The Cost of Getting Hotel Refurbishments Wrong

A hotel refurbishment is a major investment. But how do you make sure it delivers more than a beautiful space?

Recorded live at the Independent Hotel Show in London, this Hospitality Reframed panel brings together hotel operations, interior design and brand expertise to examine what makes a refurbishment commercially successful, and, what can go wrong when the right conversations happen too late.

Scot Turner, Founder & Managing Director of Auden Hospitality, is joined by Shaun Bowles, General Manager of the Francis Hotel Bath and Castle Hotel Windsor; Jan Janecek from Office for Contemporary Design; and Miroslava McDermott, Director of Brand & Marketing at Foxhills Club & Resort.

Together they explore why a clear brief matters, why operators and brand teams need a seat at the table from day one, how to balance budget with guest experience, and how a restaurant can become a destination in its own right.

The discussion includes real examples from the Castle Hotel Windsor, the Francis Hotel Bath and Foxhills' Manor House transformation, including the launch of Lomri. Hear how Foxhills approached its restaurant identity, website and guest journey, and the early changes it reported in attracting local diners and members.

From breakfast buffets and flexible spaces to construction disruption, team training and the value of involving contractors early, this is a practical conversation for hotel owners, general managers, designers and anyone planning a hotel or restaurant refurbishment.

Explore Auden Hospitality's hotel F&B strategy and concept development work to learn more about how we help hotel owners, developers, brands, operators and general managers in refurbishment and new-build hotel F&B projects.

Subscribe for more Hospitality Reframed conversations on hotel food and beverage strategy, restaurant concepts and commercial performance on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube.

Chapters

01:59 – Why refurbishment success starts with the right project team

03:33 – Define the investment goals before designing anything

04:46 – Why hotel operators must be involved from day one

06:38 – Brand is not marketing: getting the concept right early

08:38 – How a clear brief keeps designers and operators aligned

10:40 – Building long-term value, not chasing quick wins

13:43 – Where to spend and save on hotel design

16:45 – Designing spaces around how guests actually behave

18:22 – How Foxhills and Auden challenged the traditional Manor House restaurant

20:30 – Making breakfast buffets and multi-use spaces work

23:06 – Why breakfast affects the whole hotel experience

25:02 – Healthy conflict: protecting the concept during design

28:23 – Managing hotel refurbishments while guests are staying

30:00 – How Lomri became a restaurant destination beyond Foxhills

33:15 – Removing booking barriers and attracting local diners

33:53 – Foxhills shares its early restaurant audience results

35:30 – Why early collaboration made the concept work

37:49 – The role of team culture in delivering the vision

41:00 – How Auden's training helped the Foxhills team bring Lomri to life

44:03 – Audience Q&A: should contractors join projects earlier?

48:08 – Why the right people at the right time save money