Resources
A few of our standards, given away.
Three single-page standards taken straight from the work. Print them, put them at pre-shift, use them tonight. Nothing is gated and there is nothing to fill in. If you want them written for your house and trained into your team, that is what an engagement is for.
Logistics · Understanding
The Pre-Arrival Standard
The 72 hours before a guest walks in
Most properties begin the experience at the door. The luxury experience begins days earlier, in the silence between booking and arrival — a window most operators leave entirely to chance.
The standard
- 01Booking confirmed with a warm, human acknowledgment — not only an automated receipt.
- 02Occasion and intent captured at reservation and carried forward to the floor.
- 03Stated preferences (dietary, room, seating, accessibility) logged and acted on before arrival.
- 04A pre-arrival touch 24–72 hours out that anticipates rather than merely confirms.
- 05Transfer, parking, or arrival logistics offered, not left to the guest to solve.
- 06Returning guests recognized in the record before they appear — history attached to the reservation, not to a person’s memory.
- 07Every promise made pre-arrival visible to the team who will deliver it.
Risk & Recovery · Emotion
The Service-Recovery Standard
The first 90 seconds after something goes wrong
Failure is inevitable; the recovery is a choice. How a property responds in the first ninety seconds decides whether a mistake becomes a lost guest or a loyal one. Recovery is the most reliable loyalty event in hospitality — and the most often fumbled.
The standard
- 01The issue is acknowledged immediately and sincerely — no defensiveness, no excuse.
- 02Ownership is taken by the person in front of the guest, not deferred to "a manager."
- 03The guest is heard fully before any solution is proposed.
- 04The fix is personal and generous, not a scripted, minimum-viable gesture.
- 05Resolution happens in the moment wherever possible — speed is itself an apology.
- 06A genuine follow-through closes the loop, so the guest knows it mattered.
- 07The failure is logged and learned from, so the same break does not recur.
eXecution · Commercial
The Wine-Service Threshold
Where fine-dining margin is won or lost
An excellent list is inventory. The program is what happens between a guest sitting down and a bottle being poured — and it is where the most fine-dining margin quietly disappears.
The standard
- 01A sommelier or trained lead touches the table — wine service is not abdicated to the server.
- 02By-the-glass pairings are offered by default, not only on request.
- 03Guidance trades up gracefully, reading the table rather than pushing price.
- 04Glassware, temperature, and decanting are correct for what is poured.
- 05Presentation and tasting ritual are observed without being ceremonial theater.
- 06Pacing of pours matches the pacing of the meal.
- 07The pairing conversation happens at the right beat — early enough to convert, never rushed.
These are the short, universal versions. The ones we write for a property name your outlets, your shifts, and your people, and someone comes and teaches them. Tell us where you would want to start.
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