- 2 weeks ago
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00:01I've run hotels most of my working life.
00:05So we've got 23 rooms in house tonight. Thank you very much to all of you.
00:10So I know all too well how brutal the hospitality industry can be.
00:14That is terrifying.
00:16We've put everything that we have into this.
00:17And this year the situation truly is dire.
00:21You've got me worried about that now.
00:22I have a lot of pressure to make sure that I deliver.
00:26With businesses facing spiralling energy, food and wage costs.
00:31I have a big sense of responsibility.
00:34And customers who have less money to spend.
00:37Frankly, sweet Fanny Adams.
00:39From country pubs.
00:40Careful of the dog ****.
00:42To seaside hotels.
00:43This has got to be done for Friday. I have somebody in here Friday night.
00:47Shepherd's huts.
00:48You've got a big one. Thank you.
00:50To family guest houses.
00:51Makes me think of Scarlett O'Hara.
00:54They're all in desperate need of my help.
00:56She's just pulled up and I'm terrified.
00:59I'll be getting my hands dirty.
01:01Mind the pint work.
01:03And delivering some hard truths.
01:06I think you're bonkers.
01:08Hello.
01:09To help owners across the country get back in the black.
01:13Something has got to change.
01:15You're very silent. Why?
01:17You're the expert.
01:18Before everything comes crashing down.
01:21We're just hoping we can catch it before it's too late.
01:25That is my challenge.
01:27Should I choose to accept it?
01:28And I do.
01:32This time.
01:34Why is everything so weedy?
01:36It annoys me.
01:37I'm called in to help a couple.
01:39There we go.
01:40One cheese toastie.
01:41At this point I'm wondering if I can stay somewhere around.
01:44Who's lifelong dream of running a pub.
01:46The bedroom you gave me.
01:47It's completely bland.
01:49Has become a living nightmare.
01:51What this isn't really nice though.
01:53No.
01:54Was I not clear about that?
01:56Don't be homeless.
01:57Not my age.
02:02Living the dream.
02:03As I say.
02:05Nine years ago 58 year old agricultural engineer Stephen.
02:10There you go young man.
02:11That's your one.
02:12And 57 year old former acquisitions analyst Julie.
02:15Not doing the best job at us.
02:17It's only pillowcases.
02:18It's fine.
02:19Tied the knot.
02:21Get down.
02:21Calm.
02:22Calm.
02:23You don't like us sitting next to each other.
02:24It gets jealous.
02:27Both divorcees with four grown up kids between them.
02:30They dreamt of a new life.
02:32Working together.
02:33Running a pub.
02:35We've both been made redundant.
02:37And we decided after a bottle of wine.
02:39Oh yeah.
02:40That could be fun.
02:41Just to hang out with people.
02:42And you earn money.
02:43Yeah.
02:44So despite almost zero experience in the hospitality trade.
02:49I've never pulled apart in my life.
02:50In 2018 Julian Stephen bought a 16th century grade two listed coaching in.
02:57I just fell in love with it straight away.
03:00The Swan is the last remaining pub in Monks Ely.
03:03A rural village of just 500 residents.
03:06Eight miles from where they lived in Suffolk.
03:09It supported four pubs in its time.
03:12And three of them are now gone.
03:13And we want to do anything we can to keep it going.
03:20The newlyweds sunk everything they had into their new business.
03:25We've invested a house, cars, redundancy payments, everything into this place.
03:32I would say £600,000.
03:35It included private accommodation on the top floor, three storage rooms on the floor below,
03:40a 35-seater restaurant, commercial kitchen and a large bar area.
03:47We had rose-tinted glasses.
03:49You buy a pub, money rolls in and your job is to count it and go to Tenerife once a
03:54year
03:55and move all the other landlords.
03:57The actual reality of it was totally different.
03:59It was just full on, like hit the ground running full on.
04:03It's one of the hardest jobs you can do.
04:05This is a cellar.
04:06Normally it's dark when I'm sitting in here crying.
04:10But before they had found their feet in the trade, Covid hit.
04:14And like 81% of hospitality businesses, the pub and restaurant were forced to close indefinitely.
04:22Go on.
04:23And when lockdown ended, the hospitality landscape had changed dramatically.
04:29The chef's salary doubled and that's if you could find a chef.
04:33A lot of chefs were going on to do delivery driving and work-life balance improved
04:37because chef's life is just sort of full on as well.
04:41And the chefs that were left were saying, well, this is my salary.
04:44This is what I'm expecting.
04:46And we just couldn't afford that.
04:48We've been bankrupt.
04:49With no staff available, Julie had no choice but to step into the kitchen
04:54despite no formal catering training.
04:57Every night we went to bed, Julie was in tears.
05:00You don't want to see something you love in tears all the time.
05:04I literally was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
05:06It's a little bit raw still, I guess.
05:09We were literally rock bottom then, so it's sort of a trigger, I guess.
05:16At breaking point, the couple made the decision to step back.
05:19They secured a tenant landlord who signed up for seven years.
05:23Within seven months he was gone because he couldn't make it work.
05:28He was losing £1,000 a week.
05:32Forced to return, things had to change.
05:35I was like, this time it's on our terms.
05:39They closed the kitchen.
05:41This used to be our main dining area.
05:45Now it's the pool table.
05:47And turned their attention to three upstairs rooms,
05:50which they had converted into letting rooms during the pandemic.
05:54I decorated everything.
05:55I kind of tried a country sort of themed wallpaper, really.
05:59And I quite liked the wallpaper, so I continued it out into the hallway.
06:03So this room goes £150 a night.
06:06But the rooms aren't selling.
06:09Our occupancy rate's 9.4%.
06:12Pretty rubbish.
06:14Yeah, all the money we're getting in really is coming from drinkers.
06:18But we can't rely on that alone.
06:20Their income stream is now so fragile...
06:23That's £19.
06:24It's nearly as cheap as up north, ain't it?
06:26...that this 500-year-old public house could be forced to close.
06:31There you go.
06:32We don't want to be the last landlord and landlady in Monks Island.
06:36Leaving Stephen and Julie with nothing.
06:39It's not a hobby for us.
06:41It's our career, our home.
06:43Everything's tied up in this place.
06:45So it's got to work, hasn't it?
06:47Don't be homeless.
06:48Not my age.
06:56Suffolk attracts 35 million visitors a year.
07:00It's got the sea, it's got wonderful rural landscapes.
07:06And it's no wonder, with its picturesque medieval towns and villages
07:10and stunning countryside as captured by John Constable.
07:16Steve and Julie were novice publicans.
07:20We've been on spider watch.
07:22I don't want to find in a random spider.
07:24This was their life's ambition to live the good life.
07:28And they found it not to be everything they expected.
07:32It's all very nerve-wracking.
07:35No-one likes to be criticised, I guess.
07:38I'm sure she'll say some things we don't want to hear.
07:41But hopefully she ain't most immaturely.
07:44In one way, you know, you have to salute people
07:47who drop everything to follow their dreams.
07:50But most people go in with unrealistic expectations,
07:54not nearly enough money,
07:55and with delusions of their own abilities.
08:03Well, it's a nice cheery colour.
08:08This is the pub of the village,
08:10so it must be very dear to locals' hearts.
08:15There's a hanging basket.
08:18This is the first sign that all might not be well.
08:22Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday closed.
08:25Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
08:29Two till nine?
08:31I mean, lucky them.
08:34Drinks only.
08:34Restaurant permanently closed.
08:37I'm starting to understand why I might be here.
08:40So to work.
08:42Hi.
08:43Very nice to meet you.
08:45I'm Alex. Hi.
08:46You know, I don't want this to sound rude,
08:48but what the hell do you do with yourselves?
08:49You've got clothes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
08:52Yeah, yeah.
08:53So I'm not going to have you tell me you're overworked.
08:55We won't say that then, no.
08:57No.
08:59So tell me what on earth made you want to do this?
09:02I'd been looking for a pub for quite a few years
09:06and saw up in the dining room areas
09:08a lovely picture wall, like with mirrors,
09:10and I was like, that's exactly what I wanted.
09:13This is the pub.
09:13And what's worked and what hasn't?
09:15I had my regulars, drinkers, but I don't quite know how to get more in.
09:20When we got to the pub, the first night we was here, 150 people,
09:24and one of the regulars said, take a photo of all these people,
09:28three quarters you'll never see again, and unfortunately you haven't.
09:31You do end up taking it personally.
09:33You do take it personally.
09:33They're not coming in because they just don't like us.
09:35So did the rooms work out?
09:37We've got two more bookings to do until the end of the year.
09:40Next year we've got two.
09:42Occupancy is 9.4%.
09:44Gosh darling, that's very dispiriting.
09:47OK.
09:48I think the most useful thing is for me to go and look at the bedroom.
09:51Yes.
09:52Yep.
09:54So this is Swan Suite.
09:57This is my favourite room.
09:59Are you happy for me to look around and then I'll come and talk to you a bit more later?
10:02Yep. Lovely, thank you.
10:03Thanks very much.
10:04All right.
10:07Scary.
10:08She's been in the tray for years, so she's got the right to be quite blunt, I suppose.
10:16It's just dreary.
10:18Quite dreary.
10:20Doesn't feel to me like a classic country pub, which is what it should feel like.
10:26People want it all cosy.
10:29I mean, look at the furniture.
10:31What are you doing at that little funny table?
10:35I am itching to move things out.
10:39If I was staying somewhere, that's the room I'd choose, because that's all me.
10:43I decorated it, I furnished it.
10:45I'm not mad here on this wallpaper.
10:48Why is everything so weedy?
10:50It's just weedy.
10:52It annoys me.
10:53I feel like it's comfortable and cosy.
10:57I was just going to say bloody awful, darling.
11:01At £150 a night, I would expect much more of a personal touch.
11:06There's no note from the owners, there's not a flower in a vase.
11:11Looking around, it's no surprise to me that their occupancy rate is a miserable 9%.
11:17But look at the miserliness of this tray.
11:20Why is there only one cup?
11:23The thing that I find extraordinarily dispiriting is this is someone's dream.
11:30And it looks like this.
11:33It's no one's idea of a kind of cosy little Suffolk pub.
11:38It's kind of pretty bland and I think quite depressing.
11:51It just takes so long, ironing duvet cover.
11:54You try and iron a super king-sized duvet and see how long it takes.
12:00After meeting later in life, Julian Stephen bought a fur baby
12:04and the 16th century-listed thatched alehouse
12:08in the medieval village of Monxelian Suffolk
12:10to live out their shared dream.
12:13It can't carry on like it is.
12:15If things don't improve, I'd say we've got probably six months a year.
12:19One evening, I think I took 20 quids and the rooms have gone flat.
12:23It's soul-destroying.
12:24They're struggling for custom.
12:26Everywhere I go, it's failing.
12:28And my curse with these fake ones.
12:32And in my brief time here, I'm starting to see why.
12:35This is where I really get cross.
12:38What do these have to do with Suffolk?
12:41I've never seen a giraffe in Suffolk.
12:44The flock suite.
12:46I really, really dislike how every single bit of this place has been done.
12:51Wouldn't it be nice if that wasn't facing a wall?
12:56Obviously, this is a IKEA antique user manual.
13:02I don't use a manual.
13:05House rules.
13:06I would never start with house rules.
13:08My fight is included in your stay.
13:10We have no control as to its speeds.
13:12I've never seen that much.
13:13Breakfast is served between 8 and 9.30am.
13:19Oh, thank you.
13:22It would be great if you could jot down the time you'd like breakfast.
13:26This ensures we set our alarm clocks.
13:29At this point, I'm wondering if I can stay somewhere else.
13:31Full English breakfast is two sausages, two bacon washers and one egg.
13:36I didn't realise that eggs weren't such a premium.
13:39Let's see if there's only one towel in the bathroom.
13:42Or one towel!
13:46If Alex has got an idea how we can do it successfully,
13:49then we'll have to listen, won't we?
13:51Is that me being in the kitchen?
13:52Yeah, yeah.
13:52That foot will be going down now.
13:56B&B guests are served breakfast in the pool room.
14:01Is this really the room that they want to have their guests have breakfast in?
14:06It's just such an odd combination of bits of furniture.
14:10You know, that lovely wall of mirrors.
14:12What good are they here?
14:15And finally, to the bar.
14:19This is the nicest area next to the roaring fire.
14:24But although it's got the fire, it's got that bright white spotlight on a grey chimney breast.
14:31What's obviously missing here is cosiness and warmth.
14:34I haven't got much time, so I'm going to tell Stephen and Julie straight away what I think of their
14:39dream pub.
14:41Somehow, this is the least country pub that I've ever been into.
14:46OK.
14:48It doesn't have a soul here.
14:51The bedroom you gave me, it's completely bland.
14:56A country pub B&B is supposed to be cosy and welcoming.
15:02You know, it's not the kind of place you'd say gosh to your friends you must go to this little
15:07pub because it was so cute.
15:10You've got fake flowers which are my absolute loathing.
15:14You've got giraffes on the land. What have they got to do with Suffolk?
15:17There's nothing that gives you any lift of the heart.
15:22I mean, the first thing, you open the guest folder and it's got a list of house rules.
15:27I mean, come on.
15:29Start by saying, I'm Stephen and Julie and we'll bend over backwards to make sure you have a wonderful stay.
15:36Not, here are our ten rules and regulations. Do not fall foul of us.
15:42And by the way, let me know when you want breakfast so I can set my alarm.
15:45Because otherwise, I'd rather watch daytime deli in bed.
15:50Yeah, maybe, maybe it comes across like we don't really want them here, it's just their money deal.
15:55Oh.
15:56No, no, I'm just thinking about it.
15:57Which side are you on?
15:59Down here, I think which is the bit that works best, there's...
16:05Wait.
16:07There's a bar.
16:08Down here, you've got this glaring bright white light on a grey mantelpiece.
16:15Right.
16:15These terrible spotlights, highlighting your Malteser treat bags.
16:21They go well, don't they?
16:22They go really well, actually, they were our biggest seller.
16:24Well, it's desperation!
16:27All you've got in that horrible little menu board out there is your opening times, which are frankly a bit
16:33pathetic.
16:33I mean, what do you do all day?
16:36It's all down to our fur, baby.
16:39Boosters, he needs a lot of attention.
16:42Blame the dog!
16:44How much did you make off the pub last year?
16:46About £2,500 a week.
16:48It's the drinkers that keep us going, really.
16:52They may turn over £2,500 a week, but the running costs are steep at £5,000 a month.
16:57If I can inject warmth and welcome into at least two of the three rooms, they could become the money
17:03spinner that the couple desperately need.
17:06What do you think you've taken on accommodation this year?
17:09£11,000, roughly.
17:12OK, I'm going to talk you through this.
17:13I'm working on the basis of two rooms, and £150 a night for four nights is £1,200 per week,
17:21so that would be £62,400 per year.
17:24And then let's say you'd have a maximum occupancy of 60%.
17:30That would be £37,440.
17:34But to achieve this figure, the standard of their rooms has to vastly improve.
17:38Tomorrow morning, I'm going to take you off to look at somewhere really nice.
17:42Right.
17:43Well, this isn't really nice.
17:46No.
17:47Was I not clear about that?
17:49Yeah, I think you was.
17:50I thought I was trying to make a joke.
17:52I'd done the room, so I felt a little bit upset that she didn't like it.
17:58But I kind of get where she's coming from.
18:01Now, I'm excited for change.
18:03They took it better than I expected.
18:05I think Stephen G are actually just so relieved that someone is going to give them a road map to
18:10follow,
18:11because they've been wandering blindly without a map or a flashlight,
18:15and they're lost in the bogs of Suffolk.
18:19They're wondering which way to turn next.
18:32It's a beautiful morning here in Suffolk.
18:35Quite a comfortable bed, lots of hot water.
18:37I am ready for the fray.
18:40Today, I want to open Steve and Julie's eyes to what people expect from a little countryside pub B&B,
18:49and really kind of enthuse them again, because I feel like that is definitely lacking.
18:55Especially in the kitchen.
18:56So it's with trepidation that I'm off to the not-very-glamorous pool room,
19:01just above the bar, for breakfast.
19:04Morning, morning.
19:05I hope you slept well.
19:07I did, thank you.
19:08Excellent, excellent.
19:09Please, can I have eggs and bacon?
19:10Yeah.
19:11With two eggs, please.
19:12Two eggs, and how would you like your eggs?
19:13Can I have some poached?
19:15OK.
19:18Julie had zero cooking experience when she stepped in to run the restaurant in 2022,
19:23and it knocked her for six, so I'm hoping poached eggs isn't a trigger for her.
19:29It's the poached egg pressure.
19:31Oh, no.
19:32I decided to bloody cut out.
19:34No!
19:35Do you need a hand, darling?
19:37No, you're fine, thank you, darling.
19:38That's right, sweetheart.
19:40You're absolutely fine.
19:40I'm the toast dropper.
19:42That's what I'm allowed to put in the kitchen.
19:43I don't want to do it too well.
19:44She says she needs to get back in the kitchen.
19:46Here you are.
19:47Thank you very much.
19:48Poached eggs and bacon.
19:49Enjoy your breakfast.
19:51Mmm.
19:54Yummy.
19:55Why do you do breakfast in here?
19:57It feels a bit like an afterthought.
19:59It's close to the kitchen, so if there's anything needed there, you know,
20:02people can kind of get our attention.
20:04I mean, downstairs is a much nicer room than this is.
20:07It's not like you'd want to have a cup of tea sitting in here.
20:13It's clear that Julian and Stephen need a masterclass on how a country pub should look.
20:19So, I've arranged a visit to a 15th century pub with rooms in the next door village of Builderston,
20:25just two and a half miles away.
20:27Pretty, isn't it?
20:28Mmm.
20:29Yeah.
20:29The prices here at The Crown are on a par with their own, but the rooms are worlds apart.
20:35You get quite a lot of bang for your 145 quid here.
20:39Yeah.
20:40Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
20:42The competition is fierce.
20:44Come and see another room.
20:45The only way for Julian and Stephen to increase their occupancy rate is for me to completely
20:51make over their rooms and inject some country pub chic.
20:55The colour.
20:56Mm-hmm.
20:57The soft.
20:58Yeah.
20:59You know, your rooms are quite hard.
21:02Yeah.
21:02What they're very good at doing is reminding you the whole time that you're in Suffolk.
21:07Yeah.
21:07Not a giraffe in sight.
21:12Bit of an eye-opener, yeah.
21:13Yeah.
21:14I do feel like a bit sort of, oh, because I'd done our rooms and I realised I'm a bit
21:19.
21:21I didn't know why we weren't getting the bookings.
21:24Now it kind of like, oh, okay.
21:26What is lovely here is space.
21:29And I think space is the biggest luxury you can have.
21:34Now that I've shown Julian and Stephen firsthand a blueprint for country pub accommodation,
21:40I'm going to remodel two of their rooms.
21:44I think there's some loose shelves in there.
21:46And I've called in my designer, Claire, to help.
21:49Gosh, it's heavy.
21:50That looks better.
21:51Yeah, so much better.
21:52But I want Stephen to do some of the heavy lifting too.
21:55Hang on, I'll get the other side.
21:57Yeah, yeah.
21:57Hang on.
21:58All right.
22:00Shall we just leave you there?
22:01She's very much quieter, I don't want to.
22:03I'm looking forward to seeing how it can be transformed from what it is.
22:07I hate this set up.
22:09In an ideal world, I would put the bed down there.
22:12Yeah.
22:13205.
22:14So that would fit.
22:15Let's give it a whirl.
22:16Hang on.
22:17Good Lord.
22:18Oh, dear.
22:19I think that's done for.
22:21You hold that.
22:22Yeah.
22:24Oops.
22:28Okay.
22:29With the rearranging done.
22:31Right, my darling, come in.
22:32I've charged Julie with the decorating while I'm away.
22:35Right.
22:36I love your mirrors.
22:37And I love the fact that they were your dream room.
22:40Should we repurpose that?
22:42Yep.
22:42Which would really hide that wall.
22:44Yep.
22:44Not a fan of the wallpaper, either.
22:47It's just a bit meh.
22:49Okay.
22:50You know, think of the rooms that we've seen that have been glowing with colour.
22:54Yeah.
22:54And that are really kind of cosy.
22:56Yeah.
22:57I don't mind painting over that.
22:58If it's that offensive, I'll paint over it.
22:59It's not offensive, darling.
23:01It's just a bit...
23:03Neh.
23:04Tui.
23:05Let's go into the other big room.
23:09I'm beaming.
23:10Absolutely amazing.
23:11I've never known what to do in here, but I hadn't thought of this.
23:15Darling, you've got to play.
23:17I always think that a hotel's like a doll's house.
23:19Yeah.
23:19Keep moving the things until you've got it completely right.
23:23Yeah.
23:24Yeah.
23:24Seeing Alex sort of take on things, it's...
23:28Why didn't I think of that?
23:32I've won over Julie and her weedy rooms, but now I have a much bigger battle on my hands.
23:38I've arranged to meet the villagers to find out why they don't frequent the pub.
23:44Clearly, the relationship has broken down between Steve and Julie and the village.
23:50And I'd like to see if it's repairable.
23:53I mean, without the village behind them, it's going to be a very long, slow winter.
24:07In Suffolk...
24:08We need to know what the community want from us to be able to provide that to them.
24:15Stephen and Julie are desperate to entice more villagers back to the pub, but believe the
24:20relationship has soured since the restaurant has closed and their opening hours have reduced.
24:25So, I've been sent in as their official envoy to meet members of the parish council, local
24:31businesses and retirees.
24:34So, I'm working with the Swan.
24:38I just wanted to find out if there's a rift that needs repairing because they feel as if they're not
24:44loved by the village.
24:45I don't know if it's a rift, but I think we're used to having somewhere you could eat and take
24:50family.
24:51I know, I know, but they're not going to do food again.
24:54All it takes is for one chef to let you down and Julie trying to do it and she's not
24:59a chef.
24:59I see their situation and it's not a them and us kind of thing, but we need the draw as
25:05well to go in.
25:06But can I ask your opinion, sir?
25:08I've lived in the village 49 years.
25:10Gosh.
25:10I'm really disappointed that they feel in some way alienated from the village because that's not the ghost in my
25:17opinion.
25:18I don't go as often as I should and that's driven by the current opening hours as I understand them.
25:25We used to like going for a walk and then calling in on our way back before going home for
25:30lunch because my husband likes real ale.
25:32But with the opening hours, we've gone home by then.
25:35Here's an idea.
25:36Okay, brilliant. I'd love an idea.
25:38If they could open from say 12, I think that would help.
25:41Food doesn't need to be over complicated.
25:44Something warm and simple at lunchtime, at the weekend particularly.
25:47I think you're right. There has to be a halfway house.
25:50I think that was really useful.
25:52Okay.
25:53I am really grateful to all of you for coming and talking to me about it.
25:58There's a dislocation between what Julie and Steve think that the village think of them and what the village actually
26:03think of them.
26:04And I think it's going to be a lot easier to reconnect than I feared.
26:10When I went to the village, I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get and they were all
26:14so nice about you.
26:16That is nice to hear.
26:18I start to tip off your shoulder and understand that in a retired village, people want to go out but
26:23they can't just drink.
26:25I made it absolutely clear you're not ever going to do proper food again.
26:29Yeah.
26:29Just wondering if there's a little halfway house.
26:32We were talking about it last night after our chat.
26:37So this is my challenge to you for when I come back.
26:40Right.
26:40I want you to have a competition between the two of you.
26:44To come up with three things.
26:47Each.
26:47Each.
26:48Each you could offer without it making you feel tearful or you feel cross.
26:53And I want to try it.
26:54It doesn't have to be fancy.
26:56Right.
26:57Is it a hot sausage roll?
26:59Or a bowl of soup with a crusty roll?
27:01OK.
27:02I know that it's hard work and I know you've worked really hard.
27:05You're going to have to...
27:07Tough a lot.
27:08Put your big girl pants on.
27:10I'll put my big girl pants on.
27:11I'll put my big girl pants on.
27:12I'll put my big girl pants on, yeah.
27:14So big girl pants on all round, as along with trialling bar snacks for my return,
27:19they've a busy couple of weeks of decorating, both upstairs and down.
27:24I would like to challenge you to paint the chimney breast.
27:28Yeah.
27:28To change that very bright white light, please.
27:31And then on our last day, we're going to get the village in.
27:34OK.
27:34To see that you've tried your best to go somewhere to meet them with the food.
27:39Yeah.
27:39We need to kind of up our game and, you know, put more effort in, I guess.
27:43All right.
27:44Cheers.
27:45Bye.
27:46It's probably to kick up the arse we needed, aren't we?
27:49Because we want it to be successful, don't we?
27:51Because our home and our business.
27:53I think Julie's very bruised and it's quite hard for her to be enthusiastic about their reduced offering.
27:59I think the worst that could happen is that they don't find the energy and the enthusiasm to make another
28:05attempt.
28:10I'm not too bad at the paintbrush, as long as you don't look too closely.
28:15While I'm away for two weeks, I've given Julie a paint pot and my designer Claire to give the rooms
28:22a country pub revamp in the hope of lifting their occupancy from a rock bottom 9%.
28:29Hopefully Alex won't accuse us of being lazy this week. We've been non-stop.
28:34A lot of people like scotch eggs.
28:37And I'm encouraging the couple to offer food to tempt more villagers in.
28:43Hopefully Alex will love black pudding, because there's quite a bit of it in here.
28:47I've asked each to make three quick and easy bar snacks.
28:51This is the delicate part.
28:52For me to taste and choose between on my return.
28:56And cost them out to ensure they make a decent gross profit or GP.
29:01My scotch eggs work out at £1.56 each.
29:05I was thinking about £5.85 at 68% GP.
29:11That's about right.
29:16There we go, one cheese toastie.
29:19When I look to my wife's cheese toastie a day, I don't think I've got much competition there, to be
29:23fair.
29:24My mojo is a little bit lost in the kitchen.
29:27Looks pretty flat, don't it? Looks like Pop-Tart.
29:36It's been two weeks since I was last at the Swan, the only remaining pub in Monks Ely, Suffolk.
29:42Hello, darling. Hi!
29:46So, what have you accomplished in these two weeks since I last saw you?
29:50A lot.
29:52You certainly gave us the kick up the backside we needed.
29:54I'm so excited about doing the bedrooms.
29:58What haven't you managed to get done?
30:00Food.
30:01That's kind of my nemesis.
30:03I know that you've been very bruised by your restaurant experience.
30:08Brings out the anxiety in me, yes.
30:10But we've got to find a way to offer something that isn't going to trigger you.
30:15Why don't you present your food auction while you show me the rooms?
30:20OK.
30:21Yeah.
30:21Let's go.
30:22Come on.
30:22I've been let off the hook, so I don't have to be in the kitchen, so happy days.
30:27When I first saw the flock room, I wanted to run a mile.
30:32With its stark lighting and oddly positioned furniture.
30:37Oh, my God!
30:43Now it's a beautifully composed room.
30:48Spacious and cosy all at the same time.
30:51Just moving things, it's just made such a big difference to the room.
30:55You would come in here and feel like you'd really lucked out.
30:58Yeah, I was super, super, super happy.
31:00Good.
31:01And now to the room where I first stayed.
31:10It's a complete country pub makeover.
31:15Gone is the ginormous wardrobe and bland wallpaper.
31:19In its place, warm, bold colour has been injected through paint, soft furnishings, good lighting, design and, of course, Julie's
31:29favourite mirror feature wall.
31:31This looks absolutely gorgeous.
31:34It looks very thought out.
31:36I mean, that is one of the most amazing transformations that I've ever had a pleasure to play a part
31:42in.
31:42Make me cry.
31:46Stephen Dooley, welcome you to the Swan Inn.
31:49Woo-hoo!
31:50Thank you for choosing to stay with us.
31:52Please don't hesitate to contact us.
31:54We're all so on point, darling.
31:56It's just a lovely Suffolk pub now.
31:59I would hope that it makes you fall in love with your business again.
32:03Oh, absolutely.
32:03I can't wait to get people in here just to see how lovely it is.
32:07Three weeks ago, I wasn't in a positive state of mind about how to do it, whether it is even
32:14worth doing, to be honest.
32:15But it's been really rewarding and fun to do as well.
32:21I'm hoping that the hard work continues downstairs.
32:28And it does.
32:29Gone is the grey paint and the bright spotlight, leaving a cosy, cockle-warming seating area.
32:37This looks lovely.
32:40Everything just looks a bit nice and more country pub.
32:44It's been like a breath of fresh air, really, to have Alex come in and put her spin on how
32:50you can make positive changes quite easily.
32:56While I'm admiring the fruits of their labour, Stephen has stepped up to the plate and is cooking up a
33:02feast in the kitchen.
33:04I'm doing sausage rolls, scotch eggs and cheddar and ale soup.
33:08I was going to be in the kitchen, but in Suffolk, they liked to see the land or behind the
33:14bar.
33:15So that meant that Jew was in the kitchen, where she wasn't really wanting to be.
33:19Oh, Stephen!
33:22Chef!
33:23I've never been called chef before.
33:26I mean, look how nice.
33:27That looks amazing.
33:29Look at that.
33:32Mmm.
33:33Darling, that is just delicious.
33:37It's bloody good, Stephen.
33:40I tell you what, I would come in here to eat that.
33:43No joke.
33:44I really would, that's really very, very good.
33:46Boy done good, didn't they?
33:48Boy done good!
33:50It feels like I'm on a cooking competition and it's nice to be appreciated.
33:55Here you go, sausage rolls.
33:57Cheddar and ale soup.
34:05It's delicious.
34:07The answer to all your problems is right in front of your face.
34:11I don't want you to have a restaurant again, but the bar snack.
34:15It might help you get a few more locals in.
34:17You are no longer required in the kitchen.
34:21You're fired!
34:22Yeah, fired.
34:24Julie looks like a rabbit in the headlights about trying to make a toastie.
34:27Whereas Steve is completely in his element.
34:31So I'm quite happy to go with Steve's offering and just see how we can make it possible.
34:38Today is going better than I could have hoped.
34:40And now I have a special guest I'd like Julie and Stephen to welcome in.
34:44Hi darling.
34:45Hello.
34:46How are you?
34:47I'm good.
34:48These are Julie and Stephen.
34:50Hi, so nice to meet you.
34:52How are you?
34:52Hiro Brown is the editor in chief of Muddy Stilettos, a luxury lifestyle website with over 4 million readers a
34:59month.
35:00We are so happy to have you here.
35:02Fabulous, I'm really excited to experience what you've been doing.
35:06Hiro will stress test one of the new look bedrooms tonight.
35:09So in the morning this is where you'll be coming down for breakfast.
35:13Okay, fabulous.
35:15One good review from her could put their rooms on the path to success.
35:19So this room is the flock.
35:22Lovely, thank you.
35:23Settle in, enjoy your evening and I'll see you in the morning for breakfast.
35:26Marvellous, thank you so much.
35:28Good night.
35:30One of the things that I always think, particularly with pubs, with rooms, is it should really feel like a
35:35home away from home.
35:35So I'm just going to relax now and then of course I will report to Alex, Julie in the morning.
35:51It's my final day with Stephen and Julie.
35:54Two weeks ago the couple were desperate for help to improve their dire 9% occupancy rate.
36:01After a mammoth makeover in the rooms, I invited luxury lifestyle blogger Hero Brown to try one out.
36:09Hi darling.
36:10Hello.
36:11Did you have an okay evening here?
36:13I did.
36:13A positive review from Hero could really kick start the bed and breakfast strand of the business.
36:20My room definitely felt really homely.
36:23It's long and thin but you don't really feel like that as you come in.
36:26Very clever use of space.
36:27It feels warm, it feels welcoming.
36:30I thought it was great actually.
36:31Thanks, Julie.
36:32If anyone knows how to do good hospitality, darling, by now it should be you.
36:38I'm horrifically fussy but I'm very easy to please here.
36:42And do you think the swan has a chance of making it into muddy stilettos?
36:47I do.
36:48I do.
36:48Because it's got something that I think is the most important thing which is a bit of soul.
36:53Thanks, darling.
36:55I'm so glad Hero thinks that the swan could make it onto muddy stilettos
37:00because I think it's the kind of special place that people feel really lucky to come across.
37:08Hero was very impressed.
37:10Good.
37:10Good.
37:11And she stays in an awful lot of places and to get compliments from her is not by any means
37:17guaranteed.
37:18Right.
37:19It's nice to hear that she's happy.
37:21I feel sort of we've done our job right really.
37:24Rooms are one way they can boost their income and bums on seats at the pub is the other.
37:29So today I've invited the villagers for an open house.
37:33How are you feeling about having the village over?
37:36Anxiously nervous.
37:38Are you?
37:39It'll be fine.
37:41And we've got just under two hours to prepare.
37:45As Julie and Stephen have just one shot at this new first impression.
37:50Sorry.
37:52Stressful.
37:54That's going to be an interesting day I think.
37:58Where's our dog?
37:59A little bit stressed this morning to be fair.
38:02A thousand jobs to do.
38:04You will not believe what Brewster's done.
38:06Oh my God.
38:08Brewster.
38:10Done.
38:11Sorry.
38:12Julie and Steve were really nervous.
38:14It's so bloody hot.
38:16I hope not too many people want to hug me today.
38:18I'm far from huggable at the moment.
38:20That looks wonderful.
38:22It's all hands on deck now isn't it?
38:23Still being built into this moment.
38:25The message is that this is their pub.
38:28Love it as it is or lose it.
38:30All right.
38:31Thanks for us darling.
38:33All right.
38:34What the hell are we doing?
38:38How are you all right?
38:40All village pubs, community pubs.
38:42The only thing that don't make a community pub is people not using it.
38:45We need customers in to support the pub.
38:49And it looks like they've heard Stephen's call to arms.
38:53As for the first time in many years, the pub has a full house.
38:57Thank you for coming ladies and gentlemen.
39:00Now to win them over.
39:02I know lots of you are very disappointed that the restaurant
39:05is closed.
39:06But we really want this to be a pub for everybody.
39:10So what Steve's done today, rather deliciously,
39:13is his own homemade sausage rolls,
39:16cheddar cheese and ale dip and his scotch eggs.
39:19Just have a taste and tell us whether you think that this would be enough
39:23to encourage you to come in and give it your support.
39:27Thank you very much.
39:28Thank you very much.
39:31Thank you very much.
39:33Thank you very much.
39:33Thank you very much.
39:33Do you want?
39:34Oh, let me get some napkins.
39:36He's a little dab bandit that's scotch egg is this one.
39:40Have you tried them?
39:40Of course I bloody did.
39:43Julie's been super stressed.
39:45I'm hoping that she's feeling okay.
39:47They've got some pretty harsh critics here.
39:49But if they win the villagers over and each one of them spreads the word,
39:54they could help fill the revamped pub rooms.
39:57The rooms are open upstairs.
39:58If you've got family friends that want to stay in the village,
40:01do please go up, have a look about.
40:04Oh, isn't that nice?
40:06Oh, I like that.
40:07That's lovely.
40:09I didn't have any idea that they were like this, actually.
40:11No, no idea at all.
40:13There you go, jimble to a couple.
40:14Oh, yeah.
40:17Yeah, Alex said, you know, let's make a feature of them up here.
40:20So it really does work.
40:23I don't think anyone in this whole pub that is here today
40:26had ever seen the bedrooms.
40:28But are they enough to tempt the villagers?
40:31We do have family that come up and sometimes we need a spare place.
40:35It would be nice to be able to say, you go and stay in the pub.
40:39Steve and Julie have given this village somewhere lovely
40:41that the village can recommend to their friends and family to stay
40:45if they don't have enough bedrooms.
40:46Put that there for you.
40:49And what about the verdict on Stephen's bar snacks?
40:52I love it.
40:53The most delicious eggs.
40:56I think this bowl of soup,
40:59with the flavour that they brought in it,
41:01I'd be thinking on a Saturday,
41:02actually I wouldn't mind popping in and having a bottle of soup.
41:05I mean, I've got two young kids
41:07and that's been a real sadness for me
41:10because we want to support the pub,
41:11but if it's only a drink in the pub.
41:13Yes.
41:13Whereas bringing the kids in for a sausage roll,
41:15it's perfect.
41:18We ought to thank you really for taking an interest in our pub.
41:22Because it is important to all of us.
41:27It's clear that Julie and Stephen have renewed support from the village.
41:32So, now to get the commitment on bar snacks from the landlord and landlady.
41:38Julie and Steve,
41:39I want to ask you in front of your assembled guests
41:42whether you're going to do food on what days.
41:47So, we've made a pledge.
41:50We're going to open the food on a Friday and a Saturday.
41:56We'll be doing sausage rolls, scotch eggs, homemade soup.
42:00We'll be doing bar snacks, 12 to 5.
42:03He's a very good cook and it's nice to Stephen's cooking to be appreciated.
42:08You know, it's a hard crowd, this village crowd.
42:12I actually do truly believe that some of those people who promise
42:15that they'll be in on a Saturday will be.
42:17I feel like Stephen and Julie.
42:20Fulfilled a dream
42:21and yet it didn't turn out quite the way they wanted it to.
42:24But they do their best.
42:26And, I mean, honestly,
42:27I can't think of anyone I would rather have running my village pub than them.
42:34Hi, Alex.
42:36Just wanted to say thank you for all your help coming here.
42:39We've updated the photos on our booking sites
42:42and we've seen some more bookings coming through.
42:45More views.
42:46So, that's positive.
42:48Hero Brown left us a lovely review online.
42:50Hopefully that'll help bookings going forward.
42:53We've also started snacks.
42:55The first week we had 25 people come in.
42:58So, yeah, hopefully things will start moving forward
43:01and we feel excited and positive for the future.
43:04Take us out.
43:05.
43:08.
43:08.
43:08.
43:31Transcription by CastingWords
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