About Brooklands Hotel

The ‘Make it Happen’ attitude is seen in all areas of the business and it is never just one stakeholder taking priority. The Stool model is lived by everyone and engages the team to have a full understanding of what is expected of them. Any decisions the management team make need to be for the good of all three legs of the stool. Through this the management have created a caring and engaged team that deliver great service whilst having fun and making money. This is reflected in the great feedback Brooklands receive from guests regarding the team, low staff turnover for the industry and reaching management budget five years in a row. The management are very hands on and offer an open door policy to all staff. This year Brooklands even went against the industry trend and budgeted to pay all of their team players the National Living Wage, regardless of if they met the criteria. The team are quite often heard saying 'we are the Brooklands Family' and this is great to hear. Marco also meets every prospective employee before they start by leading the daily dash meeting, doing an introduction at the team player monthly induction and running the ‘Make it Happen’ workshops for all new starters. He walks the property on a daily basis and even cooked the BBQ with chef for the team event. He also judged the Brooklands Bake off, but felt quite sick after tasting over 30 cakes! He’ll even do weekend cover, where he can be found serving behind the bar and doing the pass in 1907, demonstrating to all of the team that they’re are in this together and that leadership can take on various different forms to be successful. 

Brooklands Operations Ltd very much believe in retaining and progressing their managers through the business by offering opportunities, training and coaching to allow them to develop from team players to junior managers and eventually onto departmental managers. They do this through management development courses which are run by an external tutor, one to one mentoring with Senior Managers and further external courses to enhance their development. The company has had the same management team in place for four years and many of these managers came up from team players to managers. As a hotel the business works very closely together on a daily basis, meaning discussion with Senior Managers happens throughout the days and any advice on performance is dealt with on an ongoing basis, with tasks and projects allocated over the months being monitored for their progression and completion. The management team also have offsite meetings a few times a year where they work through an agenda, covering commercial, people and guest feedback, all of which ensures their stool model is fulfilled and the team is focused. Having a close management team helps Brooklands Operations Ltd to understand how to work to their strengths and also how to complement each other when a great job has been done. Another huge positive is that most staff members have worked in other hotel groups, meaning they can bring their knowledge and experience to the table in every decision made. 

Operating in a fast paced industry that involves such long hours, the wellbeing of Brooklands team is so important to ensure that everyone remains healthy. Brooklands B Balanced meals provide the team with healthy food for lunch and dinner, with protein, vegetable and salad options always on offer. Their team players can access discounted membership to the businesses gym, along with discounts on spa treatments to ease the stress of long days, plus managers even receive free membership! Reception are on their feet all day, so are provided with anti-stress mats behind reception, Make it Happen at its best! This year the company have sourced a local optician to provide free eye tests to all employees, not just VDU users as previous, plus as a bonus is that everyone gets discounts on glasses. Further discounts on entertainment through Merlin and MBW are also offered to the team so they can enjoy their leisure time, along with birthday stays for employees so they can come along and relax as a guest. Holidays are also managed to ensure that the team are taking regular breaks throughout the year. Night team players are offered a health check once a year to ensure that they are fit and healthy to work during night time. Yet another positive is that Brooklands also work with local companies to provide discounts on health clubs, hair dressers etc. During the hot Summer months, teams were given ice-lollies to have in the afternoon and housekeeping and the kitchen brigade received bottles of water. Along with all these benefits, the company is committed to creating a very family orientated and caring atmosphere for employees, satisfying staff wellbeing on every level.