Center Parcs – ReBudget Workload Models

Center Parcs is synonymous with family time together. A place where lifelong memories are made and stories that will be told for many years begin. Every year they welcome millions of guests – some are old friends, and some are exploring Center Parcs for the very first time. Alongside spending time in a lodge or joining many of the activities available in a wonderful woodland setting; relaxing over a family meal and gathering to watch the biggest sporting events together is an important part of the fun too.

Like most food and beverage outlets, the ones at Center Parcs experience peaks in demand at key times of the week and across the day. An ongoing desire to deliver great guest service coincided with a project to implement a new colleague scheduling tool into the food and beverage operation. To optimise the team member shifts required at a restaurant at any one time, the tool needs to know how long the tasks the team carry out take. The Center Parcs team asked ReThink to help them measure how long core tasks take and create a workload model to calculate the hours required to feed into the scheduling solution. 

We built a ReBudget workload model

The workload model combines specific features of each restaurant, with times per task and expected trade volumes to calculate the hours needed to meet the demand in each restaurant. 

How did it help?

The ReBudget model is sophisticated enough to reflect the different restaurants within the sites – including family dining spots, gastropubs and even a central kitchen producing food to deliver to lodges. Built within Excel, it is easy for the Center Parcs team to run, update and maintain their model themselves after a little initial training.

The model output feeds the new colleague scheduling tool and provides a consistent evidenced based approach for each village and restaurant to work from.

The ReBudget model is easy to update as business forecasts and processes  change, so it is always up to date and reflects the latest business thinking. 

Reports from the ReBudget model show how much time and money is spent on any given task. It tells the business exactly how much they spend on cleaning and washing pots, the time taken to take orders, prep food and clear away afterwards. That is valuable information that enables a deep understanding of the operation cost base underpinning their guest experience.

ReBudget is also used to calculate the salary cost impact of changes that Center Parcs might consider – a “what if” model. The model provides the hours and cost impact of scenarios such as: sales volume increasing during peak season and implementing process improvements that speed food production. 

The combined ability to drill into the detailed cost base and model “what if” scenario makes it much more than just an important cog in the wheel of planning people resource effectively. It becomes a strategic tool while making important business decisions

Paul Stewart, Head of Operations Support, Center Parcs

“We initially managed our Food & Beverage division by payroll ratio but lacked a clear understanding of the productive hours needed to effectively operate our units. This made it challenging to optimise staffing levels and accurately predict resource needs. To address this, ReThink helped us measure how long our tasks took, providing a more detailed view of our operational efficiency. They also highlighted key areas where we could improve productivity. Using the labour model, we were able to determine the true cost of operating our units, which gave us better visibility into resource allocation and the financial impact of our staffing decisions

Throughout the process, we worked closely with the ReThink team to refine the model based on our specific working practices and service delivery standards. This collaboration allowed us to fine-tune the model to fit our unique needs. Today, we use the labour model and the data it provides to support our scheduling decisions, ensuring that we have the right people in the right place at the right time to meet operational demands efficiently.“

ReBudget

ReThink support hospitality, retail and more clients with their bespoke ReBudget workload models. From Spring 2025, ReBudget online will be available. Retaining the core capabilities of the tried and tested Excel based models, with enhanced security, automated data feeds to your scheduling solution, interactive dashboard reporting and more

To find out more about how we can help your business, get in touch with the team at [email protected] or on 01743 360129.