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00:00I've run hotels most of my working life.
00:04So we've got 23 rooms in-house tonight.
00:07Thank you very much to all of you.
00:09So I know all too well how brutal the hospitality industry can be.
00:13That is terrifying.
00:15We've put everything that we've had into this.
00:17And this year the situation truly is dire.
00:20You'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.
00:30I have a big sense of responsibility.
00:33And customers who have less money to spend.
00:36Frankly, sweet Fanny Adams.
00:38From country pubs.
00:39Careful of the dog s***.
00:41To seaside hotels.
00:42This is going to be done for Friday.
00:44I have somebody in here Friday night.
00:46Shepherd's huts.
00:47You've got a big one.
00:49To family guest houses.
00:51Makes me think of Scarlett O'Hara.
00:53They're all in desperate need of my help.
00:55She's just pulled up and I'm terrified.
00:58I'll be getting my hands dirty.
01:00Come on, the pint work.
01:03And delivering some hard truths.
01:05I think you're bonkers.
01:07Hello.
01:08To help owners across the country get back in the black.
01:12Something has got to change.
01:14You're very silent.
01:16Why?
01:16You're the expert.
01:17Before everything comes crashing down.
01:20We're just hoping we can catch it before it's too late.
01:24That is my challenge.
01:26Should I choose to accept it?
01:27And I do.
01:32Yeah.
01:33Call your plumber.
01:34Call your plumber.
01:35This time.
01:36You just feel like home.
01:37A crumbling seaside hotel on a financial knife edge.
01:41It's become a daily battle against things going wrong.
01:45Pushes a novice owner to the brink.
01:47I'm well out.
01:49Sorry, darling.
01:55Bognor Regis.
01:59One of the UK's most beloved locations for getting away from it all beside the seaside.
02:05It's way worse than I thought it was going to be.
02:09It's a can of worms.
02:10But for 56-year-old widower and former teacher Kathleen, her attempts to restore the Navigator
02:16Hotel to its former glory is no holiday.
02:19Just going to have a quiet heart failure.
02:22You've got to have a look at room 11 and break your heart some more.
02:27Ten months ago, Kathleen decided to call time on her eight-year career as a teacher.
02:33I started training very late in my life, following the death of my husband.
02:37And I really enjoyed it.
02:39But it got to the point where there was no work-life balance.
02:42Having tragically lost her husband and left feeling exhausted by her experience in education,
02:48Kathleen was keen for a fresh start.
02:51Housekeeping!
02:52Despite having absolutely zero experience in hospitality.
02:56This opportunity came up and it was just two minutes down the road.
02:59The idea was that I would have this little place where I could get up, make breakfast,
03:04make a few beds.
03:06And it was this idyllic ideal.
03:09Slower pace of life.
03:11Using a combination of life savings and loans, she spent £895,000 on the 12-bedroom business
03:18that also boasts a bar and 30-seater restaurant.
03:22Cheese and tomato, yeah, on brown or white.
03:24It looked like a 1970s disaster zone.
03:27And I thought, oh, I can puff it all up and make it all look pretty.
03:31And then I found, actually, it's a little bit more than just the decorative side of things.
03:36So, the ceiling that came down.
03:38Collapsed, basically, the whole lot.
03:40And none of it is going to collapse ever again, is it?
03:42Sticking me neck out now?
03:43No.
03:45Now, nearly a year after taking the reins...
03:48She's going to have a little slip.
03:50While the restaurant and lounge area past seven of the 12 bedrooms have all been updated...
03:56The floorboards have gone rotten around here.
03:58The constant stress of running the hotel alongside renovating the crumbling building has pushed Kathleen to her limit.
04:04Yes, we need to replace before the flooring goes down.
04:08Yeah.
04:09Two days ago, I was quite happy to throw the keys at somebody and say, that's it, I'm done.
04:12There was just too many problems.
04:14Oh, my God.
04:15Yeah, I know.
04:18Meanwhile, I'm working stupid hours to rebuild the place.
04:23And every single day, it's a struggle.
04:26Thankfully, Kathleen can count on the support of her family,
04:29including 12-year-old daughter Hope, who often helps around the hotel.
04:33Thank you, my dear.
04:35You're welcome.
04:36Perfect.
04:37Hope was literally just one when her mother died.
04:39So I have been her mother since that point.
04:42And she's an absolute little sweetie.
04:44I love working with kids.
04:46She can get stressed.
04:47I can get stressed.
04:49But then, you know...
04:51Just do what she says.
04:52Providing a future for Hope, plus Kathleen's four teenage children who all still live at home,
04:58is the only thing keeping her from calling it quits.
05:01It's not my nature to give up.
05:02Everything I do and everything I've ever done has been about my family.
05:12Sorry.
05:18But despite her best efforts, so far all the sacrifices have been for almost nothing.
05:25So, ten months of work.
05:28I have £70 in profit.
05:32With a deferred deposit of £200,000 on the purchase of the building due in 12 months' time,
05:38plus loans of a further £90,000 to service, Kathleen can't afford to fail.
05:44I have personal guarantees on every aspect of the business, which means that the house is at risk.
05:53Worst comes to worst, you're looking at us being homeless and me without a job.
05:59I'll take it really seriously.
06:01I'm sorry.
06:09We've all had a loss in our family.
06:13My husband don't have my parents anymore, so I have a big sense of responsibility
06:22to my family and making sure that they're okay.
06:41I am in Bogner Regis and it's ages since I was last here.
06:45I came with my daughter and she absolutely loved it, so I have very fond memories of it here.
06:53Home to Butlin since the 1960s, Bogner attracts around 4 million tourists every year.
07:01But since my last visit here, it's been hit by some high-profile bad press,
07:05recently being voted the UK's worst seaside town.
07:09I can't quite work out why it's got now this terrible reputation.
07:13So, I'm interested to see the reality behind the headlines.
07:18Let's see what the navigator's like.
07:23Here it is.
07:26Actually, it doesn't look too bad.
07:29Phew!
07:30I don't know what I was expecting, but a bit more of a dump.
07:35This week alone, we've had a mains water leak and a gas leak that we've had to deal with.
07:40Every single day, we've got something major that goes wrong in this place.
07:45The sun is shining.
07:47It's got a bar.
07:49Take the winds where we can.
07:53First impressions are promising, so I'm curious where the problems might lie.
07:59Hello.
08:00Welcome to the navigator.
08:01I'm pleased to be here.
08:02Is this your first venture into hospitality?
08:04First venture into hospitality.
08:06And are you wondering what on earth drove you to it?
08:09The reality is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it's become a daily battle against things going
08:16wrong.
08:17What's the latest?
08:19Well, this week we had a mains water leak.
08:21That day was a bad day.
08:22I had to go home and have a few moments.
08:24I wish I could tell you it was going to get easier, but I can't.
08:27I don't want to lie to you so early in our friendship.
08:30Well, at least it didn't take me long to find out what the issues are.
08:34Tell me, are you busy tonight?
08:36We're full.
08:37Oh, that?
08:37Gosh, darling, that's wonderful.
08:39We'll put you in room one.
08:40Lovely.
08:41So come this way.
08:42100% occupancy means Kathleen must be doing something right.
08:46It's around this way.
08:47Up the steps.
08:48And with 12 rooms on offer here, she should be making a tidy profit.
08:53So this one has literally just been finished a week ago.
08:57Gosh, that's very nice.
08:59So what does this room cost me tonight?
09:01All my CFU doubles are all £110 a night.
09:04Yeah.
09:04All the singles are £75.
09:06So do you know what your break-even point is?
09:09We worked out it was just under £1,400 a day.
09:14That seems like too much to me.
09:16I need to look at that.
09:18Even at 100% occupancy, Kathleen's current prices can only make her a maximum of just over £1,100.
09:25So this is an alarming early discovery.
09:28Okay.
09:28I'm going to have a little look around.
09:30Sure.
09:30And then I'll come down and find you.
09:32Yes.
09:32Is that all right?
09:33Enjoy.
09:37I have to say, she's done this very nicely.
09:40Great to wake up in the morning to this view.
09:44It's clear that Kathleen's newly renovated rooms are well worth the £110 she's asking for them.
09:50Now I want to see what the accommodation she hasn't updated has to offer.
09:59Well, you know, it's not the worst room I've ever seen, is it?
10:02This is £75 a night.
10:04And honestly, where are you going to get £75 a night?
10:09This room isn't much to look at, but it's definitely worth what Kathleen is asking.
10:13So it's no surprise her occupancy is so high.
10:18My worry is the figure that she quotes me at £1,400 a day to break even seems enormous.
10:24I need to interrogate her about that because, you know, those are the things that make a business survive or
10:31fail.
10:33I'm really hoping she can help me.
10:35If this fails, I lose everything.
10:36And I would be letting my family down.
10:49We're going to have to rip out the entire ceiling.
10:51So we need to talk about refurbing the bathroom.
10:54In the famous Sussex seaside town of Bognor Regis.
10:57It is extremely stressful.
10:59And I get very, very tired.
11:00Very, very, very tired.
11:02Novice hotelier Kathleen is in at the deep end, attempting to keep the 12-bedroom Navigator Hotel afloat.
11:09So this has got to be done for Friday.
11:11I have somebody in here Friday night.
11:13Having borrowed almost £300,000 to buy and renovate the rundown business,
11:18her family home is at risk if she can't quickly turn a profit.
11:22You just feel like going.
11:24Although I haven't been here long, it's already clear that Kathleen is struggling.
11:28There's a whole mix of emotions there that I've got to unpick a bit.
11:32Come on in.
11:33I want to take a moment to reassure her that she's not the only one who finds being a hotelier
11:38hard.
11:39Tell me how you're coping and how you're managing.
11:41I think this has probably come as close to breaking me as anything has done.
11:46I thought teaching was pretty bad.
11:48But, you know, I've got my kids ringing up and saying, where are you at 7 o'clock at night?
11:51Why aren't you home?
11:52And I'm just like, I'm trying to do this.
11:54And then it's like giving up now is really letting them down.
11:57You know, I opened a hotel four years ago at the end of my marriage.
12:01I've almost lost my mind and it's been quite hard work.
12:05And by the way, I'm a hospitality professional, so I should have known what I was getting into.
12:09The truth is, there's only so much you plan for and then the rest is life.
12:14Yeah, but that's what's thrown me is I'm not in control of it.
12:17I'm amazed at your resilience and your fortitude and the fact that you've still got a smile on your face.
12:25That actually means a lot.
12:26What you're doing at the moment is working really, really hard, but you're not working really smart.
12:31I'm not.
12:31And I'm going to try and instill that in you.
12:34Fantastic. Thank you.
12:36I can absolutely relate to how hard Kathleen is finding this business.
12:40So I want to do all I can to make her new life as a hotelier a little easier.
12:46I'm hoping that I can find some solutions for her, help her keep her sanity and work out some of
12:52the details that she's overlooked along the way.
13:09It's the morning of my second day in Bognor.
13:13And after spending the night in one of Kathleen's new rooms, it's apparent that while they're comfortable and clean, they
13:21don't deliver in other areas.
13:23I had to unplug the lamp to plug my phone in.
13:27It's got two of these gorgeous, enormous sofas.
13:30But where do you put your cup of coffee?
13:33In the bathroom, there's nowhere to put my wash bag.
13:35I ended up packing it on the loose seat, which isn't really ideal.
13:41Bedroom issues aside, now I know Kathleen needs to make £1,400 a day just to pay the bills.
13:47Scrambled egg on toast?
13:48Certainly. No problem.
13:50I've got bigger concerns around the numbers that underpin her business.
13:54Her break-even point's in very high.
13:57And so I just need to check that she really does have a handle on her figures.
14:01But before I'm ready to crunch the numbers...
14:04Morning, darling.
14:05Good morning.
14:06..I first need to get a taste for what breakfast, which is included in the £110 room price, is all
14:12about.
14:12I think I'll just have set menu C.
14:16Set menu C?
14:17Thank you very much.
14:19Be with Andy shortly.
14:21I think this is a really nice space.
14:22You've got the lovely view.
14:24I wonder if people want to eat here.
14:26Much like in the bedrooms, there's very little to turn my nose up at in the restaurant.
14:31Here's your breakfast.
14:33Thank you, darling.
14:34Lovely.
14:35I promise.
14:41Really nice breakfast, really nice room to sit in.
14:44Amazing.
14:45Next, I want to see if the rest of the downstairs maintains the same standards.
14:52This is slightly less attractive.
14:54There's masses and masses of tables and chairs.
14:58I think it would make an enormous difference to cheer this bit up.
15:04This feels like a bit of an afterthought.
15:07With Kathleen open to residents and locals for breakfast, lunch and dinner,
15:11the final thing I want to investigate is the food offering.
15:17How on earth is she managing to serve this enormous menu?
15:21Ten starters, ten specials, eleven desserts and, wait for this, nine vegan dishes.
15:30Gosh, I had no idea Bognor had so many vegans.
15:34Making a profit on food is harder than it's ever been due to rising costs.
15:39So I'm concerned whether Kathleen has priced this massive menu correctly.
15:43No one has a menu like this.
15:45Nobody.
15:46Or at least nobody who's making any money.
15:49It feels like Kathleen has been focusing on her renovations
15:52at the expense of getting to grips with the basics of the business.
15:56Okay.
15:57Smart.
15:58Wonderful.
16:02But before I outline my plan for steering the navigator in the right direction,
16:08I'm heading out to take in a bit of Bognor
16:11and to get a sense of how Kathleen's offering stacks up against a competition.
16:19I'm struggling to understand why this has the reputation as Britain's worst seaside town.
16:25I mean, look at this lovely deserted beach.
16:29And one of the things that I really like about Navigator
16:34is it's walking distance into town.
16:37It's got a restaurant.
16:38It's got a bar.
16:39It's an entire package you get here, which is very appealing.
16:44Of the seven other accommodation options nearby,
16:47the majority offer fewer facilities or less desirable locations.
16:52And all but one are more expensive,
16:54with prices rising as high as £189 a night compared to Kathleen's £110.
17:01Considering what's available in the town,
17:04I do think Kathleen could easily put her prices up
17:07and I don't think put people off at all.
17:11But having previously told me she needs to pull in £1,400 a day to break even,
17:17if Kathleen is going to keep the navigator open to paying guests in the future,
17:22Kathleen at the navigator,
17:27I need to get to grips with all of her financial situation.
17:30Right, how much did it cost you to buy the hotel?
17:34£895,000.
17:35Yep, then the kicker is?
17:37We still owe the £200,000 deposit.
17:41When do you have to pay back the £200,000?
17:44Next September.
17:45In the year?
17:4726.
17:47So what else do you owe?
17:49£40,000 left of a personal loan
17:51and then another £50,000 loan,
17:54which has just pretty much started.
17:56How much have you spent on your builder?
17:58Uh, last count, £112,000.
18:02Plus some materials.
18:05Yeah.
18:07Do your accountants tell you that you made a profit last year?
18:10No, I made a loss.
18:12So something has got to change.
18:14You told me you have to take £1,400 a day to survive.
18:18To actually get to the point where I can pay all the bills comfortably.
18:22At that amount, Kathleen needs to make more than half a million pounds a year,
18:27an enormous burden for a business of this size to carry.
18:30You can see how things have gone up and down,
18:33depending on, like, food costs and how many people you've got in eating.
18:36No, there are costs that shouldn't be included.
18:38What I want to know is your fixed costs.
18:42Utilities, mortgage, your rates.
18:45Kathleen shouldn't be including costs that fluctuate,
18:47such as ordering in food and drink,
18:50as these are based on supply and demand,
18:52rather than being constants that have to be paid regardless of levels of trade.
18:56So, let's have a look at all your fixed costs.
18:59Your mortgage is £3,700 a month.
19:02Yes.
19:02Gas and electric, £3,000 a month.
19:05Yes.
19:05OK.
19:07With additional fixed costs totalling £20,306,
19:11Kathleen's actual break-even point is a much less terrifying £677 a day.
19:16So, it's actually not quite as bad as you thought,
19:20because you've added in all your non-fixed costs.
19:23But with her average room rate at just £85,
19:27she'll still need to sell eight of her 12 bedrooms every night of the year just to survive.
19:32What you clearly have to do is put up your prices.
19:36This is what I inherited from the previous owners.
19:39This is what was set up.
19:40What I would say to you is this might have been what you inherited,
19:43but you also inherited all those s*** rooms that you're spending a fortune making good,
19:49and they were spending £110 on a s*** room.
19:52Yes.
19:53Hello!
19:55You've had some things imposed on you,
19:57but I'm telling you from the bottom of my heart,
20:01do not do the rooms now.
20:03Stop.
20:05Rake in as much money as you can.
20:07Pay off some more loans.
20:09You have got to be wiser.
20:13I'm well out.
20:14I know you are.
20:16Sorry, darling.
20:22I mean, you've survived until now,
20:25and now we've just got to make sure that the next bit is better.
20:28Yeah.
20:34Kathleen can't continue to rely on the financial structure she took on from the previous owners.
20:40If she's going to survive,
20:42she needs to learn how to run this hotel herself.
20:45As I say to everybody,
20:47so easy to spend money and so hard to make it.
20:50Just stop spending it.
20:52Right now, I feel like I've been hit by a bus.
20:54Need a good night's sleep, pick myself up, and start again.
20:57Basically.
21:01That's not a drip.
21:02That is soaked.
21:04But just as I think we've got past the worst of it,
21:07what's happened?
21:08And as the old saying goes,
21:10it never rains, it pours.
21:13The water main leak was caused by that pipe that goes out through the wall.
21:17Yeah.
21:18And it turns out that actually it's not the only one leaking.
21:20It's also dripping onto my till connection.
21:24Yeah, that's what I'm worried about,
21:25because then that goes and you're really...
21:27Oh, this is, no, this is drenched.
21:30Call your plumber, call your plumber.
21:34There's no hiding from the fact that this is a tough industry
21:38that takes seriously thick skin to survive.
21:40I feel really sorry for Kathleen.
21:43I mean, it literally is clearly one thing after another.
21:48This is going to give me some financial headaches again.
21:51Last time it cost me £1,800.
21:53With my second day here drawing to a close,
21:57it's obvious Kathleen needs all the help I can muster.
22:00So I want to offer her a unique opportunity
22:02that I hope will help her turn her business around.
22:06I'm thinking that something that might be useful for you
22:10is to bring you to my hotel in Sussex,
22:13and we'll spend the day together,
22:15and I'll just show you how I think it should be done.
22:17That would be amazing.
22:19This is the first time I've invited somebody
22:21to see how I run my business,
22:23and I'm planning to give Kathleen a crash course
22:25in being a hotelier,
22:27starting with how to make her rooms
22:28function better for her guests.
22:30You've never stayed in one of your bedrooms,
22:33it seems to me.
22:34So it's good to stay in a room
22:36and work out some practicalities.
22:39I also want to dramatically slim down
22:41the overstuffed food offering.
22:43Your menu seems enormous for a little place.
22:47Why on earth do you have 40 dishes on the menu?
22:50Kathleen also needs to start making a dent in her debts.
22:54You've got to make money on every single service you offer,
22:57otherwise you're just a busy fool.
22:58Absolutely.
22:59Finally, I want to glamorise the downstairs seating area
23:02and bring it up to the same standard
23:04as the rest of the renovations.
23:06I would like to do up the little area
23:08as you walk in your front door,
23:10and I'm very happy to spend a bit of money doing that.
23:13Thank you so much.
23:14Pleasure.
23:15Really appreciate that.
23:16All right, my darling.
23:17Thank you so much for having me.
23:22With my first two days here done,
23:25it's clear Kathleen is one more disaster away
23:27from calling it quits.
23:29Good news is it ain't going to cause you any more damage.
23:32Right.
23:33That's better news.
23:34I hope I'm not too late
23:36to help her turn her fortunes around
23:38and steer the navigator in a new direction.
23:41This is someone who's putting a pretty brave face on things,
23:44but she is like a rabbit in the headlights.
23:47I've got to establish some routine and some order.
23:50The money is draining out of the business
23:51and it feels like I'm risking everything for my family.
23:54I've got to put my big girl pants on
23:56and start changing what it is I do.
24:17At the navigator in Bognor Regis.
24:20Basically anything that's rotten, just take it off,
24:22but the backboard is just ugly.
24:2456-year-old former teacher, novice hotelier
24:27and mum of five Kathleen has taken my advice
24:30to stop spending on renovating her bedrooms
24:33for the summer season.
24:34These brackets, I know when they're strong enough.
24:36And start focusing on saving up some money
24:38to help pay back her debts of almost £300,000.
24:43I've got some time to give myself some breathing space,
24:46build up the account a little bit
24:48so that every month there's not a nail-biting finish.
24:50But despite the financial pressures,
24:52Kathleen's determined to make her business a success.
24:55I don't tend to give up very easily.
24:58The reason I do this is for my children.
25:00With a debt of £200,000 due in 12 months' time
25:04and her home used as collateral for the loan,
25:06failure now would be devastating for her family.
25:10Thank you very much, my lovely.
25:12It was lovely.
25:13You're welcome.
25:14Basically, we put everything that we have into this.
25:16And if it goes under, we go under too.
25:18And it won't be pretty.
25:24Hand them over, love, and I'll polish them off.
25:27As I know all too well from my own experience
25:30of running my hotel, The Star...
25:32When I'm not here, do you ever actually clean the f***ing trays?
25:35Hospitality is a hands-on business.
25:38Do you know who's having what?
25:39Maybe flat white.
25:41And making it pay is all about keeping on top of the bottom line.
25:46Revenue yesterday, rooms was £9,670 and F&B £9,350
25:51with average room weight £386.
25:53So well done, a really good day yesterday.
25:55Well done, Gary.
25:56I've offered Kathleen the opportunity to visit me in my place
26:00to show her some useful techniques
26:02that apply at any level of business.
26:04Very nice to see you and to be able to bring you here.
26:08Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
26:10Which should help her make the navigator turn a profit.
26:13So do you want to come in?
26:17Getting bedrooms right is the foundation of every hotel.
26:21I'll start by the deep side, shall we?
26:23Not only should they be pulling in the most money,
26:25they also need to balance form and function,
26:28something Kathleen's rooms failed to deliver.
26:32So the first thing I want to show her...
26:34Right, darling, come this way.
26:36...is how I set up my bedrooms to do both.
26:40This is one of our standard rooms.
26:44I hope you like it.
26:45Oh, that's beautiful.
26:47Every room is set out more or less in exactly the same way.
26:51So that I can walk in and immediately see if anything is wrong.
26:56Water and water glass should be in the middle of the tray.
27:00In fact, there I can see I just need to straighten it out a bit.
27:04There's normally something where you can put a drink.
27:06I would probably move it back a bit.
27:09Coming round then this way.
27:11There's always a bowl or something so you can put jewellery in.
27:14By applying a simple set of rules, my rooms make the guest experience easier
27:19and allow me to keep a consistent level of quality across all our accommodation.
27:24Every room has exactly the same thing.
27:27They all have two bedside lights, two waters with glasses.
27:31They all have books.
27:32They all have the letter tray.
27:33They all have somewhere to sit with a light and a table.
27:36I actually like the fact that you've got all of your rooms to the same standard.
27:40When I was in your very nice room one, you've got that lovely sofa.
27:44But if I was curled up on there, where would I put my cup of tea?
27:47Also, there wasn't anywhere for me to plug my phone in.
27:50And then there was nowhere to put a wash bag.
27:52Yeah.
27:53I'm afraid I'm going to pinch a few of your ideas.
27:55Pinch away.
27:56Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, they say.
27:59So, you know, I'm feeling very flattered.
28:03Upping the standards in Kathleen's rooms will certainly help.
28:06But it's far from the most pressing issue she's facing.
28:10One of the things I can't ignore is the fact that you have to repay this 200 grand.
28:14And realistically, darling, rooms are where you make money.
28:18With the huge debt due to be paid in just 12 months' time,
28:22I want to highlight how pricing correctly relative to the local competition could make all the difference.
28:28The average price in Bognor is £124.
28:32You are here at a mere, paltry £97 a night.
28:35I would say you have to put your prices up by £10 a head.
28:39At Kathleen's current occupancy level of 88% over the three months of high season,
28:44a £20 lift would make a significant dent in her debts.
28:48So you could be making an extra £19 grand profit.
28:52That's quite a lot.
28:53Without doing anything.
28:54Yeah.
28:55Without looking at another cost.
28:57That's incredible.
28:58It's clarifying everything that I knew instinctively needed to change,
29:02but it's how to do it, when to do it.
29:05Now?
29:06And implement, yes.
29:08Let me tell you.
29:09OK, come on, let's go.
29:11But accommodation is not the only area where I think Kathleen can make some significant extra cash.
29:16Right away, one shirt, one brown, please.
29:21One of the benefits of having an on-site restaurant
29:24is that it creates an opportunity to boost the bottom line by selling to a captive audience.
29:30So I want to investigate if Kathleen's massive menu is actually making her any money.
29:36And demonstrate how I calculate the profit margins on my food.
29:40Service, please.
29:45So this is a stone-bass dish.
29:48I have costed it all out for you in amazing detail.
29:52So the fish itself is £2.20.
29:55The peeled prawns, £1.09.
29:57The roe, £1.05.
30:00The beurre blanc costs £1.47.
30:02The chai's of 15p and the watercress is £20.
30:06That comes to a grand total of £6.16.
30:09Yeah?
30:10You then have to think about the labour involved in cooking it and serving it and all the attendant costs.
30:16To cover my overheads and VAT, I need to allow a 70% margin, meaning a menu price of £25.
30:25So that is an example of how you do it.
30:27Now I want to see if Kathleen is achieving anything like that with her oversized offering.
30:33I think that this is ridiculous.
30:34I would encourage you to cut it right down.
30:36Yeah.
30:37But you have no chance of making any money at all unless your food cost is calculated correctly.
30:41So, how much does it cost you for a ribeye steak?
30:46So £10.11p.
30:48So what are you selling it for?
30:49£22.50.
30:51So you're making a 46% margin.
30:53Which won't even come close to covering the cost.
30:55No, darling.
30:57To make a moderate profit, Kathleen should be looking at no less than a 60% mark-up.
31:02So you should be selling that for £30.33.
31:07That's a shocking shortfall of almost £8 on every steak Kathleen sells.
31:13I didn't know how to calculate it, but now I've got to change the way we do things.
31:16All it takes is one dish to be costed wrongly over the course of 30 days.
31:21It can absolutely ruin your bottom line.
31:23Yeah.
31:24With a six-figure debt still owing on her purchase of the Navigator,
31:28Kathleen can't afford to continue making these costly mistakes.
31:32I have a year to pay off the remaining amount to the biggest owners.
31:37I need to make sure that I am maximising the income for the hotel
31:40to make sure that it's still going to be here in ten years' time.
31:44Making changes and getting her business in the black has to be her highest priority.
31:50Please, darling, do sit down.
31:53And with the end of our time together fast approaching,
31:56there's no time to waste to put my ideas into action.
31:59So, thinking about how you edge the room prices up,
32:04cutting down the menu and making sure that everything that's on the menu
32:08is the right price.
32:09That's the way you're going to make money.
32:10Yeah.
32:11And then I would like us to have a little celebration
32:14to congratulate you for getting through this first year.
32:17That would be lovely.
32:18And I think it's very important that we get some journalists in
32:21to prove to them that they are completely wrong
32:23and that Bognor is not the worst seaside town in the UK.
32:26And in fact, far from it...
32:28Wonderful, thank you.
32:30For me, the most important thing is that you stop feeling overwhelmed.
32:33I've learnt a lot.
32:35And I've now got to go home and sort out everything we've discussed today.
32:38It's been a pleasure, darling.
32:40I'll see you in a couple of weeks.
32:41Yes.
32:42I look forward to it.
32:43Thank you very much.
32:44Bye, darling.
32:44Bye.
32:45She has this massive 200 grand debt, like a black cloud above her hedge.
32:52I'm giving her lots of suggestions about what she might do
32:55and how she might manage it.
32:56And now she just has to put them into practice.
32:59We literally put everything into this place,
33:01so everything then becomes at stake.
33:04The impact it would have if we failed would be huge.
33:17I'm not sure if the big ones are going to fit out here.
33:20In Bognor Regis...
33:21It's the perfect weather for it.
33:23The winds of change are blowing through the navigator.
33:27Swap those out with some bright cushions.
33:31While my team starts work on transforming the downstairs seating area...
33:35So we need to put some things into room one,
33:37so I'd like you to grab the books for me.
33:39Kathleen and daughter Hope are putting my advice into practice
33:42and making the bedrooms more functional.
33:44So if you put those on the bedside tables,
33:46just in front of the lights for me.
33:48We're dressing the room up so it becomes a little bit more practical usage-wise.
33:53And it's also all changed on the food front.
33:55So our ribeye steak has now gone up to 24 hours.
34:00Where, inspired by her visit to the star,
34:02Kathleen is applying a new, profitable pricing strategy.
34:06We now have every single thing on that menu correctly costed.
34:10I always felt like I was operating in the dark.
34:13And now actually I feel like I've got a vague clue
34:15as to what it is that I'm supposed to be doing.
34:22With the day of my final visit now upon us,
34:25I've got plans to try and give Kathleen's business and her hometown one last boost.
34:31I've invited down a journalist from a national newspaper.
34:35And I'm hoping that if she likes what she sees,
34:38the navigator will be in the public press
34:41and it will go some way towards correcting the erroneous impression
34:47that Bognor Regis is the worst seaside town in the UK.
34:51But winning the approval of Daily Mail travel writer Hayley Min
34:55and reaching the paper's audience of millions of readers
34:58is no sure thing.
35:00In my job, I review a lot of hotels all around the world.
35:03I do have high standards in terms of what it takes to get a story published.
35:10I'm running around still cleaning things that are already clean
35:13just to make sure that this place is as good as it is.
35:16So I am actually very nervous.
35:18With her family home at risk if her business fails,
35:21if Kathleen can land an article in a high-profile paper,
35:25I'm hoping the positive PR will boost bookings and fill the till.
35:30Unless she starts getting some money in the bank and keeping it there,
35:35there's absolutely no chance that she's ever going to pay that debt off.
35:46Last time I was here, the downstairs muddle of old chairs
35:49made for a poor first impression
35:51and felt outdated in comparison to Kathleen's recent redecoration.
35:56Hi, darling.
35:58Hello.
35:59So good to see you again.
36:01Now it's light, bright and seaside chic.
36:04With new stylish chairs,
36:06a more modern look that matches the rest of the downstairs decor
36:09and an injection of colour that creates a warm welcome as you arrive.
36:14This looks much nicer.
36:16Isn't it fabulous?
36:17It's brightened it.
36:18It's opened it all up.
36:19I love the fact that we've now made the whole ground floor all look like it.
36:24It works together.
36:25Yes, absolutely fabulous.
36:27I'm delighted Kathleen is pleased with the transformation,
36:30but it's the change in her bottom line that I'm most interested in.
36:36Catch me up on the room pricing.
36:39The deluxe CV rooms are £130 now.
36:42Instead of?
36:43There's £110, but we always ended up getting around £90 for it.
36:46So for me, that's a big job.
36:49Between stopping the renovation work and charging prices that reflect her room's quality,
36:55Kathleen should now start to see some proper profits.
36:58Why don't you show me your new millies?
37:01And I'm hoping to see the same improvements when it comes to the formerly gigantic food offering.
37:07One page.
37:08No, you don't need to turn it over.
37:11It has been costed out spot on, trust me.
37:14But it is at 60% rather than 70%.
37:16That's all right.
37:17I'm really pleased.
37:18Well done.
37:20With rooms and food all priced to help Kathleen bring home the bacon,
37:24now it's time to turn our attention to impressing my specially invited guest,
37:29Hayley Min, the Daily Mail's deputy travel editor.
37:33Hi.
37:33Hi.
37:34How nice to see you.
37:35This is my friend Kathleen.
37:37She's done a lot of work here.
37:39And I'm going to let her show you around the place.
37:41Cool.
37:42After you.
37:42Let's go.
37:43With her articles reaching millions of readers online and in print every day.
37:48Just through this way.
37:49Hayley's endorsement of The Navigator could be huge for boosting Kathleen's future bookings,
37:54helping her pay down her debt and keep her family home.
37:57So, this is one of my deluxe rooms.
38:00Oh, nice.
38:02I love the blue matching everywhere, especially as it's by the sea.
38:06So, out here we have a little sitting area with the most spectacular view.
38:12Wow.
38:13This is very cute.
38:15Yeah, I can just imagine, like, sitting here reading a book with this view.
38:19Nice little drink.
38:20Yeah, it's just so relaxing.
38:22So, back in this room.
38:24Alex, I've taken your tips about the water glasses and the water bottles.
38:28And so, a little bowl to put your jewellery in.
38:30A little bowl to put your jewellery in, absolutely.
38:32That's such a good idea.
38:33And we refurbished all the bathrooms.
38:36You'll notice that there is a nice little...
38:38Oh, my God, somewhere to put your wash bag.
38:40Well done.
38:42I actually went through a hotel and went, oh, that's a good idea, that's a good idea, that's a good
38:45idea.
38:45Well, well done.
38:46Oh, I love it.
38:48Right, after you, doll.
38:50Safe to say Hayley liked what she saw upstairs.
38:54Oh, my God, I'm having one of them, I tell you.
38:57So, while Kathleen and I crack on with some last-minute party prep...
39:01Hayley, why aren't you back?
39:03..and the locals begin to arrive to celebrate her first year at the helm...
39:07Hello, darling, how are you?
39:09Good, how are you?
39:10Yeah, really, really.
39:11..I've left Hayley to check out the rest of the offering.
39:14Everything looks so good.
39:16...and get acquainted with some of Kathleen's customers.
39:20And how did you feel when Bognor was ranked as the UK's worst seaside town?
39:25Oh, that's not true.
39:27It's not.
39:28I mean, we've got a fantastic community.
39:30You know, and there's a lot of rejuvenation going on.
39:34With quite the crowd assembled...
39:37I want Kathleen to say a few words about her own rejuvenation of the Navigator.
39:44Good afternoon, everybody.
39:45Thank you so much for coming.
39:47We have been here almost a year now.
39:49And from my point of view, we have transformed this hotel.
39:52We are a community that has come together to show how fantastic Bognor is.
39:59So, thank you very much.
40:04I think this is the most wonderful project.
40:07I love Bognor.
40:09And that is in no short degree because of the Navigator.
40:13And congratulations, Kathleen.
40:17APPLAUSE
40:22It's clear the locals are all behind Kathleen.
40:25But has Hayley seen enough to put her success story in the paper
40:28and help boost not just the Navigator, but also Bognor's reputation?
40:33I suppose the big question is,
40:35do you think you've got something that you could write about here?
40:38Definitely.
40:39Like, it's so nice here.
40:42So peaceful.
40:43And the rooms are just very bright and comfortable.
40:46It's just a little gem down here, isn't it?
40:48Yeah, and I think you've done a great job.
40:49Oh, thank you for being enthusiastic about it.
40:54I'm delighted that all of Kathleen's efforts have paid off
40:57and she'll get some invaluable publicity to help her business prosper.
41:02Oh, darling, darling.
41:04Very good for you.
41:05I'm so pleased.
41:07It's very clear how hard she's worked to get this hotel looking great.
41:12It really doesn't feel like the worst use I tell in here.
41:16And it's not only Hayley who's been impressed by Kathleen's work ethic.
41:20I'm really proud of my mum for doing this.
41:22She's been trying really hard to, like, grow the hotel
41:26and she's put a lot of effort in.
41:28So while friends and family all celebrate a well-earned success...
41:32Yay!
41:34It's time for me to say my farewells.
41:37I think this has been an absolute triumph.
41:41I'm hoping that what I've left you with are two really important things.
41:46One, the priority is to make money so that you can invest money.
41:50The second thing is to look after yourself.
41:52Because without you, the whole thing collapses.
41:55So, good luck.
41:56And I'm only at the other end of the phone.
41:59Bye, darling.
42:00Thank you so much.
42:01Bye, have a pleasure.
42:01Bye.
42:04On my first visit here, Kathleen was on the verge of calling it quits
42:08and her dreams of restoring the navigator to glory were almost sunk.
42:13You've done wonders for this place.
42:16Now she should have all the tools she needs to steer her business
42:19into a bright and profitable future.
42:23As long as she stays positive and she can keep herself calm,
42:27I'm hoping that the navigator is going to do really well for her.
42:31My time with Alex has been the most valuable thing I've done
42:34and it has made all the difference to the future of this hotel.
42:44Hi, Alex. It's Kathleen.
42:45Things are going really, really well.
42:48The rooms are still standing.
42:51We haven't had any more major disasters, which is good.
42:53We're planning the next round of work to be done over the winter.
42:56Thank you so much for all your help.
43:15And thank you so much for all your help.
43:18You're welcome.
43:20두� della legenda.
43:21You're welcome.
43:27You're welcome.
43:29You
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