Richard Flynn

Hospitality professional with 12 years experience in venue operations, bar management, and business development. Fluent in English and C2 level in Spanish. Relocated from London to Barcelona in 2021.

Bars Manager • Tope (The Hoxton Hotel) • March 2023 - July 2023

Managing daily operations for one of the biggest/busiest rooftop bars in Barcelona, with a capacity of 250 and weekly sales of 100K+ in peak season.

• Responsible for organising and managing daily high profile events including; brand launches, weddings and international meet-ups.
• Ensuring standards of service and product were met consistently.
• Managed training and compliance within the F&B department.

Venue Operations Manager • Space Cowboy • November 2021 - March 2023 Space Cowboy opened in summer 2021. My role within the company was to drive sales by developing their existing offers across all levels. Notable achievements:

• Grew the companies online profile and ratings, reaching #1 on Tripadvsior.
• Advertised the bar with various events agencies and managed all enquiries.
• Implemented systems to monitor and control costs. Whilst educating and feeding back clear information to the team so we understood how to improve.

Group Operations Manager • Rocket Leisure • March 2016 - November 2021

A broad role, managing all operations in a group of 5 cocktail bars / live music venues in London with a collective annual turnover of approximately £12 million. Main responsibilities include:

• Operations: Managing day-to-day operations to facilitate the smooth and efficient running of the venues. Responsible for venue compliance, for food/fire/gas/electric safety. Managed external suppliers and contractors.
• Bar management: Working alongside Venue Managers and Operations Director to ensure KPIs are met, maintaining standards of service, product delivery and atmosphere. Continuously reassessing for areas to improve.
• Staff management: Responsible for staff recruitment across all sites, including staff training and wider HR responsibilities.

Key achievements

• Played a key role in opening 3 new venues. Including venue opening strategy,

design, fit out, marketing, recruitment, and managing front of house.

• Introduced an online booking system, allowing us to manage reservations more efficiently and take advantage of the hire demand for private venue hires. Improving guest experience and offering pre-sales.
• Managed significant changes throughout the pandemic, including changes to venue layout, our product offering and our style of service at short notice.

Bachelor’s degree in Sports and Exercise Science • University of Portsmouth • 2009-2012 • Graded (2:1)

With relevant units including

Team building, goal setting, coaching, understanding motivation, personality traits, stress and coping.