Guest Experience Review
The complete customer journey, translated into precise priorities for a stronger, more consistent visit.
JOVAI
Independent hospitality consultancy · Birmingham
Turn every guest detail into business strength.
Guest experience, operations and team development for independent restaurants that want clearer decisions, stronger service and more reasons to return.
11+ yearsAcross business operations and hospitality
Owner’s lensFormer independent restaurant owner
UK + MexicoInternational, hands-on perspective
Direct supportEvery project led personally by Jovana
The JOVAI point of view
Your guests may forget the menu. They will remember how the place made them feel.
Experience is the product around the product.
JOVAI examines the full journey—arrival, atmosphere, language, timing, presentation, consistency and farewell—then turns what we observe into focused, commercially aware action.
Services / 01—09
Support for the
whole experience.
Choose a focused review or combine several areas into one tailored project. Every recommendation is built for the realities of an independent business.
Mystery Guest Visit
A discreet visit and balanced report covering strengths, friction, risks and missed opportunities.
Operations & Service Flow
Processes, handovers and friction points examined through both the operator’s and the guest’s perspective.
Revenue Opportunity Review
Missed moments in recommendations, drinks, add-ons, table journey and retention—without pressuring the guest.
Team Standards & Training
Practical, people-focused guidance that builds confidence, consistency and ownership during real service.
Bar & Beverage Experience
Menu language, recommendations, serve standards, pace, presentation and storytelling as one commercial journey.
SOPs & Operational Clarity
Simple, usable standards and routines that make expectations clearer without removing personality from service.
Management Support
A confidential operational sounding board for managers and owners navigating people, priorities and performance.
Concept & Pre-opening Support
Guest promise, customer journey, service structure and operational thinking for new or evolving concepts.
The JOVAI approach
Not criticism.
Useful clarity.
Owners are often too close to the daily pressure to experience the business exactly as a guest does. JOVAI creates the space to see both: what the customer feels and what the operation needs.
- Human and discreetNo public review, no performance designed to catch people out.
- Commercially awareExperience is connected to trust, spend, loyalty and reputation.
- Designed for actionClear priorities shaped around your resources, team and stage of growth.
Small moments / Real commercial impact
The details guests feel become the reasons they return.
How the welcome lands. Whether the second drink is offered. How confidently the story is told. Whether the farewell makes the guest feel remembered. Small moments compound.
How it works
Observe.
Understand.
Refine.
Experience
We follow the journey with fresh eyes and feel the venue as a guest, without arriving with a generic answer.
Understand
We connect the visible moments to service reality, customer perception and commercial impact.
Refine
You receive priorities designed to be understood, owned and applied—not filed away.
What the work is designed to strengthen
Better decisions.
Better hospitality.
JOVAI does not promise overnight miracles or generic transformation. The work gives owners sharper evidence, clearer priorities and practical next steps.
More consistent guest journeys
Align the promise of the concept with what guests actually feel at every touchpoint.
Fewer missed commercial moments
Recognise natural opportunities to improve spend and return visits without hard selling.
Clearer expectations for teams
Give people standards they can understand, own and repeat confidently.
Sharper operational priorities
Separate urgent noise from the improvements that can make a meaningful difference.
For independent restaurants · bars · cafés · boutique hotels · new concepts · growing hospitality groups
Erika JovanaFounder & Hospitality
Operations Consultant
Operations Consultant
Real experience, personally delivered
I have stood on both sides of the business.
“I created JOVAI because independent owners deserve advice that understands the pressure behind the scenes—not only what happens at the table.”
I am an Administration Engineer specialised in Business Creation, with more than 11 years of experience across business operations and hospitality. Before founding JOVAI, I owned and operated a Mexican restaurant in Mexico City and gained hands-on UK experience with hospitality businesses including Chakana, Lasan Group, David Lloyd Clubs and Habaneros.
That combination shapes every project: an owner’s empathy, an operator’s realism and a business-minded eye for how experience, people and process connect.
Former restaurant ownerHospitality operationsBusiness creationGuest psychologySales & logistics
See my professional background ↗Before we begin
Honest answers,
no hard sell.
Is this a public mystery-shopper review?
No. The work is confidential and owner-focused. Nothing is published, and the purpose is never to embarrass or criticise the team.
What will I receive?
The exact scope is agreed first. Depending on the project, this can include a discreet visit, structured findings, priority recommendations, an owner debrief and a practical action plan.
Is JOVAI suitable for a small independent restaurant?
Yes. Recommendations are shaped around your team, resources and commercial reality—not copied from the systems of a large chain.
Can you help if I do not know what the real problem is?
Yes. Start with a confidential conversation. We can identify the most useful first step and will not recommend work you do not need.
Where do you work?
JOVAI is based in Birmingham and supports hospitality businesses across the West Midlands. Other UK locations can be discussed.
A confidential first conversation
Tell me what feels harder than it should.
You do not need a perfect brief. Share what you are noticing—or what you cannot quite see yet—and I will help identify a sensible starting point.
Birmingham & West MidlandsIndependent restaurants, bars and boutique venuesEvery enquiry answered personally by Jovana