Corporate Magazine November 2017

A Day in the Life…
Late afternoon I always touch base with the finance team
to go through budgets and ensure the figures stack up!
Managing a major refurbishment over the past couple of
years and the forthcoming work is as much about
balancing the numbers as it is managing the contractors,
so this is a crucial part of the day.
The last part of the afternoon I try to spend time front of
house, meeting guests that are checking in or relaxing
in the lounge areas. I also like to catch up with any
conference clients to ensure all went well. It’s always good
to hear first-hand feedback on our facilities and service.
We have a range of refurbished conference suites and
outdoor event space available, and regularly host clients
for one day to week long events; and this is growing. Our
excellent location blends the tranquillity of the Lancashire
countryside with the ease of free parking and close
proximity to the M6, which has proven to be popular with
corporate event guests, those looking to host an annual
dinner or an award event.
A quick run through the emails, my last espresso of the day
and returning telephone calls rounds off the afternoon.
Early evening, I prepare for a specially designed dinner
I’m hosting in the Walled Garden restaurant. It will be
attended by national corporate travel agents and
conference and event managers. It will include a tailored
tasting menu developed especially for them, with specific
wines served with each dish. We try to include seasonal
products as much as we can and as we enter autumn and
winter there’s so much choice from the local area.
We invite our local suppliers to get involved and this gives
them the opportunity to showcase their fantastic products
and for us to demonstrate the superb dishes we can
create. We have an excellent chef and kitchen team and
our sommelier has an in-depth knowledge of wine to
serve which is a great asset to our team.
I’ll then head home. A quick catch up on emails and paper
work that has come in during the afternoon, so I’m all
ready to go and have a ‘clear’ desk in the morning! And
then, it’s family time. Work-life balance is a difficult one to
strike in the hospitality sector; 24 hour a day businesses
don’t lend themselves to ‘down time’ very well...but I am
working on it!
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