Episode 1 Hotel 24/7

This time on Hotel 24/7...

Oh, yeah!

..it's a testing time for chef Stew and his new menu...

This is the worst day of my year cos it's just non-stop critique.

..a celebrity guest checks in for some pampering...

and there's a management dispute over marketing.

We cannot just sit back and do nothing.

Yeah, but at the moment, we won't have a database to go to.

This is a week inside the Celtic Manor Resort,

a behind-the-scenes look into the life of its hard-working staff.

Seven days of ups and downs as they cook, clean

and cater for their guests.

This is Hotel 24/7.

The Celtic Manor Resort is the biggest five-star hotel in Wales,

hosting high-profile events from golf tournaments,

weddings, and even the NATO conference.

No day is the same.

It's one of the biggest weeks of the year for the hotel

as they prepare to host their annual polo event.

Good afternoon, Celtic Manor Special Events,

Molly speaking, how can I help?

She's booked in to stay on Saturday,

so I don't know if she's got a party or something.

What was the name on your bookings, please?

The polo has become one of the hotel's biggest draws,

pulling in over 3,000 visitors last year.

But it's been the wettest winter for over 200 years in Wales

and after days of constant rain, the ground is soaked through.

-Morning, Tim, how are you?

-I'm fine, thanks.

Welcome to paradise.

The hotel has called in consultant Tim Keyte.

He'll decide if the pitch is safe enough

for the polo horses to play on.

-There's no room for error, really.

-No.

Like, if we get rain on Thursday or Friday,

-we're back to where we were a couple of weeks ago.

-Look, you advise us.

If it's a no, then it's a no, and if it's good, then great.

I'd like to have a good old walk over the top of it.

For Chief Operating Officer Ian Edwards,

there's a great deal at stake.

It's a whole year's work.

We had in excess of 1,000 people, just general admittance,

1,000 in hospitality.

'Just selling tickets is a massive operation on its own so, yeah,

'it's huge.'

What's your vibe then?

No, you don't want to know yet.

I don't want to spoil your day before we start.

-We've got to make a decision now, haven't we?

-We have to as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

-The weather's not good tomorrow.

-No.

Would you rather not do it as it stands?

Yeah? OK.

That's what we'll do. That's our decision made.

-Thanks for coming down again, Tim.

-No, not at all.

Now, we've got to go into contingency

and plan for filling the hotel at the weekend.

The decision to cancel

will have a knock-on effect across all areas of the hotel.

Ian has scrambled a crisis meeting

to outline his strategy for damage limitation.

OK, so, we had a meeting down on the polo field this morning just

after seven. Unfortunately, it's not playable.

Where we go then, Nancy, obviously, if you contact John

and any other suppliers and tell them we're pulling the event.

Em, and whatever we can do on any...any side of that to

minimise any cost.

Peter, obviously, food and make sure all our supplies are cut

back on that so straightaway, action all of this.

The really important thing about this is we close it,

we make sure every person we deal with is closed

so they know what the process is, they know that we've contacted them

and they know what their options are, whether it is a full refund or

whether they're going to attend another event.

But it is really important we don't miss anyone

because we've got to make sure that we make the most out of this and make

sure that they know that we're trying to put things right as best we can.

So, obviously, we'll post everything onto the website.

We'll look at getting everything out to media as well so,

hopefully, by the end of the day, everybody will be...

And will it go on radio, Ness?

Yeah, we'll send it through to radio,

Media Wales and to the Argus as well.

OK, well, let's make the most of it. Let's be upbeat when we're

on the phone to these clients and sponsors and...do what we can.

With over 400 rooms to fill,

the hotel welcomes all kinds of guests,

from business travellers to families.

Good morning, children.

Hello, how are you?

In charge of making sure they're all catered for

is director of food and beverage Glenn Lewis.

'As I thought, we now have a queue for breakfast

'so I'm going to be doing my hosting bit.'

-704? And the name, please?

-Graham.

-Graham? For two?

Carol and Mark?

-Tracy...

-Tracy and Mark.

Tracy and Mark? So, Carroll is the surname?

'I love dealing with the public, love it.'

I guess, really, this is why I went into the hotel business.

When I was at school, I so much wanted to be an actor, I so much

wanted to go to, you know, RADA and acting school but never got there.

So, I think this is now my stage, you see.

And these guests are my audience.

-So, just for two?

-Yes, it is.

-All right. So, you checking out today?

-No, no, we're staying tomorrow.

-You arrived yesterday?

-What have you been up to?

-Well, it's our first year wedding anniversary...

-Oh, really? Congratulations. This is paper, isn't it?

-Ah, yes.

-So, what are your plans for today?

-I'm a golfer. She doesn't play so...

You're going to hit a couple of balls?

Right, OK, enjoy your breakfast.

The resort has over 1,000 acres of world-class golf courses

and it takes a team of dedicated green-keepers

to maintain the miles of underground water pipes,

which keep the grass in pristine condition.

It's like I'm the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Today, one of the sprinklers needs replacing.

For greenkeepers Noel and Neil, it's spades at the ready.

It's something that we've got to hit straightaway,

it's right on the green, and, believe it or not,

within a 48-hour period, we could be irrigating this.

If they put a fertiliser down and it needs to be watered in,

this sprinkler's going to be needed straightaway.

The pressure's on to replace the sprinkler

before the golfers arrive at the hole.

We don't really want to show the customers that we've got

issues like this, you know.

The last thing they want to see is a sprinkler dug out.

See, you'd never know we've been on this.

If it comes up perfect, I've done this.

If there's a problem with it, that's down to Noel.

CONTROLS BEEP

-It's all good. Oh, well done, mate.

-I done a very good job. It's...

-The man with no muddy hands.

-Yeah.

The golfer will turn up now and he won't even know it's been done.

MAN GROANS

Ex-England footballer and keen golfer Kieron Dyer

is on the practice green waiting for his golf partner.

-'How you looking?'

-I've already, like I said, on the range,

I've hit probably about 200 shots waiting for him.

They'll be playing the 2010 course,

designed and built for the International Ryder Cup

four years ago, when many famous golfers used these locker rooms.

Today, it's former Wales football captain Craig Bellamy's turn.

-Oh, great.

-This locker just here.

If you leave the card just inside the door here.

I think sometimes, from Cardiff, you don't use these facilities enough.

You feel like it's too far but it isn't.

It's only just down the road and, if I'm being honest,

I should use it a lot more than I do.

Craig finally joins Kieron on the green.

SARCASTIC APPLAUSE

Listen, I would have been here a lot earlier.

-Oh, yeah(!)

-Don't give me any of that.

-When you like.

-I've already played 18 holes.

-Yeah, right!

The greens are scaring me on the practice greens.

If these are this quick,

it means they're going to be ten times faster.

Yeah, love it. Fantastic.

I'm changing in Tiger Woods' locker, so that's nice, yeah.

I've just moved to Tiger Woods' locker,

so hopefully I can play like him.

-Size of your back garden, this, innit, Craig?

-Yeah, righto.

-Oh, perfect.

-Didn't get it...

-You'll take that all day long.

-Yeah, nice shot.

-Shot.

Wow.

Whoa. Get in, get in.

This game drives me mad. It drives me mad.

-It's awesome, yeah, very good.

-'Will you come back?'

If I'm invited on a freebie, yeah. I'm retired now, money's tight.

THEY CHUCKLE

In the hotel, the marketing department are dealing

with the fallout following the cancellation of the polo.

You'll phone that through to the news desks and, obviously,

we'll try and get onto radio as well...

-Yeah.

-..just so we can make sure as many people

know about the cancellation as possible.

It's a real blow for marketing director Vanessa Russell

and her team.

The programme, I know you all worked really hard on it and,

obviously, it's looking great but we need to stop work now.

Obviously, don't send it to print

and don't continue to work on any other aspects of the polo.

So I know, obviously, you've all put a lot of work into it but,

unfortunately, it's not going ahead.

Sorry, guys, thanks.

In the bin it goes.

We've worked really hard over the last few weeks for what feels

like nothing now, but more so for the guests

that are coming to the event.

Obviously, I know clients that are coming, friends, some of them

coming for birthday celebrations, hen weekends.

And also coming from a very girlie point-of-view, most of them

have bought their dresses

and we know that that's taken weeks of choosing that right dress,

and they're not going to get the chance, perhaps, to wear that so,

you know, a lot of disappointment and feelings for them there as well.

So, yeah, it's really hard.

You can either exchange the tickets or you can just have a refund.

Now, it's up to a hastily-assembled team to break the bad news

to guests and sponsors.

Unfortunately, with the event being on Saturday and three days'

worth of rainfall, it's not going to be playable,

so we are having to cancel the event.

We've just literally announced the cancellation,

so everything's a bit chaotic here at the moment.

It's a shame, a shame.

The resort has recently ploughed millions of pounds

into developing a series of luxurious self-catering lodges,

hidden in a valley on the estate.

It's down to Glenn to check that every last detail is perfect

before the lodges are opened to guests -

a process known as "snagging."

I'm going to go and stay in it tonight with my partner

Jonathan and, basically, we're going to be snagging it

and looking to see if there are any maintenance issues.

-Welcome to the Dreamy Dove.

-Oh, my God.

It is absolutely fantastic!

-Well, do you think?

-You did this?

-I did this.

-Seriously?

-I did this.

-So, this is where you've been hiding for the last three months?

-This is it.

-This is beautiful, Glenn. Who chose the colour?

-I chose it.

Why did you decide to go for that colour?

-Do you know what colour it is?

-Erm, aubergine?

-Aubergine?

Yeah, a lot of people are saying it's purple

and I think it just sets it off. It's just very, very different.

It would have been very easy to have gone for cream but...

Well, that's a bit vin ordinaire but that is beautiful, seriously.

It's beautiful.

With his passion for interior design,

Glenn was asked to furnish all ten lodges.

It filled me with dread, to be totally honest with you.

But then, all of a sudden, I heard half a million pounds

and this dread very quickly disappeared because,

all of a sudden, I was going to go out

and spend half a million pounds, which appealed greatly.

We can have a glass of bubbles.

'He doesn't miss a trick.'

You might think he does but he doesn't.

-It's so annoying sometimes.

-Bedroom.

Unfortunately, the bed is not the standard

to which we decided that we were going to have it.

Down to the edge here.

That just lays on the top.

Bolster here, zip underneath, and, importantly...

the pillows turned away from the door.

You know I'm going to be checking our beds when I go home.

No, I'll be checking the beds when we go home.

JONATHAN CHUCKLES

What's always good to do is to actually sit on the loo

and have a look around.

At this level, you can

see some marks on the skirting board there, on the tiles.

It might just be a housekeeping issue,

but it's something that we need to deal with.

How are you going to get that?

It's really in the wrong place, it needs to be...over here.

So, how many calls have we had?

Charlotte, have we had much for Saturday?

Oh, we've lost quite a few girls.

The cancellation of the weekend's polo

has left the resort with a problem -

empty bedrooms.

-How many rooms have we sold for Saturday night?

-We've sold 16.

Pull an F2 up.

So, the pressure's on for Jill Manley,

who is in charge of the sales team.

-So, are we in desperation then?

-Yes, we have been all day.

-Right.

Can I have the stats on what was booked seven days after?

They're there so don't be taking ages,

just go in where they were saved before, yeah?

OK, bye. What's wrong?

Ian's worried that Jill's team have been slow off the mark

with an e-mail marketing campaign to fill the empty rooms.

We're making changes, we're here, so this morning, I was...

So, it didn't go out at 11?

What time did the mailing actually go?

Ian wants to know.

12:40? OK, thank you, bye. 12:40.

What are we going to do then about the rest of June and this weekend?

-So, we've still got 100K to pick up, haven't we?

-Yeah.

Maybe we should be sending something again, that's what my concern is.

We've lost 100 rooms for Saturday, which we need,

and I'm sure we'll get at least half of that back but my point is,

the next three weeks, we've got gaps in the week, not weekend,

where we need to give these people a reason to come to the resort.

Yeah, but at the moment, we won't have a database to go to.

Vanessa, we cannot just sit back and do nothing.

Our job is to maximise yield and if we lose a few...

I know but I'm trying to protect the database as well...

I understand that.

..because we sent summer throw backs, we've sent it today,

but then we've added in Saturday, which I completely understand

we had to because of polo, something that we weren't expecting.

We cannot just sit back and say,

"Sorry, we're not going to do anything."

It's our job to make sure that we, the resort,

we fill the resort. And we also know that once they're here,

the guests come and they spend money in all of our outlets,

and we can't just sit back and say,

"I'm sorry, I'm not going to send another e-mail campaign."

But I do think we're making a mistake.

You always think that and I'm always the one that comes out on top.

Stress is part of the job

when it comes to managing a hotel of this size,

but not everybody is having a difficult day in the office.

This has been great, I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you very much for...

-You're very welcome.

-..allowing me to come down.

-Thank you for helping snag. Cheers.

-You mean getting on your nerves?

-Getting on my nerves.

-Cheers.

-Cheers. Thank you very much.

With the polo cancelled,

the hotel must look towards the next major event in the calendar -

the Golf Celebrity Cup.

-Right, main course.

-Eh, monkfish.

Yeah, you spoke to me about that earlier, that's good.

Chef Stew Spicer has created the menu for the event.

He's explaining his idea for an unusual table centrepiece

to his boss, executive chef Mike Bates.

"And the freshly-mow...mown?" Mowed?

-Mown.

-"..mown grass."

Grass, yeah.

Enlighten me with that one.

Erm, so, you've got a pot, in the bottom, you've got some dry ice.

Then I'm going to speak to the greenkeepers

and actually get some of the grass from the golf course.

Pour some hot water on it and you get this crazy,

just like, aroma of grass and summer.

How can we guarantee that perhaps there's no cat's pee on my grass?

I haven't seen many cats on there.

No, no, but I live in the country,

so when they're doing their bit in the countryside,

there is a bit of a pong and I wouldn't want that pong to...

-Yeah, no problem.

-..be on the table

while they're having their wonderful raspberry tartlet.

No problem, I will make sure I get some clean grass.

-It would be quite embarrassing for you.

-Yeah, no problem.

Later today, Stew will be cooking the dishes

for the senior management team to approve,

including his table centrepiece...

..so the search is on for the perfect grass.

Lush. Oh, sweet-smelling grass.

There's no cats, no dogs,

nothing that will smell a bit mank on the plate.

Can't go wrong with like buttercups. I'll have some of them as well.

Look at those.

-Do I like butter?

-'You do like butter.'

Why? Are you calling me fat?

I think we've spotted greenkeepers over there, so...

Ah, look, and another one.

They're like London buses, they're everywhere.

Oh! That's what we're looking for, that's the stuff.

Nice and wet, it's still got the dew on it.

Literally, looking at it, you don't get fresher than that.

We'll have a load of that. Job's a good 'un, perfect.

-How are you?

-Good, you?

-I'm all right, thank you.

-How was your stay?

Ah! Perfect, come on in.

Glenn has summoned guest relations manager Samantha Mason to the lodge.

He's got some feedback on his overnight stay.

So, Sam, a small thing.

-If you look at this, Sam, we've got two different flannels.

-OK.

-We've got one large, one small.

-OK.

So, when you look at the presentation...you know,

it's just...not as perfect as it should be.

Yeah, absolutely.

Now, the other thing, which I guess, really, will be quite funny

to some people and, to a degree, it was quite funny for me this morning.

At least it woke me up.

This is something that you're not going to be able to deal with,

you'll need to get maintenance involved - there's no hot water.

-Oh, dear.

-So...

-A nice cold shower this morning.

It was a very cold shower, Sam.

You know, if it was a guest staying in the year tonight,

last night or tonight, if no-one had stayed here, we wouldn't have known.

-No.

-So, really, that's the whole point of us...

-Yeah, absolutely.

..doing all of this snagging.

All of the taps in all of the bathrooms this morning,

trying to get some hot water to shave at least,

but there's no hot water anywhere, not even in the kitchen.

OK, fabulous. We will get maintenance down on that.

-A bit beyond me, that one, hot water.

-I know it's beyond you.

-Go on through.

-Fabulous.

If I could bring you down here just for a second if that's OK,

as soon as this one's done we can...

Glenn's final task is to oversee a photo shoot for

the resort's marketing campaign.

I love all of this creation.

I love, you know, doing interiors, and it's just been...

It's been wonderful for me

to be able to do that alongside my day job.

With guest bookings lost as a result of the polo being called off,

the sales team have worked hard to resell the empty rooms.

Thank you, bye.

So just how much damage remains?

Polo, we dropped 118 room nights

and on this we have made up 40 room nights so far.

That's really good, isn't it?

48 grand pick-up in the week for the month.

It does make me smile and it is a sense of achievement.

But it's through blood, sweat and tears, isn't it?

It is through blood, sweat and tears

and, you know, there's absolutely no question about that.

You know, and everyone has a job to do.

Vanessa's job is to make sure she protects the database.

My job is to make sure we're a successful business.

And when all of these elements come together,

we have a fantastic business.

But it is blood, sweat and tears, for sure.

The guest list for the polo included a number of high-profile celebrities

but, with the event cancelled, most of them have made other plans.

However, former EastEnders star Dean Gaffney

and his friend have kept their weekend booking.

Wow.

That's our house for the next two days.

It's a shame the polo's been cancelled, actually,

cos I was looking forward to going to the polo

cos that would have been nice.

I got my suit freshly dry cleaned for it.

Would you like any wake-up call or any newspaper to your room?

-Anything I can help you with? Happy with your room?

-Absolutely.

-Very happy.

-Thank you so much.

When I was a child, I used to come over

the M4 from the Severn Bridge and then go into Wales

and see this big, massive thing there and think, "What is that?"

It's always intrigued me. Obviously, I know it's a hotel

but to actually stay here and see how it all works, you know,

it's kind of a childhood thing for me, really.

'Staying for two days.

'When we come here, we're going to get a few cocktails, I think.'

Every time I come here, I want to try a different cocktail.

I've gone through about 20 already. Everything here is nice.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Look at that.

For Stu, it's crunch time, as the senior management team

arrive to sample the menu he's created for the golf Celebrity Cup.

This is making sure that when we deliver everything on the day

it's absolutely five-star, absolutely to the standard we expect.

Nice.

That's how I roll.

Quarter to, our deadline, yeah?

-It's going to be an interesting day.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

HE LAUGHS

Mike's hoping Stu can deliver the goods.

Notoriously, this is the worst day of my year cos it's just

non-stop critique but then, you know, that's what it's for.

-Let's go, mate. Let's get it all out there. Go, go, go.

-It's all ready.

Well, you need to communicate it clearly, yeah?

I really like that.

And the other one is lobster and pike terrine with tartare puree.

This that the lobster and pike terrine.

I can't cut this, Peter.

OK. Well, you see, I can cut this one.

Yeah, I know, but you're a stronger man than me

and there's lots of ladies in the room.

You are sawing it, Peter.

Last time I checked, that's what a knife is for.

How did that go down with the magnificent five?

The presentation had more comments than anything else.

-They all just seemed to be all love for the food.

-Oh, good. Oh, my God.

My mystery.

Don't get too excited, Stu, we've got the grass to come yet, mate.

One of the main course dishes is a monkfish cannelloni.

This is probably my favourite out of all of the dishes.

Oh, look at that monkfish, man.

It's a lovely dish.

Nice and full-on flavours, really vibrant, really fresh,

really summery as well.

So I'll be gutted if they don't like this, yeah.

-I've never seen anything like that before.

-It's not a cannelloni.

-That's not a cannelloni.

-It doesn't look pleasant to me.

-That is a sausage.

-This we need to look at... It is... It is...

Is this wrapped?

I do think this one is more summery with that.

The taste here is good on this but I just don't like the look, again.

They kind of are a bit nasty sometimes.

But, you know what? That's what we're here for so, you know,

we just want to get it right, we want to get it amazing.

This is what it's all about, so we can refine things and tweak things.

-Can't we, Mr Spicer?

-We can indeed.

They'll be overwhelmed with the desserts.

And hopefully the team will be

impressed with Stu's piece de resistance.

Here we go, then, big boy.

Dean Gaffney is off to the spa.

He's in need of some pampering.

A few too many cocktails, but it was nice. They were nice.

I thought I'd try all different colours of the flags

in the World Cup and I think I got to about four.

I'm going to have a facial today, I think.

I think I need one to wake myself up a bit.

I'm just going to pop a towel round your head,

so if you keep your head down for me.

-Are you having any other treatments today or just this?

-No, just this.

Argh, it stings! It stings!

Got you.

HE CHUCKLES

Green keeper, get down here, bud.

It's finally time to find out

if Stu's foraging efforts have paid off.

As you've spent a lot of time on this grass finale I think,

personally, you should go out there and do the honours with it.

-I'll follow you.

-But what if I go down in glory?

-Well, that's amazing.

And if you don't, I'll pick you up off the floor

and kick you back in the kitchen.

Go, go, go, mate. Respect.

Hi.

-Oh, what's this?

-What's this, then?

That's the raspberry which will go with the hay.

This one smells of freshly mown grass

from the golf course this morning.

Wow, it does as well. It's not good for my hay fever.

We just wanted to go for the summer...

So, will that go on as a table centre?

-Yeah.

-Wow.

-Wow.

-That is fab.

-Well done, Stu.

-That's fantastic.

That was a hit as well.

The grass was like, "Whoa, it smells of grass."

WOMAN: How do you feel?

Well, hopefully we've clawed it back at the last minute.

They were all like, "Yeah, wicked."

No cats on that. Well done.

Excellent. Good, good.

I was a little bit apprehensive when they told me beforehand

but I think really, really good idea.

This is Stu at his funkiest.

-Wicked. They loved it.

-There we go.

Smiling again.

The next time on Hotel 24/7...

Only two for me, thank you.

..it's a tricky balancing act for events manager Michelle,

maintenance men David and Graham hit the roof with a leak in the spa...

This is going to be an absolute nightmare.

..and as a top-secret VIP guest checks in, all lips are sealed.

We're not allowed to reveal any information regarding any VIPs.