LENA LABUDA

Luxury 4-star hotel with 209 rooms and a diverse multi-outlet F&B operation including restaurants, bars, private dining, IRD, conference facilities and large-scale seasonal outdoor activations.

PROPERTY OUTLETS

• Chambers Restaurant (60 covers)
• Chambers Bar (50 covers)
• Lazy Ballerinas Wine Bar (100 covers)
• Secret Garden (Inner Courtyard – 40 covers)
• Courtyard Summer Bar (up to 250 covers, marquee & large-format screen)
• 2 Conference Rooms (20 pax each)
• Executive Club Lounge
• In-Room Dining & Private Dining

TEAM STRUCTURE

2 Managers | 4 Supervisors | 2 Bartenders | 20+ F&B team members

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Full multi-outlet operational and financial leadership
• Menu engineering, pricing strategy and revenue development
• Labour planning, rota optimisation and payroll control
• Full accountability for Food Safety, Health & Safety, Fire Safety and Licensing compliance
• Risk assessments, due diligence processes and audit readiness
• Oversight of VIP service delivery and brand standards
• Team engagement, development, performance management and training
• End-to-end project management of seasonal Courtyard Bar activations

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Streamlined service standards and SOPs across five venues, improving consistency and operational efficiency
• Successfully launched the Summer Courtyard activation in partnership with Malfy, generating £200K in additional seasonal revenue
• Led the full rebrand of Lazy Ballerinas Wine Bar, introducing a new weekend brunch concept, expanded pre-theatre menus and event-led activations, increasing evening and weekend revenue
• Achieved a 10% year-on-year labour cost reduction through strategic scheduling and productivity management
• Delivered 90.42% Brand Standards Audit score, achieving Best in Class for Drinks Service across Apex Hotels
• Elevated guest satisfaction, achieving an F&B NPS score of 9.4 with 91% engagement participation
• Strengthened compliance performance through structured risk assessments and improved Food Safety, Fire Safety and H&S documentation
• Supported Hospitality Action and Maggie's Cancer Centres through fundraising initiatives and hotel-wide engagement campaigns

Provided operational leadership and strategic support across a cluster of three 4-star City of London hotels (Apex Temple Court, Apex City of London, Apex London Wall), overseeing restaurants, bars, IRD, meetings & events and VIP service.

RESPONSIBILITES

• Cross-property operational leadership and service alignment
• KPI, payroll and labour performance analysis
• Compliance audits and daily Food Safety, H&S and Licensing standards
• VIP service support and senior stakeholder collaboration

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Supported operations across three London properties during post-COVID restructuring
• Built and implemented a new departmental structure, leading recruitment and onboarding of 128 F&B team members
• Delivered cluster-wide retraining programmes, restoring service standards and consistency
• Created and implemented new SOPs across restaurants, bars, IRD and events
• Strengthened cost control and payroll accuracy across all properties
• Supported sustainability initiatives, contributing to Green Tourism Silver Award 2022

Managed daily operations across restaurants, bars, private dining, meeting rooms, IRD and Lazy Ballerinas Wine Bar.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Full operational management of restaurant and bar outlets
• Team leadership, training and performance management
• Rotas, payroll, forecasting and stock control
• Service standards, brand compliance and guest experience

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Improved guest satisfaction through service consistency and retraining
• Strengthened labour control through effective rota planning
• Supported post-COVID operational stabilisation of restaurant and bar teams

Luxury 5-star serviced residence with approximately 130 suites, operating high-end dining, 24-hour IRD and private dining.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Deputy Head of Department for restaurant and IRD operations
• Supervision and training of front-of-house teams
• Oversight of service standards and daily operations
• Support with rotas, stock control and payroll processes

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Improved guest satisfaction through effective use of guest feedback
• Ensured full compliance with luxury brand standards and audits
• Reduced operational costs through improved stock control
• Awarded Departmental Trainer of the Year 2016

• Supervised luxury dining, IRD and VIP service delivery
• Delivered SOP training and service quality checks
• Supported staff development and onboarding programmes

Iconic 5-star West End hotel with 280+ rooms, restaurants, bar & lounge and extensive meetings and events facilities.

• Front-of-house leadership across restaurant and events operations
• Guest relations management and daily service briefings
• Built strong foundations in luxury service delivery and guest experience