OPTIMUS OBSERVERwww.bdlintranet.co.uk YOUR
3rd
The Optimus Division with its
recently expanded team got
together for a day and half to
meet, chat, share & inspire. We
were hosted by Sara at the
newly transformed County
Hotel, soon to be Best Western
Plus Epping Forest. The team
did her very proud as we were
very well looked after the whole
time.
Thanks to everyone at County
Hotel who looked after us so
well! Also thanks to Rob
Ledson, Mark Dempsie, Ross
Bradley, Maxine Sutton and
Dawn and Ashleigh from
Marketing for coming along to
support the Division with great
insight into current projects and
future strategies.
OPTIMUS OBSERVERYOUR FAVOURITE REDEFINE|BDL NEWSPAPER
EDITION - July 2014
Thanks also to Team Challenge
who did some fantastic team
building activities, which were
lots of fun and really helped our
newly expanded Division to get
to know each other better. We
all enjoyed each challenge set
for our teams and the Boys team
came out well deserved victors
in the end – I think that’s the
exact words the Girls team
‘Well – Gel’ used. ☺
Congratulations to Heathrow,
Camden and Telford who all
smashed their revenue budgets
for June and big congratulations
to Katie and the Tea
Manchester for an all green
Balanced Scorecard
July looks like it might be a
little tougher for some hotels, so
make sure you seek the support
of the sales and revenue teams
to maximise all revenue
opportunities.
OPTIMUS OBSERVER
Since 2014
2014
Congratulations to Heathrow,
Camden and Telford who all
smashed their revenue budgets
for June and big congratulations
to Katie and the Team at
Manchester for an all green
Balanced Scorecard YTD.
looks like it might be a
little tougher for some hotels, so
make sure you seek the support
of the sales and revenue teams
to maximise all revenue
opportunities.
The staff tried their luck on the
black jack table, hoping to win
enough money so they could retire
early! James Kirkpatrick, Leisure
Club Manager won the most
money on the tables and received a
bottle of Champagne:
The team enjoyed a cooling treat
where ‘Mr Whippy’ supplied the
ice creams:
The staff tried their luck on the
black jack table, hoping to win
enough money so they could retire
early! James Kirkpatrick, Leisure
Club Manager won the most
money on the tables and received a
The team enjoyed a cooling treat
Whippy’ supplied the
Celebrate Service Week was
enjoyed by all of the team with lots
of fun, food & frolics.
Now it’s back to reality as we
continue with the Health and Well
Being concept!
Richard Cox, Food Service
Manager swapped places & became
a chef for the day creating a superb
Scandinavian themed buffet for
staff lunch which went down very
well. All of the other lunches in the
week were themed too with Polish,
Mexican, Chinese & Italian meals
for the staff to enjoy:
There were quiz questions every
day with a ‘Where’s Rocky’ picture
so that everyone could participate:
We also held a coffee
morning in aid of McMillan
and raised £110.00.
Cram, MBE kindly assisted
although was disappointed
that all the
the time he came back to
purchase some!
Perhaps the biggest news
of all:
A huge thanks to
Andrews, Head Chef
who has recently
celebrated 35 years’
service!
We also held a coffee
morning in aid of McMillan
and raised £110.00. Steve
Cram, MBE kindly assisted
although was disappointed
that all the cakes had gone by
the time he came back to
purchase some!
Perhaps the biggest news
of all:
A huge thanks to Kevin
Andrews, Head Chef
who has recently
celebrated 35 years’
service!
Football Tournament
for Celebrate Service
The hotel held a five aside
tournament for celebrate service
and to raise money for Macmillan
at the same time.
Teams made from local companies,
pubs and staff made for a great
afternoon followed by a BBQ in
our Dugout Bar and a few dinks for
the opening of the World Cup.
£233 was raised on the day for
Macmillan.
Check out the video right HERE
The Red Lion were the winners:
The hotel held a five aside
for celebrate service
to raise money for Macmillan
Teams made from local companies,
and staff made for a great
afternoon followed by a BBQ in
and a few dinks for
for
Sales & Revenue Conference
A couple of years after the last
one, the Hotel was proud to hold
the Redefine|BDL Sales &
Revenue Conference again.
A lot of hardwork put in by the
staff before, during and after the
event ensured a great time had by
all.
It was a great opportunity to
show off what we can do !!!
Golf Opportunity
Establishing "links" with the
local community and for those
who like to walk a "fairway".
We are now working in
conjunction with the local
Wrekin
beneath the
Wrekin and adjacent to the
ancient Ercall Woods above
Wellington
can be had
residents alike we have an
online package for our guests.
So if you fancy something new
over the summer months
"Drive" up to the
Course.
Wrekin Golf C
Golfing Break
Opportunity
Establishing "links" with the
local community and for those
who like to walk a "fairway".
We are now working in
conjunction with the local
Wrekin Golf Club, situated
beneath the shadow of the
Wrekin and adjacent to the
ancient Ercall Woods above
Wellington. Here; discounts
can be had for staff and
residents alike we have an
online package for our guests.
So if you fancy something new
over the summer months
"Drive" up to the Wrekin Golf
Course.
Wrekin Golf Club
Golfing Break
Team Erskine had a busy week
for celebrate service with
various activities going on
throughout the week and lots of
sweet treats and special lunches
to say Thank You for all the
hard work and ongoing
commitment from each and
every member of staff.
We held a guess the baby
contest in which staff were
asked to bring in baby pictures
for others to guess which picture
belonged to which staff member.
This created a lot of laughter
and excitement with various
wrong guesses which could
sometimes have offended but
luckily it was all in good spirits.
There was also a Who Dunnit
competition, where staff were
asked to send in silly and
embarrassing statements about
themselves, which were put
together on a poster for all to
guess which statement belonged
to which staff member! The
silliness ranged from driving
with no lights on to save petrol,
to invading the stage at a Leeann
Rimes concert!!
There was team selfie day,
whereby each team was asked to
take a team spirited picture with
their team members to remind us
all of the importance of being
of a team.
And last but not least we ended
the week on a Fab Friday theme.
All staff were invited to dress
down, be provided with a special
lunch from our fantastic chefs and
then fed donuts courtesy of our
GM.
There was team selfie day,
whereby each team was asked to
take a team spirited picture with
their team members to remind us
all of the importance of being part
of a team.
And last but not least we ended
the week on a Fab Friday theme.
All staff were invited to dress
down, be provided with a special
lunch from our fantastic chefs and
then fed donuts courtesy of our
With the ‘County Hotel
Transformation’ well under way
(only 25 rooms to go and lots
and lots of snagging), we hosted
the, newly formed, Optimus
Division GM Meeting on 8th
&
9th
July.
The day started with an ‘indoor
picnic’ and a visit from a real
live ‘County Bear’.
Team Challenge provided lots of
fun activities to do, with the
boys team just pipping the girls
(and the true winners) to first
place.
Once the boys had had enough
of bragging and with the
addition of Mr Ledson, we all
enjoyed a fantastic meal at
Sheesh, and mingled with the
TOWIE stars (even though Rob
had no clue who he was asking
for a photo!)
Division Integration
complete………!
Holiday Inn Manchester West
enjoyed a fabulous Celebrate
Service Week!!! It all started
with our Seflie Competition
where the team were
encouraged to send in their
selfies to win a digital
camera. A dressing up box
was put in the staff room for
anyone requiring inspiration!
The photos were displayed at
the team lunch on Friday and
everyone agreed it was a tie
between Amy in F&B, and
Chloe in Reservations –
nothing else to do but put
their names in a hat – Chloe
reigned supreme ( and also
had a nice camera to use as a
Father’s Day gift on the
Sunday!!)
The week also consisted of a
staff lunch on Friday with all
team attending winning a
raffle prize; from Strawberry
plants to wine racks! The
Kitchen team hosted an Ice
Cream
–
weirdest flavour they could
conjure up! Well Done to
Nadia our Business
Development Manager who
won the taste test, and took
home the highly coveted Ice
Cream Goodie Bag.
The week also consisted of a
staff lunch on Friday with all
team attending winning a
raffle prize; from Strawberry
plants to wine racks! The
Kitchen team hosted an Ice
Cream Taste test competition
with wasabi being the
weirdest flavour they could
conjure up! Well Done to
Nadia our Business
Development Manager who
won the taste test, and took
home the highly coveted Ice
Cream Goodie Bag.
We had a record breaking June
2014
The hotel broke budget by £45k
and a growth of £75k on last
year.
Our World Cup promotion went
well and we made an extra
£1,200 and our Cocktail offers
made an additional £1k.
We have had 2 graduates from
NVQ courses:
• Andzelika Rosiak –
Team Leader
• Charlotte Mattingly –
Reception
Recruitment
• Commis Chef
• F&B Host
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations to Ivor Colaco
who has been appointed
Assistant Food & Beverage
Manager.
Ivor has been working as a
Supervisor for HI Heathrow for
almost 2 years and have made a
significant difference to the
operations, the team and overall
success of the department. We
are thrilled to witness Ivor
taking his next career step in the
company.
As previously announced, Roger
Rodrigues and Samir Ballak has
both been promoted to Food &
Beverage Shift Leaders effective
as if 1st July. Both Roger and
Samir have proven to be reliant,
hardworking and acting role
models for our values – Integrity,
Care, Ambition & Excellence.
As also previously announced,
Anna Grover was appointed
Breakfast Supervisor in July.
Anna has been working at HI
Heathrow for 4.5 years and has
shown great ambition and
excellence in her role. We are
very proud to see Anna progress
to the next level
Magic Moments
Amanda Sami Awarded "Star
of the Weekend" for offering to
stay 2 hours longer to help the
late shift taking a delayed flight
Noelia Goncalves guest email
thanking Noelia for her assistant
finding her ring
Malik Ali guest email
mentioning Maliks exceptional
service
Sulina V. Gouveia Letter for
client (Coca Cola) - very
pleased with Sulinas service
Jay Ozgun Guest Email
mentioning Jays exceptional
service
Employee of the Month
Samir Ballak, Food & Beverage
CELEBRATE SERVICE WEEK
5k Team Member Charity
Run
We raised over £600 for the
great cause that is Macmillan.
Numer
for Celebrate Service
A BBQ by the river
A SPA day
Treasure Hunt
Ice Cream
Numerous activities were held
for Celebrate Service:
A BBQ by the river
A SPA day
Treasure Hunt
Ice Cream & Fun Day
In Other News!
Savan, our Duty Manager, had a
baby body on the 5
We welcomed our new Front
Office Manager to the team: Meral
Kaya
Team Engagement Focus Groups:
Team discussions on what we we
should start, stop and continue to
drive employee engagement.
In Other News!
Savan, our Duty Manager, had a
baby body on the 5th
May
We welcomed our new Front
Office Manager to the team: Meral
Team Engagement Focus Groups:
Team discussions on what we we
should start, stop and continue to
drive employee engagement.
The Moorfield Hotel
celebrates one year on
from practical
completion.
The picture shows
some of the staff who
started work at the
brand new hotel
Congratulations to our
Head Chef Toby
Smedley and his wife
Alison, who gave birth
to a lovely baby boy on
7th June. A lovely big
brother for Jack.