Second helping

It has been a hectic festive season for the new Hotel du Vin. All 25 rooms were occupied during the Christmas and New Year season, at a time when the new hotel was cutting its teeth on the Tunbridge Wells social scene, becoming involved with numerous dinners and private functions. Director Robin Hutson and new partners Peter Chittick and Henri Capon, who have been brought in to run the Tunbridge operation, are visibly tired, and relieved that the worst is now over.

For Hutson, it's proof of the benefits of having two properties: around 60% of the Tunbridge Wells room business came because Winchester was already at capacity. "It's great," confirms Hutson. "Once Winchester was full, we were able to say we had another hotel and could immediately transfer the business from one to the other."

But it hasn't all been plain sailing. The Tunbridge Wells operation, formerly the Boatwright Calverley hotel, is a much larger property than its Winchester role model. It has two lounges, a bar, a cigar-and-billards rooms, a function room which can cater for nearly 100 covers, and two further meeting rooms. Already the management of these public areas is proving a challenge.

For Hutson, Tunbridge Wells has the feel of a country house hotel in the middle of the city. It's a reminder of times past, when he was managing director at Chewton Glen. But with one member of staff to every three rooms, Chewton Glen is a labour-intensive operation, whose principles will not transfer directly to Tunbridge Wells. "We can't afford to take on that many staff for individual areas," says Hutson. "But we still need to achieve a level of service without increasing cost."

The answer may lie in taking on two more people who can learn all areas of the business and who can be used in different places according to need. This would bring the total number of full-time staff to 27.

There have been some management changes as well. A new vehicle, the Alternative Hotel Company, has been formed as the parent company of both the Winchester and the Tunbridge Wells operations. Fifty per cent of shares are held by Winchester businessman Ashley Levett, Hutson has 32%, Gerard Basset 18%, and Chittick an option of 3% after a year. Bob Nidrie remains a non-executive director, and there are plans to find a closer involvement for Capon, formerly chef sommelier at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.

Capon's involvement is crucial as it helps maintain the wine link which has been so successful at both properties. As in Winchester, rooms at Tunbridge Wells are sponsored by wine companies. To date, sponsorship across both properties amounts to £160,000.

For Basset and Hutson, both of whom are still busy at Winchester, it has been essential to have this extra layer of management. During the four months it took to convert the Boatwright Calverley into a second Hotel du Vin, Hutson spent several days a week in Tunbridge Wells. The plan had been for Basset to spend an equal amount of time overseeing menu development. But tragedy struck at Winchester: restaurant manager Julian Robinson was killed in a car crash at the start of November, and as a result Basset had to spend more time in Winchester.

Fortunately, menu development was well in hand at that stage. Hutson and Basset have stripped out their second layer of management at Winchester and promoted them to chiefs at Tunbridge Wells. So second chef Chris Start is now head chef at Tunbridge Wells, house manager Matt Callard has been promoted to reception manager, and assistant restaurant manager Martin Peter becomes restaurant manager.

As with many new businesses, budgets have come and gone. An original investment plan of £2.5m has turned into more than £3m. A new plumbing system, substantial rewiring and the removal of asbestos in the cellar are to blame.

One piece of good news is that a derelict filling station adjacent to the hotel was bought for £200,000. The original plan had been to convert the land into more rooms. In the event, the filling station has now been sold for £600,000 to Try Homes, which is struggling to win planning permission to develop it. Hutson breathes a sigh of relief that he did not get involved in this project.

The second Hotel du Vin may be up and running, but there's still plenty left to do. There are six rooms in a separate wing which are currently being used as staff accommodation. As and when cash-flow permits, Hutson plans to turn these into additional guest rooms.

He also needs to think about the best use for the function room. This may mean a leap into the wedding market, a thought which elicits some trepidation. "I am not a wedding fan," admits Hutson. "I associate them with disruption. We'll just have to try and control them as best we can."

There are also longer-term plans. Now that Hotel du Vin is an established concept, the challenge to find more suitable sites for expansion is heightened. Top of the list is Cambridge, although every time Hutson comes across a possible property he also encounters a brick wall: it is already owned by the University.

Hutson is clear on what he wants: a town centre property with enough chimney pots around to drive the bistro business. He doesn't rule out the possibility of a joint venture with a more established hotel group, although this is more for the future. The highly geared fledgling Alternative Hotels Company will need to mature as a business before this route can be explored.

Next week, we catch up with news of the Peterborough restaurant, I Toscanini. Our regular Adopted Business schedule returns on 15 January, when we report on Christmas and New Year trading.