Our brands and how they affect what we do and how we do it - Devonshire Hotels
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Our brands and how they affect what we do and how we do it
Introduction
To offer hospitality to others is one of the greatest and most admirable of human characteristics, we are social animals after all.
We need and want to share experiences and stories and we like to eat and drink while we’re doing it.
The hotels and restaurants that are part of the group are important to us commercially but also because we feel deeply that
hospitality is something we want to offer and to deliver really well. We want people to appreciate and value what we do and we
want to be proud of the properties, service and experiences that we offer. That means we have to be quite specific and precise
about what we deliver and how we deliver it. That’s the reason for this document; to articulate what we represent as a hospitality
group and what each of our properties should represent.
Our vision
Always
We believe
Devonshire Group
Benefitting our heritage, our people
and our shared future.
improving
Whatever we do we
in Decency
Decency is at the heart
strive in our own ways, of the way every one
big and small, to improve Being of us behaves and acts
how we do things. - we understand the
inclusive importance of doing the
The best decisions are the right thing.
Our core values ones that are inclusive;
strengthening the
Each generation of the Devonshire Family is relationships we have
guardian of the fundamental values that enable with both our colleagues
our enterprises and charities to prosper. and people outside our
enterprises.
2
Contents
1. Introduction
• We are part of something worth being a part of 4
• What makes the Devonshire Collection special? 5
• How you bring the group brand into
your property 6
• Under promise and over deliver 7
• Fellow feeling, engagement and character 8
• Knowledge 9
• Attention to detail 10
• Value 11
2. The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa 12
3. The Devonshire Fell 20
4. The Cavendish Hotel 28
5. The Devonshire Arms, Beeley 36
6. The Devonshire Arms, Pilsley 44
7. The Cavendish Pavilion 52
8. Boltholes 60
3
We are part of something
worth being a part of
We are part of a really ambitious and multifaceted group of
businesses, with numerous tourist, guest hospitality and
experiences to offer.
At the heart of it are the Duke and Duchess and the wonderful estates that they manage
for the benefit of the people that live and work in and around, and the thousands of
guests that visit every year. It’s an important part of the guest experience that we are
aligned with all the other activity in the group and we should be able to talk about the
group with confidence and knowledge.
Even if someone has only popped into one of our properties for a coffee or fish and
chips, it would be good if they left having gained a small insight into what the group
does and that they talk to other people about it. We don’t want people to frequently visit
one of our properties and never know about all the other things that we do and all the
other things that they could do with us. The business word for this is ‘cross-selling’.
It would also be good and benefit us all if visitors and guests got a sense that the same
values existed across all our activities, not just our hospitality properties.
4
What makes the Devonshire
An eclectic
Collection special? selection of
refined experiences
Not a chain, not cookie-cutter, not a business where
shareholders matter more than guests, but a family business.
How we want people to feel:
Appreciated
Never far from the Duke Part of the brand
and Duchess is the land
The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire are A beautiful photograph of a new bride and
a fundamental part of our group brand. groom on the heather covered
Without them the properties in our slopes of the Yorkshire Dales is a captivating
business would not exist. prospect.
We want our visitors and guests to feel All of our properties are surrounded by
like they’re never far from the Duke and beautiful and enthralling landscapes. Don’t
the Duchess. Not geographically but in the forget this, let’s use it to our advantage.
design, effects and attitude that exists.
It is easy for us to take for granted the
If all the books on a hotel shelf are chosen by land and the landscapes that we see and
the Duke, this helps the guest feel connected experience everyday, but for our visitors
and included. We need to think about other and guests they should be an intrinsic part
ways to make that connection of our offer.
more tangible.
People are not just attracted by our
properties but their location too.
Values
Under promise and over deliver / Fellow feeling, engagement & character /
Knowledge / Attention to detail / Value
5
How you bring the
group brand into
your property
1 2 3
Bring the Duke and the Duchess into The estates, the land, the landscapes, Talk about and use the
the property. Books chosen by the Duke, the horticulture, farming and the people group values:
interior design and paintings chosen are all part of the group. Don’t be afraid
• Under promise and over deliver
by the Duchess, the Duke’s favourite to talk about these components and
dish, historical artefacts and furniture, feature them in your property. • Fellow feeling, engagement
references to Chatsworth and other and character
estate activities.
• Knowledge
• Attention to detail
• Value
6
Under promise and over deliver
Being a great
Guests expect a lot don’t they?
hospitality We all expect a lot from the things we buy and we quite often feel let down because the advertising and the
business brochure over promise. We need to meet and exceed expectations, so that might be about promising slightly
less and making sure the experience that the guest gets meets, or preferably exceeds, their expectations.
Don’t forget that genuine human engagement (chatting with people) and surprising them (sticky ginger cake in
their room when they arrive) really, really matters...
A lot. It’s the difference between an average review and a really good one.
7
Fellow feeling, engagement & character
Being a great
hospitality You might have heard of a thing called emotional intelligence. It’s not like factual intelligence; knowing the capital city
of Papua New Guinea or the square route of 3826475. It’s about knowing how to relate to people. How to get on with
them, communicate and empathise. Having empathy doesn’t mean you feel the same as they do, it just means you
business appreciate how they feel and can act in the right way. You know when someone is obviously in a rush?
That’s not the right time to give them a full guided tour of the hotel. They are more likely to appreciate;
“Let’s get you up to your room as soon as possible”.
Don’t underestimate your personal contribution to their experience. If you talk to
people (over and above taking their order) you will improve their visit, they will enjoy
it more and... so will you.
8
Knowledge
Being a great Don’t guests have a lot of questions?
hospitality Well, it’s true, they do but that’s not going to change, so let’s get really good at answering them. It’s really important to
know what you’re talking about but it’s even more important to admit when you don’t. It’s really fabulous if you can
business answer a guest’s enquiry confidently because you know the answer and you can talk about it clearly e.g. “How long will
it take us to walk to Chatsworth?” “Can I have cream instead of ice cream?” “Is the cotton in my bed sheets from Egypt
or Ecuador?” The answer to the last question might be, “Do you know, I’m not entirely sure but it will be interesting to
find out, leave it with me.”
Take pride in getting it right. You know what it’s like, when you ask the shop assistant or somebody on the helpline a
question and they mess you about or they don’t know the answer, it’s annoying isn’t it?
So let’s not do that. Let’s get really good at it.
9
Attention to detail
Being a great A lot of us do the same thing every day. Our job includes quite a lot of repetitive tasks, so it’s easy to do them
hospitality automatically, without thinking. Have you ever driven somewhere and when you arrive you realise you can’t
remember driving certain sections of the journey?
business That’s because we get really good at doing repetitive things automatically. But we need to force ourselves to look
at things from the guests perspective. To see the world through their eyes. An empty jar with no biscuits in doesn’t
look good, the battery compartment of the TV remote control held on with Sellotape isn’t nice, giving somebody
the wrong bill, not telling them the Wi-Fi password. These are all things that a guest will notice and it will get filed
away in the brain, in the, ‘that was a bit rubbish’ compartment, which we don’t want. The other thing is, when a
guest notices that you have paid attention and got something right, even something quite small, they will love it and
appreciate it and it will get filed in the ‘they are fabulous here, I’m coming again’ compartment. Which is great.
10Value
Being a great
hospitality We are all looking for great value, all of the time. That is partly because, from time to time, we get let down. We want
people to leave our properties feeling like they got great value for money regardless of how much they spent. Think
about it, look at what we are asking them to pay for and decide yourself whether you think it represents good value
business for money. Would you be happy with it? A great way to increase the value that the guest places on their experience is to
deliver on the previous four values.
To under promise and over deliver, to really engage with people, apply your own character and personality, to make
sure you know what you’re talking about and not to pretend you do and pay attention to detail, get the small
things right.
If we do all of this, there is a far greater chance that our guests will consider their
experience valuable and worth repeating. If this happens, we all do well and what’s
more we get to feel really good about what we’re doing.
1113
The Devonshire Arms
BOLTON ABBEY INTRODUCTION We need to go on
Facts list:
• 40 en suite bedrooms (12 Classic, 14 Deluxe, six Luxury, six Superior, two Suite). 26 bedrooms have private
a charm offensive
gun cabinets.
• Two restaurants: The Burlington (Three AA Rosettes) which serves breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner,
and The Brasserie (One AA Rosette) which serves lunch and dinner every day with brunch at weekends.
• Spa with four treatment rooms offering a range of massage, body treatments, a small gym, relaxation lounge, sauna,
steam room, mud rasul and indoor swimming pool.
• Free parking for the Cavendish Pavilion and Bolton Abbey Estate. Electric car hook up.
• Dog friendly
Luxury is not what it used to be, stiff, rigid and a bit unwelcoming. We are smarter than that, we are about
sophistication in everything we do. Cultured, polished and stylish but not stand-offish or exclusive. We want people to
be really comfortable here... comfortable, uplifted and impressed, not intimidated. At the centre of our experience is the
food; modern, polished, stylish and gorgeous. Just like our people...
14Comfortable
sophistication
Somewhere people feel comfortable, both physically
and emotionally whilst enjoying and appreciating
a sense of sophistication.
How we want people to feel:
What happens when everything feels right
Main ingredient 1 Main ingredient 2 Main ingredient 3
Food destination Countryside Comfort
the attractiveness, the countryside around comfort is a beautiful
word-of-mouth and appeal the hotel is idyllic and chair, a great coffee and
of the quality of the food is we might be inclined a magazine, but it’s also
a core ingredient of to underutilise it. Bring about making people feel
the hotel. the outside into the comfortable in the hotel.
experience. The landscapes Make them feel like they
and scenery are part of should be there, like the
our offer. hotel has been created
for them.
Values Personality
Stylish / Accessible / Character Attentive / Happy / Confident
15The feel we think is right 16
How to differentiate and stand out by being
Comfortably sophisticated
Props: Processes: People:
The property itself and its contents are the primary way Processes must be built around the customer not us. By far the most important ingredient of the guest’s stay
that guests will detect the comfort and sophistication. Engagement and timings and the way things are delivered is their engagement with the team, nothing is more
But sophistication without comfort could be cold and must make people feel comfortable and valued. Resist the important. When you deliver a coffee, glass of wine or
uncomfortable. Comfort is important which means the temptation to do things the way they have always been gin and tonic to the guest, the drink is important but
interiors, seating and furniture must look like it’s there to done and for the good of the hotel rather than the guest. your engagement with them means a lot more. Don’t
be used, not just admired and that the occasional chip or In process terms, comfort is about the guest feeling like underestimate your own importance in making their
sign of wear is OK. Of course we’ll go a long way if the bed they are in control and they are not feeling pressurised visit special. A great way to make people feel comfortable,
is the most comfortable they have ever slept in and the to take decisions or make choices. One of the best ways particularly in an environment that might be unusual to
chair is the most comfortable they’ve ever sat in. Nothing to make people feel comfortable is to give them the them, is to talk to them and not be afraid to ask questions
should be uncomfortable. We don’t want teacups where impression there are no rules, expectations or pressure and express an interest in them. If they feel relaxed in
your finger won’t fit in the handle. Books that shouldn’t be placed upon them. your company it will help make their stay special. Resist
touched or read, the temperature has to be just right (it’s the temptation to say exactly the same thing to every
something hotels often get wrong). guest every day, because they will be able to tell and it
will sound scripted. Be personal and conversational. Be
interested in them. Is it acceptable to tell a guest that you
love their shoes? Of course it is. That makes anyone feel
good.
1718
Communicate Tone of voice:
Confident, consciously inclusive, thought-provoking.
Sample copy - Weekend ingredients:
Potatoes, Netflix, Château Margot, cushions (plenty), walk (dog optional), river (fall in optional),
raspberries, four chapters of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (insert preferred book)
1921
The Devonshire Fell
BURNSALL INTRODUCTION It’s away from it all;
Facts list:
• Finalist for Welcome to Yorkshire ‘Small Hotel of the Year’ 2018. 16 en-suite bedrooms including two suites.
intimate, comforting
• All rooms have gun cabinets.
• Ten rooms for families. Four rooms can be twinned, two rooms also have sofa beds.
and you feel as though
• Two AA Rosette restaurant for 60 people. Conservatory for up to 18. Serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and
dinner. Gardens and terrace suitable for alfresco dining.
you might be in
• Exclusive use for parties and weddings, dining up to 70 and 100 evening guests. Use of The Devonshire Arms Hotel
Spa facilities at Bolton Abbey. Free parking for Cavendish Pavilion and Bolton Abbey Estate. Electric car hook up.
another world
Let’s turn one of the Fell’s problems into its main virtue. It feels just that bit too far to go... Which means it’s just far
enough to feel away from it all. That’s one of the best things about Burnsall. There is a genuinely warm welcome at the
hotel. To keep this up we need to deliver exceptional care and consideration. There should be something just that little
bit magical about The Fell and where it is.
22Hideaway
Hotel
It’s relative isolation is it’s biggest selling point.
How we want people to feel:
A long way from everything, a long way from normal
Main ingredient 1 Main ingredient 2 Main ingredient 3
Genuine hospitality Location Food
Real, personal care and The location of the hotel, The food must be fresh and
consideration that goes the scenery, the history, inspiring. Something you
beyond what people the way of life, the people might not get elsewhere.
expect. Focusing on what that live there, the stories
each guest really wants they tell. It’s all part of
and needs. the hotel.
Values Personality
Relaxation / Other worldliness / Yorkshire hug / Funky / Upbeat
Fellow feeling
23The feel we think is right 24
How to differentiate and stand out by being
A hideaway hotel
Props: Processes: People:
A hideaway hotel might suggest something small and cute ‘We do things differently here’ would go down well in a Genuine hospitality is a really important part of this
(a bit like a hobbit house) which The Devonshire Fell is hotel that is off the beaten track and not normal. Why not hotel’s offer. Not a faux hospitality or scripted ethos but
not. It’s actually quite a prominent building, rising above try some different ways of doing things? Like the other a genuine care and concern for the people that are in the
the village and can look quite austere. Our challenge is properties, the processes should revolve around the guest hotel. It’s small enough to apply genuine thought and
to make versatile look more appealing from the outside, not the hotel. But maybe you create some different rituals. consideration for each guest. Why are they here? What do
more attractive, more welcoming and away from it all. Do you serve hot chocolate for every guest at 10.30? Do they want? What can we do to make their stay individual
We don’t want the hotel to look normal or what people you bang a gong when the fire on the patio is lit? Do you and special? What will bring them back again? We know
expect, we want it to look fantastical. The location of introduce guests to each other if you think they might get that real team engagement with guests makes a huge
the hotel is magical, perched on the hillside with the on? In all of the properties, we should be thinking about difference. A much bigger difference than you might
river below; we have to make the best of this location. A challenging conventions and the way that things have think. Going the extra mile to please a guest really must
good way to build a mythology around the hotel would always been done but it’s twice as important at The Fell, to be the standard here. The elderly guest staying on her
be photographs of the characters that have lived in the express its difference, that it is not normal. own being seated in the restaurant where she can see
village, over the years, who have wonderful life stories. what’s going on and engage with the staff. Putting a list
Maybe, invent a few myths or try and find some real ones. of the local folk acts in the room of the guy in the music
Put these stories on the back of the menu? The furniture business. Reserving two seats by the fire for the couple
and decoration around the hotel should express the that have just walked from Grassington.
feeling of ‘not normal’, not predictable, not expected.
2526
Communicate Tone of voice:
Understated, a different place, personal.
Sample copy - Weekend ingredients:
On 17 August, something a little bit special and quite a lot Yorkshire is happening (don’t tell everyone). It’s the Fell Race.
When 150 fit but crazy individuals run up and down a mountain most of us get tired just looking at. It’s an amazing
event. Some of the competitors have hooves instead of feet (this might not be true).
Two nights, two days and 48 hours of care and attention for just £300 each.
(Don’t speak to people about this or the God of the Fells will pull off your ears).
2729
The Cavendish Hotel
BASLOW INTRODUCTION They want to be reminded
Facts list:
• The closest hotel to Chatsworth – 20 minutes walk across the fields.
or feel what it is like to
• 28 bedrooms, including four in the Coach House (two with disabled access and facilities),
the Redesdale Suite and a Junior Suite.
live a good country life
• Four AA Red Stars. Two restaurants – The Gallery (three Rosettes) and the informal all day operation in the
Garden Room.
• Two rooms for private dining and meetings. Licensed for civil weddings and for exclusive use.
There’s a market for a place in the Peak District that caters for people in their 30s-50s who want to escape to the
country and get a dose of ‘country life’. Not average life, country life. They want to get dirty, get cold and hot. They want
to breathe fresh air and scented candles. Eat well, socialise and feel like they have a place in the country, where they can
get away. Where they get to wear their Barbour for practical reasons not fashion.
30Your place
in the country
What it feels like to head to the country, to step
into the shoes of the country landowner,
the adventures and pursuits
How we want people to feel:
Escape to the estate
Main ingredient 1 Main ingredient 2 Main ingredient 3
Staff interaction The Peak District Trigger feelings
of country
Interacting with guests, Lots of people whizz past
going beyond what you the Peak District on their ‘Townies’ love the country.
need to say to them is a way north or south. It’s a Breathing in the fresh air,
powerful thing. The role hidden treasure and no-
wearing their Barbour
one else really talks about
staff play in the guests and Hunter wellies. Let’s
or passionately owns it. We
overall experience can be give them a wonderful
can and we should. We are
underestimated. We don’t, countryside experience.
next to Chatsworth, the
we won’t. jewel in the Peak District
crown.
Values Personality
Traditional reinterpreted / A Laid back / Lovely / Attentive
home away from home / Comfort
31The feel we think is right 32
How to differentiate and stand out by being
Your place in the country
Props: Processes: People:
The property itself and its contents are the primary Like the other properties, our processes must be designed Nothing is more important than your engagement with
way that guests will grasp the concept. The concept is a around the guest not the hotel. And if these processes guests. It’s the icing on the cake, the thing that makes your
country house for people that live in urban surroundings reflect life in the country and include some rituals they visit feel special. Make people feel like they have arrived
by and large. What do they think of when they think about may not be familiar with, then all the better. Do you somewhere completely different. The degree of deference
the countryside? Wellington boots, Land Rovers covered use more farming language or adopt the formality of and formality might help to make them feel like they have
in mud, baskets full of logs, tweed fabrics, rollneck dining experiences from the great country houses of ‘arrived’. Give them an insight into what it might be like
sweaters, Barbour jackets, windswept hair, hip flasks full the past? Is everyone offered a glass of port on arrival to live a wonderful country life. Make them feel special by
of whiskey, dogs barking, stone floors, gravel driveways, (not the children)? It might be that rituals and formality being attentive. Showing an interest in them, conversation
trees (lots of trees), owls hooting and deer peering over a are combined to give people a completely different and eye contact will provide valued contrast to their
stone wall. It’s easy to bring this to life isn’t it? We know experience. Whether hot punch is served every day normal life.
what it looks, feels and sounds like. Don’t take it for at 4pm. The events calendar highlights farming and
granted, it’s a valuable concept and most valued by people countryside events, rituals and occasions (the longest
that spend most of the time in air-conditioning, staring at day, the shortest day, the first day of grouse shooting, full
a screen, travelling on the underground in shoes that hurt moons, harvest festival).
with an impossible deadline... do you get the picture?
3334
Communicate Tone of voice:
Laid back, traditional country language, enticing
Sample copy - Weekend ingredients:
We’re looking forward to you coming. Just to forewarn you, if whilst you’re here in Derbyshire
someone calls you ‘duck’, it is not derogatory nor any reference to your appearance. It’s how people
refer to you once they decide they like you. Everyone at the hotel has been trained not to use this
but every now and again a ‘duck’ may slip out.
3537
The Devonshire Arms
BEELEY INTRODUCTION it needs to be on the list
Facts list:
• Recently awarded as a five AA star rated Inn. Recognised by the AA one Rosette for our food. Michelin recognised Inn.
with the pipe & glass
• 18 en suite classic, deluxe and suites in a choice of buildings in the village of Beeley.
• The Malt Vault private dining for parties of ten or more. Two separate dining areas; The bar, less formal
and dogs welcome and The Brasserie. The menu is the same in both. 35 gins, 16 wines available by the glass and award-
winning beers from Chatsworth Estate and Bakewell.
• Outside dining at the front and on the terrace at the side of the brook.
• 45 min walk to Chatsworth House. Five minutes’ drive to award-winning Chatsworth Farm Shop.
Beeley has a certain something. Something stylish and magnetic. The setting, the interiors, the atmosphere. It’s a
confident collection of things that shouldn’t necessarily work but do. It’s casual and accessible without sacrificing style
and quality. At the centre of the offer is the food, modern, inventive and sublime. We want to position Beeley with other
reputable food destinations. We want people coming here to experience the pub and the food.
38Serious
about food, style
and entertainment
A real food destination that people tick off the list
and keep going back
How we want people to feel:
Like they have discovered a gem
Main ingredient 1 Main ingredient 2 Main ingredient 3
Food Hospitality & 5 star
destination entertainment rooms
We want the word to get We want to engender In this stylish inn there are
out amongst foodies and a sense of fun and even more stylish rooms
others that this is a place entertainment. We take with real personality and
to come, on the list of our food seriously but finish, above what you
great places, to experience everything else is up for might expect.
serious food of quality and grabs. From the brightly
ingenuity that is hugely coloured bar to the
satisfying. pink flamingo bedside
lamps, we’ll take every
opportunity to put a smile
on your face.
Values Personality
Confidence / Attention to detail Entertaining / Inventive / Accessible
/ Thought
39The feel we think is right 40
How to differentiate and stand out by being
Serious about food, style and & entertainment
Props: Processes: People:
From the outside, you’re pretty much expecting the There’s no reason why our processes should not be more For a property to be full of style, entertainment and
standard country pub and it’s a wonderful surprise fun, more entertaining, less expected, more interesting. character, the people need to be the same. Don’t be afraid
when you enter and discover it’s a bit more peculiar and In fact, do away with some processes altogether and tell to express your personality. Don’t come to work and
original and delightful. People like character, originality guests why you’ve done away with them. Think about then behave like you think bar staff should. We need
and individuality. We have a great opportunity to create a some of the things that you have done the same way for passionate, entertaining characters who can bring the
more interesting and stimulating environment with the years. How could you change them? To make them more concept to life. Talk about food, good food with confidence
sort of objets d’art, decoration, furniture and accessories fun for us and for the guest. If you’re unconventional and style. Don’t learn the words, understand them. Talk
that people might want to go and find for their own house. in your approach it’s also more difficult for guests to about why purple carrots are better than orange and even
They are great talking points and highly Instagramable. compare you to other establishments. You stand out for why carrots are orange. Tell guests jokes about food.
Everything including the interior design, table being different, people remember their visit and can recall
paraphernalia, pictures on the wall, flowers in the vase it more clearly if unusual things happened while they
should inspire people and get them talking. Quotations, were there. Use different terminology and phraseology.
pictures and decoration that refer to food will also add to
the enthusiasm and credibility that we have for good food.
Don’t choose something ordinary if there is an unusual
elaborate alternative.
4142
Communicate Tone of voice:
Entertaining, confident, detailed
Sample copy:
We have a new menu being launched in November. We will be smashing a bottle of Champagne on
the side of the printer at lunchtime on the 4th. Our insurance policy might mean that we don’t go
through with this. Amongst other things, we have been tasting an aged turbot and finally got it to
the point where we are ready to share it with you. It’s not to be missed. Call us to book on 638 4212.
4345
The Devonshire Arms
PILSLEY INTRODUCTION People visiting Chatsworth
Facts list:
• A traditional three AA star rated Inn with great home cooked food.
will discover a great
• 13 en suite bedrooms, six of which are four poster rooms located in the Farm House, seven above
the main inn.
accessible introduction to
• 68 cover dining and Bar. 50 seats outside with views of Curber and Frogget Edge. the estate
• Five min walk to the Chatsworth Farm Shop. Five min drive to Chatsworth House.
• 15 mins from Bakewell. Local & guest real ales on tap – Cask Mark accreditations.
Everything that is great about the wonderful British pub, with some stylish add-ons. Where everything feels ‘just right’.
It feels like a local, where the locals expect quite a lot. It’s not a concept, it’s not a gastropub. Everyone can find their
level here, spend what they want, do what they want and make of it what they will. Older customers will love to eat
lunch here, young couples and families will get great value for money.
46The consummate
local with really smart
rooms. The best of both worlds
A pub in the heart of a rural village, with a history,
peculiarities and character. Part of its peculiarity are the gorgeous rooms
How we want people to feel:
Like it’s their local
Main ingredient 1 Main ingredient 2 Main ingredient 3
Bring to life the real Eat, drink and do Stay in great style
British country local what you want to, and comfort
when you want to
How it feels to visit a Our rooms are stylish
genuine country pub. A The rules are few and the beyond what one would
‘local’ that has its ‘locals’. pleasures many. We are expect of a country pub.
Beer mats, beer towels, open to ideas and open The best of both worlds.
dominoes and a hole in all day.
the ceiling made by Ted’s
walking stick in the middle
of an exuberant story.
Values Personality
Hearty / Pubness / Local character Local / Open / Conversational
47The feel we think is right 48
How to differentiate and stand out by being
the consummate local with really good rooms
Props: Processes: People:
The props and surroundings in the pub should be very The emphasis should be on informality... ideally, no We should be locals. It would be helpful if you knew
pub-like. How we all think about pubs when we think processes at all. Locals don’t have processes, they just the name of everyone in the village. Though this may
about a great local. Include anything that makes the have people that come in to have a good time and the staff not be possible, it’s a great idea. Engage with everyone
pub feel like a local; Dominoes? A place that local people that make it happen. as informally as you can. First and foremost this
spend time (maybe more time than they should). It should establishment should be about relationships, because
feel ‘lived in’, happy and comfortable. Somewhere you that’s what makes a ‘local’. Take it as read that the most
wouldn’t mind spending quite a lot of time. It should be important thing you can do is to make friends with people
informal. Beer glasses with the owners name on? Pickles whether they are here every day, every weekend or once a
in jars from the lady next door? A pair of Wellington year. Don’t stand on ceremony or use language you’d hear
boots by the door and no one knows who they belong in a pub chain. Keep it personal and engaging. Gossip, but
to... They’ve been there three years. Newspapers and only in a nice way.
magazines for everyone to read.
4950
Communicate Tone of voice:
Bold, pithy, to the point and delightful
Sample copy:
Lunch is at 12, dinner is at 6.
We want you there for both. Dominoes are mandatory. Thank you.
If suet is not on the menu, please complain.
Last orders 11:30pm. We throw you out at 1am.
5153
The Cavendish Pavilion
BOLTON ABBEY INTRODUCTION Yorkshire at it’s best.
Facts list:
• The Cavendish Pavilion is in the heart of the Bolton Abbey Estate.
It tastes good, it feels good
• Extensive seating both inside and out where you can take in the impressive views. and everything works
• 20 metres from the River Wharfe. Very popular with families, walkers and cyclists.
• There’s hot food, sandwiches and cakes; all homemade.
• Open 364 days of the year, only closing on Christmas Day.
• It’s also an event venue, catering for weddings and parties..
An amazing café, in an amazing position, in an amazing place, in Yorkshire. The Pavilion ticks a lot of boxes. People love a destination
café and it doesn’t get much better than this in terms of location and experience. The word unique is overused but we think
The Cavendish Pavilion is. A place that wears its Yorkshireness on its sleeve, with food you bite and slurp rather than nibble and sip.
And where everything just seems to work whether it’s winter or summer, rain or shine.
54Fuel your soul,
Yorkshire style
It’s hard to find a place that has a better mix of
ingredients to feed your soul. The landscape, the sound of the river,
intriguing architecture, wonderful, hearty locally-sourced nourishment
How we want people to feel:
Uplifted by the whole experience
Main ingredient 1 Main ingredient 2 Main ingredient 3
Flavoursome The place itself We’ve thought of
Yorkshire everything
The approach to
nourishment
Bolton Abbey is full There’s a water trough for
Big flavours from a big of anticipation. The the dogs, a door where
county not necessarily landscape, the buildings, it should be, a rack for
known for its subtlety. the drive down to the your stick, a bucket for
Food and ingredients to river, the river itself and the umbrella, a great
be proud of. Yorkshire a wonderfully peculiar big plate near the cake.
products and brands that pavilion where you More teaspoons than the
we trust. least expect it. Don’t Women’s Institute and
underestimate the beauty trays that aren’t slippy.
and the intrigue of this
wonderful place.
Values Personality
Yorkshireness / Big hearted / Functional Big / Soulful / Confident
55The feel we think is right 56
How to differentiate and stand out by being
fueling your soul, Yorkshire style
Props: Processes: People:
Big, bold, extravagant, exuberant examples of Yorkshire. Processes should be cut to a minimum, the rules should A customer’s visit will probably be quite short. You don’t
The complete madness of a building that looks like a be few and the rules that there are should be clearly have the time to develop a relationship with people unless
cricket pavilion in the middle of the field. A sculpture articulated ‘Don’t sit here, unless you want to be budged they come quite frequently but it’s still vitally important
made of bicycle wheels and seating fabric made of old flat a lot’. There shouldn’t be much need for process that to engage with people as much and as well as you can. Big
caps? Yorkshire is big, bold and confident and this is a the customer is even aware of, maybe if they’ve ordered warmhearted Yorkshireness always goes down well. Get
wonderful opportunity to express it. Don’t use anything a hot meal and are waiting for it to be delivered. So do people’s feedback on the food, ask them if they know of
made anywhere else. Yorkshire people are also no- this as simply and as cleanly as you can. Make sure you any other local ingredients you should be using or selling.
nonsense and they like things to work. So make sure the thought of every eventuality and that the solutions are If the customers aren’t local take the opportunity to tell
place works; doors don’t stick or bang into the back of a simple. Don’t serve soft bread with freezing cold butter, them about the area - make sure you know what you’re
chair, the seats are comfortable, the knives are sharp and that never works and shows that you haven’t thought it talking about and have stories to tell.
the forks pointy. Make sure that people can get from A to through.
B quickly and without fuss. Plates, dishes and containers
should be big, bold and useful. Food and drinks: big, bold
and bloody tasty. The word bold keeps coming up doesn’t
it? But that’s no bad thing. The food should look tasty
and be tasty, the portions should be generous and the
ingredients local. If you have mushrooms on toast, the
mushrooms should be big, local and plentiful. The bread
should be cut like a doorstep, soft and doughy. Do this,
and people will come back.
5758
Communicate Tone of voice:
Big, soulful, confident
Sample copy:
Nothing cheers the soul like soup.
Essential components of autumn: kicking leaves, conkers, blinded by a low sun
and bacon in huge amounts.
5961
Boltholes These properties
YORKSHIRE & DERBYSHIRE INTRODUCTION whether small or large,
Facts list: are distinctive, very well
• We have two cottages on the Bolton Abbey estate in Yorkshire, both three bedrooms (two doubles and one
twin) all en suite. furnished, in amazing
• These self-catering cottages are fully equipped with cooking and domestic washing facilities, separate lounge
and dining facilities. There is ample private parking available at both cottages along with generous garden
areas with BBQ facilities included.
positions, and allow you
• Stank Cottage also benefits from a private outdoor hot tub. to sample the estate life
• Plus we have over 20 cottages of varying sizes in beautiful locations on the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire.
From converted stone barns to the Hunting Tower, all the buildings that form our holiday cottage collection
have their own unique history and atmosphere.
There are holiday cottages and then there’s...
There are literally hundreds of thousands of holiday cottages available in the UK and they vary enormously in
location and quality. It might be a couple getting away for a week or 20 friends getting together for a weekend.
But very few properties allow you to step into another life, another world.
62Aspiring to stay in
these distinctive places
A set of ingredients mean these
boltholes are more than an average cottage
How we want people to feel:
To live like this...
Main ingredient 1 Main ingredient 2 Main ingredient 3
Another life, Amazing outdoors Quality ingredients
another world
For all the properties, From the door knocker, to
This is not getting away the outdoors are just as the toaster and the kettle,
from it all. This is getting important as the indoors. the rug on the floor and
away ‘to’ something. the towels in the bathroom.
To experience what it We need to signal style and
might be like to live on a discernment.
great estate, with all the
ingredients of a stylish life.
Values Personality
Make it special / Make it stylish / Understated / Confident / Stylish
Make it a bit of a secret
63The feel we think is right 64
How to differentiate and stand out by
Aspiring to stay in these distin ctive places
Props: Processes: People:
The buildings, the furniture, the accoutrement and props If these properties are better than average then the It’s quite possible for somebody to make a booking, stay
are an essential ingredient in the guests stay. When processes that surround booking and staying in one in a cottage and depart without conversing with anyone.
making a choice of holiday cottage, the look, the feel and should be the same. The customer journey from finding If they do, it might well be over email or the telephone.
the evident ambiance is a really big part of the decision. a property through to booking, paying and arriving But, we do know that if people engage with a real human
They are going to be spending quite a lot of time there, should be fantastic and should set the expectation that being during the customer journey whilst they are in the
living in it and hopefully enjoying it. Does it make a we want. Don’t cut corners on the customer journey, property and that engagement is good, it will improve
difference if the kettle in the photograph is a Hario V60 it will pay dividends and encourage people to rebook. their stay, and the likelihood of rebooking. Efforts should
or a Smeg? You bet it does. People want to feel what it’s Communication materials inside the property should be be made to put real people in the process, people that can
like to live in a place where everything is just right. It’s new and up-to-date and genuinely informative. A pile reflect the style and personality of the properties.
like adopting a different lifestyle for a few days or a week. of leaflets for local attractions that are often out of date
Does it make a difference if there are a few items that and don’t reflect the style of the property are damaging.
were once at Chatsworth? Yes it does. Don’t underestimate the power of a wonderful guest
information pack.
65Communicate Tone of voice:
Simple, stylish, enticing
Sample copy:
Stank House Farm is a stone built 16th century farm house. Renovated but keeping
its original features. The house sleeps six guests in two large double and one large
twin room, all with en suite bathrooms. Outside, the extensive landscaped gardens
stretch around the whole house. The hot tub on the stone flagged terrace offers
amazing views down the valley, across the estate to Bolton Abbey.
66marketing@devonshirehotels.co.uk | 01756 718 149
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