HOSPITALITY BUSINESS CONSULTING
Build a More Profitable, Systemised Hospitality Business
Running a successful hospitality business requires much more than delivering a great customer experience.
The3rdGear helps established hospitality businesses improve profitability, strengthen operational control, develop management capability and build the systems needed to perform consistently as the business grows.Our approach has been shaped by decades of hands-on consulting experience improving hospitality operations, developing management teams and building scalable operating systems.
Better systems. Stronger management. Better business performance.
Hospitality Businesses Are Operationally Complex
A hospitality business has to coordinate people, customers, suppliers, inventory, food production, service delivery and financial performance — often simultaneously and under significant time pressure.
As the business grows, small weaknesses in systems and management can quickly become expensive. Labour costs increase, stock and purchasing become harder to control, service becomes inconsistent, managers spend their time solving problems, and the owner can become increasingly involved in day-to-day operations.
Often, these problems aren’t isolated. They are symptoms of gaps in the way the business is structured, managed and measured.
That’s why improving hospitality performance requires looking at the business as a complete operating system — not fixing individual problems in isolation.
Hospitality Consulting Experience That Helped Shape The3rdGear
The3rdGear’s approach to business systems and performance improvement has deep roots in the hospitality industry.
During the early development of our consulting methodology, The3rdgears founder led substantial hospitality consulting engagements involving operational systemisation, management development, process improvement and commercial performance.
These projects helped shape many of the principles The3rdGear now applies to established businesses across a wide range of industries.
- Bavarian Beer Cafe Franchise — Building a Scalable Operating Model
Coordinated the consulting project to develop the entire operating model supporting the Bavarian Beer Cafe concept, covering front-of-house and back-of-house operations, policies and procedures, staff training, kitchen management, supplier and inventory management, operational management and staff coordination. - Argyle Function Centre — $1M to $2M Turnover in 18 Months
Led a business improvement consulting project that helped the Argyle Function Centre grow turnover from approximately $1 million to $2 million within 18 months. - Lowenbrau Keller — 40% Revenue Growth
Coached and developed the General Manager and management team while improving key front-of-house and back-of-house operations, contributing to approximately 40% revenue growth over two years.
These weren’t theoretical exercises. They involved improving the systems, people and operational disciplines required to make complex hospitality businesses perform.
Want To Improve The Performance Of Your Hospitality Business?
Improving Hospitality Performance Means Improving the Business Behind the Customer Experience
The objective is a hospitality business that operates more consistently, profitably and independently — with stronger systems, capable managers and greater control over performance.
Where We Improve Hospitality Business Performance
Improve visibility and control over the commercial drivers of the business, including labour productivity, purchasing, inventory, margins, pricing and overall financial performance.
Identify practical opportunities to strengthen market positioning and increase revenue and margin through smarter pricing, offer design, upselling and cross-selling, improved average transaction value, better utilisation of capacity and tables, increased table turnover and other commercial leverage points within the customer journey.
Improve how work is organised across front-of-house, back-of-house and management operations, creating clearer processes, greater consistency and less reliance on informal knowledge and workarounds.
Develop stronger managers, clarify responsibilities and performance expectations, improve team coordination and create greater accountability throughout the business.
Build the systems, management disciplines and operational structure required for the business to grow without increasing complexity or becoming increasingly dependent on the owner.
Proven Business Performance Experience
25 year old electrical business achieves 100% increase in turnover .
"Your system and what we learnt made a huge contribution to us achieving national dealer of the year"
100% Increase in turnover on their previous best year
From 'barely breaking even', working 7 days, to highly profitable with weekends off.
Dramatic business turnaround combined with successful father to sons management handover
Created a brand new, highly profitable business in 6 months
A brand new business unit that wrote $1.2 Million in sales in its first 9 months of operation.
Able to run under management while increasing turnover by 50% in less than 2 years
30 Year old civil works business achieves 78% increase in turnover with all operations systemised within 18 months.
From 2 stores to 5 stores in 3 years! And better family relationships all round – 825% increase in profit
From $400,000 a year turn over to $3,000,000 in 18 months – 750% increase in turnover, 1,000% increase in profit.
Why Hospitality Businesses Work With The3rdGear
The3rdGear combines hands-on hospitality consulting experience with more than 25 years of broader business performance consulting.
We understand that sustainable improvement rarely comes from fixing one problem in isolation. Hospitality businesses perform better when their commercial strategy, operating systems, management structure, people and performance measures work together.
Commercial & Revenue Improvement
We look for practical opportunities to improve both sides of the profit equation — controlling costs and operational inefficiencies while identifying ways to increase revenue, average customer value, margins and utilisation of existing capacity.
Whole-of-Business Perspective
We look beyond individual problems to understand how commercial performance, people, processes, management and systems interact across the business.
Diagnostic-Led Improvement
Rather than beginning with assumptions, we identify what’s actually constraining performance and establish where improvement is likely to have the greatest impact.
Practical Hospitality Experience
Our methodology has been shaped through real hospitality consulting engagements involving revenue growth, operational improvement, management development and the creation of scalable operating systems.
Systems That Build Management Capability
The objective isn’t to make the business dependent on a consultant. We help develop the systems, management capability and accountability needed for stronger ongoing performance.
The result is a stronger business behind the venue — more profitable, better managed, better controlled and better equipped to grow.
Hospitality Business Consulting FAQs
A hospitality business consultant helps owners and management teams improve the commercial and operational performance of the business. This can include profitability, revenue and margin improvement, operating systems and processes, management capability, team accountability, performance measurement and reducing owner dependency. The3rdGear takes a whole-of-business approach rather than treating these areas in isolation.
The3rdGear’s approach is relevant to established restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, function and event venues, multi-site hospitality businesses and other hospitality operations that need stronger systems, management and commercial performance. Our experience includes substantial restaurant, venue and hospitality operating-system development projects.
Yes. We examine both sides of the profit equation: improving control over costs, labour, purchasing, inventory, wastage and operational efficiency, while also identifying opportunities to increase revenue and margin. These can include pricing, offer design, upselling and cross-selling, average customer value, table turnover and better utilisation of existing capacity.
Yes. Systemisation has been a major part of The3rdGear’s hospitality consulting experience. We can help improve and document front-of-house and back-of-house processes, management systems, responsibilities, staff coordination, training, supplier and inventory management, performance controls and other critical operating disciplines.
Yes. Owner dependency often develops when important knowledge, decisions and responsibilities remain concentrated with the owner. We help establish clearer operating systems, management responsibilities, accountability and performance measures so capable managers and teams can take greater responsibility for running the business.
We start by understanding the business rather than assuming what needs to change. Our diagnostic-led approach examines the factors affecting performance, identifies underlying issues and establishes the highest-value improvement priorities. We can then work with the owner and management team to implement the systems, commercial improvements and management disciplines required to improve performance.