revenue collected? Case Study Will We Ever Get It Right? Andrea Cabot is the new food and beverage manager at the Windsor Hotel, a fam- ily owned and operated property in the upper Midwest. The previous manager was the nephew of the owner and never really had his heart and mind on his work responsibilities. Consequently, food cost was erratic month to month, the kitchen experienced frequent crises due to unanticipated excessive business demand cou- pled with lack of preparation. Complaint letters were being received with great Labor and Revenue Control 375 frequency. The owner/manager and the nephew mutually agreed to part ways, which resulted in the opening that Andrea has now filled. After reviewing all the financial records for the past 12 months, the purchas- ing records, labor schedules, and guest satisfaction (and dissatisfaction) com- ments, she begins to get a feel for the problems and decides she can get things under control quickly. One critical piece of information is missing, however, and she can't find it anywhere. "Where are the daily meal forecast forms that project the level of busi- expect?" she asks herself. She goes to the executive chef and asks him ness we about the daily forecast sheets. He laughs and says, "We're lucky to get a weather forecast in this place. I've been asking for forecasts for two years and people just give me a blank stare. I hope you are going to develop a forecast system so we can get things right once in a while!" Andrea smiles, for she knows that the forecast is the cornerstone that drives all the other elements of food production and service. Discussion Questions for hotel rop-