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A Monday morning at The Thistle & Thorn: a front desk agent greets a guest while a Copilot-drafted email sits ready for review on the second screen. In the kitchen, chefs work from AI-generated prep cards.

Hospitality, Hotels and Restaurants · Edinburgh, United Kingdom

The Thistle & Thorn got 37 hours a week back in 7 days

The Thistle & Thorn is an independent hotel set in a listed building, blending contemporary design with the city's history. Its restaurant, Bramble, draws locals and guests for dishes built around small-scale producers. The close-knit team of 19 runs every part of the guest experience, from housekeeping to event hosting.

A Monday morning at The Thistle & Thorn: a front desk agent greets a guest while a Copilot-drafted email sits ready for review on the second screen. In the kitchen, chefs work from AI-generated prep cards.

19people on the team
37hback every week
$54,500value per year at $32/h
7 weeksto earn back the $7,700
ⓘWe use fictive names for privacy reasons. The Thistle & Thorn and everyone in this story are fictive; the plan shows how a typical 7-day engagement runs in this industry.

The business

34-room boutique hotel with a seasonal Scottish restaurant in Edinburgh's Old Town

Customers
Leisure tourists, business travellers, and Edinburgh locals looking for a relaxed, authentic place to eat and stay.
Team
19 people
Location
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Tools before we started

Mews (property management)Square for Restaurants (POS)Xero (accounting)Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams)Mailchimp (email marketing)Trello (task management)SiteMinder (channel manager)

What they sell, share of revenue

Hotel rooms65%
Restaurant dining25%
Events and private dining7%
Bar and lounge3%

The team

19 people, and what their AI now does for them

General ManagerCopilot drafts board reports, summarises guest feedback, and generates financial forecasts in Excel.1
Front Desk ManagerAI handles guest email drafts, automated booking confirmations, and shift summary notes in Teams.1
Front Desk AgentsAI drafts responses to the ten most common guest questions and pulls up reservation details for personalised replies.4
Housekeeping ManagerCopilot creates daily room assignment lists based on Mews occupancy data and flags VIP preferences.1
HousekeepersReceive AI-generated personal cleaning lists each morning via Teams, noting guest requests and early check-ins.5
Head ChefAI suggests daily specials based on stock levels, seasonality, and cost-per-plate calculations.1
Sous ChefAI monitors inventory and sends Teams alerts when items drop below the level needed for upcoming covers.1
Line CooksGet prep lists and scaled recipes from AI based on the day's reservations and event orders.2
Restaurant ManagerAI drafts the weekly staff rota, handles event enquiry emails, and builds the pre-shift briefing note.1
ServersAI suggests dish descriptions and wine pairings on a tablet, and captures dietary notes into a shareable log.2

The questionnaire

What Fiona MacLeod told us before we started

Fiona MacLeod, General Manager, filled in the same questionnaire you can fill in today.

Biggest time drain

Handling repetitive guest email inquiries and manually compiling daily reports.

The goal

Free up 15 hours per week across the team so we can spend more time on guest experience and creative projects.

Worries about AI

Staff might struggle with new technology · Losing the personal touch with guests · Data security with AI

Our advice

Microsoft 365 Copilot, and the three things to automate first

Your team already lives in Outlook, Word, Excel, and Teams every day. Copilot works right inside those apps, so nobody has to learn a new tool, and it draws on your existing emails and documents to give relevant, contextual help.

Your tools today

Mews (property management)Square for Restaurants (POS)Xero (accounting)Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams)Mailchimp (email marketing)Trello (task management)SiteMinder (channel manager)

We advise

Microsoft 365 CopilotFit 9/10Set up for 19 people, connected to your tools

AI takes over

  • Guest Email Autoresponder
  • Daily Revenue & Occupancy Snapshot
  • Weekly Staff Rota Generator
  • Low Stock Alerts for Kitchen

Stays human, AI only supports

in-person guest check-ins and conversationsmenu development and tastingstaff recognition and coaching

How each platform fit this business

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chosen9/10
Google Gemini for Workspace7/10
ChatGPT Business6/10
Claude Team5/10

What we advised to automate first

  • responding to common guest email inquiries
  • generating daily occupancy and revenue reports
  • creating weekly staff rotas

Their 7 days

One Zoom session a day, from kick-off to AI-ready

  1. Day1

    AI Readiness Audit & Team Brainstorm

    Fiona MacLeod (GM), Front Desk Manager, Housekeeping Manager, Head Chef, Restaurant Manager

    We mapped every workflow across front desk, housekeeping, kitchen, and restaurant. Department heads listed 32 repetitive tasks, scored each one for impact, and we picked the top 5 to tackle first.

  2. Day2

    Copilot Setup & Integration

    Fiona, IT lead, all department heads

    Activated Microsoft 365 Copilot for all 19 accounts, linked it to their existing SharePoint folders, Teams channels, and Outlook. Configured guest-data isolation so personal details stay within the hotel's tenancy.

  3. Day3

    Individual AI Training Plans

    All 19 staff, in small groups by role

    Met with each role group on Zoom with screen sharing to design their daily Copilot prompts, custom instructions, and saved phrases. Built a shared prompt library in Teams so everyone uses the hotel's tone.

  4. Day4

    Building the Guest Email Automation

    Fiona, Front Desk Manager

    Created a Copilot flow that reads incoming guest emails, pulls the booking from Mews via a CSV export, and drafts a personalised reply. Front desk now reviews and sends with one click, instead of typing from scratch.

  5. Day5

    Automating Reports & Rostering

    Fiona, Restaurant Manager, Head Chef

    Linked Copilot to Xero and Mews exports so the daily revenue and occupancy report pops into Fiona's inbox each morning. Built a rota prompt that suggests shifts based on forecast covers and staff availability.

  6. Day6

    Live Team Training Session

    All 19 staff, plus the Complete AI Business consultant on Zoom

    A 90-minute hands-on workshop on Zoom. The team could join together from their own meeting room or each from their own desk. Each person built their own Copilot assistant, practised writing a guest welcome note, and the kitchen team tried scaling a recipe with AI.

  7. Day7

    Documentation, Handover & Retainer

    Fiona, Front Desk Manager, Housekeeping Manager, Restaurant Manager

    Delivered custom video guides, a written playbook with all prompts, and a list of 15 future automation ideas. Fiona signed up for a monthly retainer to keep everything running smoothly.

During the live training session on Zoom, the whole team gathers at their own workplace around laptops and phones, building their own AI assistants while the consultant guides them from a screen.

During the live training session on Zoom, the whole team gathers at their own workplace around laptops and phones, building their own AI assistants while the consultant guides them from a screen.

Training

A live Zoom session, 6 custom videos and a plan per person

Live training on Zoom

A 90-minute Zoom workshop where all 19 team members set up their personal Copilot, practised drafting real guest emails from that day's inbox, and tested the new automations live on the call.

Custom training videos

  • ▶  Getting Started with Copilot in Outlook6 min
  • ▶  Writing a Perfect Guest Email with AI5 min
  • ▶  Automating Your Daily Report in Excel8 min
  • ▶  Using Copilot in Teams for Shift Handovers4 min
  • ▶  AI-Assisted Menu Planning with Copilot7 min
  • ▶  Building Your Own Custom Prompts9 min

Online training plan, per role

General Manager
Using Copilot for strategic analysis and communication
Front Desk Manager
Streamlining front desk email and reporting tasks
Front Desk Agents
Quick AI-assisted guest communication
Housekeeping Manager
Efficient scheduling with AI prompts
Housekeepers
Reading and acting on AI-generated task lists
Head Chef
AI-assisted menu planning and cost calculation
Sous Chef
Automating supplier and inventory tasks
Line Cooks
Using AI for daily prep instructions
Restaurant Manager
AI for scheduling and event communication
Servers
AI-assisted table service and upselling tips

Automations built

4 automations that now run every day

Guest Email Autoresponder

5hper week
BeforeFront desk manually typed replies to booking changes, early check-in requests, and FAQs, often repeating the same information.NowCopilot drafts a reply using the guest's name, booking details from Mews, and the hotel's style guide. Staff review and send in one click.

Daily Revenue & Occupancy Snapshot

3hper week
BeforeFiona spent 30 minutes each morning exporting data from Mews and Xero, pasting it into an Excel template, and writing commentary.NowA Copilot prompt pulls the latest Mews and Xero exports from SharePoint, creates a one-page summary with charts, and emails it to Fiona by 7:30am.

Weekly Staff Rota Generator

4hper week
BeforeRestaurant and housekeeping managers spent hours each week juggling availability, occupancy forecasts, and shift swaps in a shared spreadsheet.NowManagers enter key numbers into a Copilot prompt. It outputs a draft rota in an Excel table, ready for final adjustments and a Teams post.

Low Stock Alerts for Kitchen

2hper week
BeforeSous chef manually checked inventory against upcoming reservations every two days and often discovered shortages at the last minute.NowCopilot watches the shared inventory spreadsheet and daily cover numbers. When a key item drops below the predicted need, it sends a Teams alert to the sous chef.

The result

37 hours a week back, worth $54,500 a year

23 hours come from everyone using their own AI every day, 14 from the automations. The hotel now saves 22 hours per week, and front desk handles email queries twice as fast without losing a personal tone. The team built three more automations on their own, including a guest feedback summariser that flags issues before check-out.

Where the hours come from, per week

Front Desk Agents4 × 1.5h daily AI6h
Guest Email Autoresponderautomation5h
Weekly Staff Rota Generatorautomation4h
Daily Revenue & Occupancy Snapshotautomation3h
Housekeepers5 × 0.5h daily AI2.5h
General Manager1 × 2h daily AI2h
Front Desk Manager1 × 2h daily AI2h
Everyone else (7 more)daily AI and smaller automations12h

Paid back in week 7

At $32 an hour, the time saved earns back the $7,700 in 7 weeks. Every week after that is profit.

Week 1Week 13Week 26
1,702h

back per year

$54,500

value per year

Retainer: monthly. The monthly retainer covers maintenance of all automations, updates when Mews or Microsoft changes its tools, monthly one-to-one check-ins with Fiona, and building two new automations each quarter.

Within a week, we turned our biggest time drains into automated processes that feel natural. Now our team spends more time with guests and less time staring at inboxes. The daily report that used to eat my morning before breakfast now arrives while I'm pouring my first coffee.
Fiona MacLeod, General Manager, The Thistle & Thorn. Fictive example.

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