Hotels, Bars & Restaurants

Back in the mid 90s, my brother and I were looking to open a pub. We went out one evening with a friend that worked in commercial property, willing to supply him with free drinks in exchange for helpful hints. It was then I heard for the first time the now popular adage: ‘there are 3 things you need to worry about when looking for the right premises: location, location and location.’ He then further defined that by saying right area, right street, right building.

It was the best advice we could have received at the time and as a result we were able to avoid the places the agents quoted as having ‘fantastic potential’. If you’re currently looking for a property, do your research about the size of the potential market and the extent of the local competition.

Have you heard the story from a few years ago about a pub that had been opened with the name ‘The 5 Miles from Anywhere’? As you may have guessed, playing imaginatively on the fact that it was, five miles from anywhere else. Sadly, but perhaps predictably, the pub closed a few months later with the owners blaming a lack of trade.

There are ways of dealing with a remote location, but they are the exception rather than the rule. On a recent C4 program following Gerry Robinson in his quest to help small businesses, one hotel group he looked at owned a fleet of buses that picked up clients from their homes and bused them in!

I also remember a rather more uplifting story about a couple looking to buy a pub. They meticulously researched every pub that came on the market in their target area – assessing it on the number of family homes within a three-mile radius and the proximity of the nearest pub with a similar offering to the one they were planning. Sensible diligent research and when they did buy the pub that fitted their criteria; they ended up doing very well and went on to open a small chain.

If you’re already in the hotel, pub or restaurant industry and are looking for ways to improve this blog will be helpful to you too. While I ran the pub it was one of the most successful pubs in the area and faced/overcame many issues. During this time we ventured into producing our own beer, opening a micro-brewery, selling Vodka Jellies at a national level and even patenting a pot and lid to make them.

Basically, if you’re in this industry and struggling with something, whether it is retail, marketing or bookkeeping let me know and I’ll try to cover it in my next post.

Check this page regularly for updates and links to relevant blog posts and topics.