-Month Solutions 5-Year Solutions
● Targeted to solve:
○ Scheduling ○ Guest Service Procedures
○ Revenue Generation ○ Efficiency and economic
concerns
○ Food Safety
○ Aesthetics and first
impression of restaurant
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References
Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). Force Field Analysis - Analyzing the Pressures For and Against Change. Retrieved March 2, 2020,
from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm

Visual Paradigm Online. (n.d.). SWOT Analysis Case Studies. Retrieved March 2, 2020, from
https://online.visual-paradigm.com/knowledge/swot-analysis/swot-analysis-case-studies/

Woods, R. H., Johanson, M. M., & Sciarini, M. P. (2012). Turning Around the Turnaround. In J. Purvis (Ed.), Managing Hospitality
Human Resources (pp. 153–156). East Lansing, Michigan: American Hotel & Lodging, Educational Institute.

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