Amy Vanhoose Email & Phone Number

Salisbury, South Australia, Australia

Ocean City, Maryland, United States

Overnight Manager

Ocean City, Maryland, United States

Townsend, Tn

Gatlinburg, Tn

 Oversaw all operations of a high-volume, scratch-kitchen Tex-Mex restaurant in a busy tourist destination, with annual net sales of $3.5M, and a rooftop deck. Hired, trained, and developed an international seasonal team of 45-50 team members and a management team of 3-4 managers and shift leads. Coordinated J-1 Student Visa participants and related paperwork requirements. Provided ongoing training, coaching, counseling, and development plans. Responsible for payroll, invoice entry, safety, and quality assurance programs. Adjusted operations to meet financial and performance goals. Coordinated the trial of HotSchedules labor management program, including schedule templates for all positions to meet labor targets for all sales volumes. Promoted a culture based on uncompromising safety, high standards for food quality, genuine hospitality and teamwork, and fast, high-quality food service, all while maintaining a fun, positive atmosphere. Booked live entertainment events and developed a strategy for strengthening local marketing campaigns and increasing visibility of live music program.

Knoxville, Tennessee

 Served as interim Building Manager for the Student Union on campus, directly overseeing the operations of the campus’s second largest dining hall, a retail food court with 5 restaurants, and two other stand-alone units in the building. Selected as the General Manager for Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, a new high-profile branded unit in a highly visible location on the edge of campus, serving both students and the general public. Consulted with the campus development team during the final stages of the construction project, catching several design problems and correcting them before opening. Coordinated the delivery and installation of all equipment and smallwares. Hired, trained, and developed a crew of 45-50 team members and a management team of 3-4 managers and shift leads at each location. Provided ongoing training, coaching, counseling, and development plans. Responsible for maintaining data in numerous company systems (e.g. payroll, accounting, waste tracking, safety, quality assurance audits), and adjusting operations to meet financial and performance goals. Created a culture based on uncompromising safety, high standards for receiving, storage, and food preparation, genuine hospitality and teamwork, and fast, high-quality food service, all while still maintaining a fun, positive atmosphere. Assisted with the management and execution of numerous catering functions on campus, ranging from football SkyBox catering to the Destination Imagination Global Finals, an annual student competition held in Knoxville with over 80,000 meals served over a 4-day period.

Maryville, Tn

 Managed and developed three teams within the company’s POS Department, handling menu management and maintenance; e-mail, coupon, and website support and development; and the technical aspects of new restaurant openings, for multiple concepts. Liaised with multiple operational departments, including Culinary & Beverage Systems, Accounting, Fraud Prevention, and Marketing, to provide technical guidance in support of operational initiatives. Conversely, translated operational needs to technical teams for implementation. Assisted with the configuration and quality testing of a new, cloud-based POS solution being considered by the company. Provided guidance for the refinement of requirements for the successful implementation of such a system.

Knoxville, Tennessee Area

 Headed operations at six different high-profile locations for an industry leader in high quality casual dining, during a period of dynamic change and growth. Provided short-term transitional leadership at seven additional locations undergoing changes in management or experiencing challenges. Fully responsible for operations and bottom-line profitability of $1.5-$2.5M restaurants, including both service and culinary aspects. Led and developed 45-50 team members and a management team of 3-4 managers at each location. Responsible for the testing and successful roll-out of two new scheduling and human resource management systems (PeopleMatter and HotSchedules). Tested numerous menu and service initiatives for the company, providing feedback and development information to the corporate home office. Upheld the highest quality standards and modeled gracious hospitality at all times.

Knoxville, Tennessee Area

 Led daily operations of a $2.5M, 140-seat Prime steakhouse and wine bar with an unwavering commitment to quality and hospitality. Managed all facets of a dynamic beverage program with over 200 wines and $17K in inventory. Increased cash flow by ensuring appropriate inventory levels and improved purchasing and pricing controls. Conducted weekly wine and spirits educational seminars for staff. Partnered with local retailers, wholesalers and wineries to develop and market sold-out wine and spirits dinners. Provided positive and energetic leadership to a team of over 30 associates. Developed, coached, counseled and retained exceptional staff to create the best team possible, decreasing turnover and increasing employee satisfaction scores. Ensured that all service standards were met and that guests had exceptional dining experiences, resulting in the 2nd highest secret shopper scores in the company. Served as Director of Private Dining for 6 months, coordinating private business and social events. Increased revenues and built client relationships to drive repeat business and referrals.

Charleston, South Carolina Area

 Provided first-level expert application support for Orient-Express North America's 700+ employees using 250+ PC workstations, including the installation and support of all software. Responsible for the testing, implementation, and management of the property management system (ePitome for Windows) and central reservations system. Supervised and coordinated the development and beta testing of a major ASP property management system.. Designed, upgraded and modified numerous custom reports and applications for 6 properties, using Microsoft Access, Excel, and Word (v. 97, 2000, and XP), Visual Basic, Visual Basic for Applications, and SQL Server (v. 6.5, 7.0, and 2000). Project leader for our business intelligence project, using Cognos PowerPlay and Impromptu products. Coordinated the company-wide central reservations project, including code standardization and best practices development and implementation. Managed and maintained firewall and web reporting software, configuring custom reports and user permissions. Provided ancillary support and troubleshooting for our network, including both our LAN and VPN, and hardware installation and troubleshooting.

Charleston, South Carolina Area

 Consistently exceeded projected revenues by 100% or more while directing the Business Center at a 442-room and suite, Four-Star, Four-Diamond property. Comment card reports showed dramatically improved service quality and client satisfaction during my tenure. Trained and developed departmental staff, who provided services to both hotel guests and staff. Rewrote job descriptions and training manuals. Programmed portions of our telephone system, including cover paths, pick groups, voice mail, and T-I internet connections for meetings. Managed the company’s help desk, ensuring that all online, voice, network, and hardware related problems were resolved in a timely manner. Developed an intranet help desk request system, with form submission, assignment, tracking, and reporting components. Led user training classes for PC applications, cellular phone and voice-mail systems. Investigated and resolved software, hardware, and network problems for guests and associates. Coordinated and managed projects for Orient-Express North America’s MIS Director, Vice President of Operations, and Director of Financial Management.

Ocean City, Md

 Hired, trained and supervised a staff of 60 at a family-run 101-room seasonal oceanfront resort hotel and popular restaurant. Designed, tested, and priced new breakfast, dinner, wine, and children’s menus for each operating season. Selected, purchased, and priced all beverages. Updated all training manuals, job descriptions, and employee guidebooks. Spearheaded initiative to design new logo and oversaw the subsequent advertising campaigns. Performed all payroll activities, including accounting, reporting, controlling, computer input and issuance. Acted as systems manager for the computer network, engineering the installation of a new MICROS restaurant computer system and LIBICA hospitality management system, and performing all training, development, input, and database management functions. Coordinated and performed all reservation and front-office activities, assisting with housekeeping when needed. Assisted with purchasing and receiving duties.

Aspen, Co

 Responsible for all facets of daily operations of breakfast/lunch and/or dinner dining rooms, plus room service supervision, at a Four-Star, Four-Diamond hotel. Dramatically improved service speed, consistency, and quality through extensive training and supervision. Established a loyal regular clientele of locals and repeat visitors.  Interviewed, hired, and trained all new staff. Rewrote restaurant employee training manual as a standard for all other F&B outlets. Revised daily side-work duties and responsibilities for all positions. Developed monthly sales incentive programs. Assisted in the departmental budgetary process, meeting or exceeding all targets. Input all menus, changes, and employees into a new MICROS computer system. Designed a lobby service menu and established service in our two lobbies.

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

 Planned menus for four sailing camp programs of 70 teens each, considering all nutritional, space, cost, and preparation constraints. Performed all purchasing activities; coordinated the receiving and inventory of these goods. Standardized and developed recipes and production schedules. Streamlined the wholesale ordering and distribution systems for future seasons. Completed a thorough post-season financial analysis of the food purchasing and menu design systems. Assisted in sailing instruction, practice, and racing aboard 50-foot yachts.

B.S. Hotel Administration, Hotel, Motel, And Restaurant Management

School of Hotel Administration Concentration in Resort Management Minor in Environmental Studies

Diploma, 9-12

Activities and Societies: Show Choir