Dining leads the modeled contribution mix.
Dining is the largest modeled contributor, so kitchen speed and server coverage affect the whole venue.
Case study 02 · Power BI · Operations
One venue.
Six businesses.
One operating view.
An anonymized, decision-focused analytics model connecting performance, guests, capacity and labor across six operating areas.
Context
The challenge was never just collecting sales.
Management needs to understand the entire guest journey—not six disconnected reports.
POS, attraction, reservation, arcade and labor systems each describe a different part of the operation. I designed a star-schema model that gives leaders one view of performance while preserving department-level detail.
Process
From operating systems to management decisions.
Hospitality POSDining · Beverage · Café
Attraction platformActivity · Waivers
BowlingReservations · Lanes
ArcadeCards · Credits · Prizes
LaborHours · Cost · Staffing
CleanModelMeasure
STAR SCHEMAPower BIShared dates + departments
CompareExplainAct
RevenueCapacityGuest behaviorLabor efficiency
Power BI report design
Start with the big picture. Then explain what management should do.
Each dashboard is followed by a few plain-language conclusions so a reader can understand the business meaning without knowing Power BI.
Bowling is the busiest attraction.
Lane availability and turnaround should be watched before wait times become a guest problem.
The café needs tighter scheduling.
Its modeled labor pressure is the highest, making flexible shifts and cross-training important.
Staffing gaps appear in specific roles.
The solution is targeted coverage—not adding the same number of employees to every shift.
Trampoline coverage stays protected.
Safety minimums remain in place even during call-outs or low-demand periods.
Overtime becomes an early warning.
Repeated overtime can reveal hiring needs, weak scheduling or insufficient cross-training.
Interactive dashboard
Operating pulse
Confidentiality-safe indexed planning view
Trend
—Performance and contribution
Contribution mix
Department performance
Capacity
Attraction utilization
Efficiency
Labor pressure index
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—
Workforce scenarios
Put the right people where demand happens.
Select a scenario to see how staffing pressure and the manager response change.
Coverage
Required vs. available staff
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—
Hourly demand
Darker = higher workloadWhere operating pressure builds
Staffing logic
Every role is tied to a measurable workload.
Hosts & check-in
Schedule from reservations, waivers and arrivals—not total daily attendance.
Servers & expo
Use covers, table turns and ticket volume to protect speed of service.
Bartenders
Match bar labor to drink transactions, events and evening demand.
Kitchen team
Plan cooks, prep and dish from forecast tickets and item complexity.
Trampoline monitors
Maintain minimum zone coverage even when demand or attendance changes.
Bowling & arcade
Staff from lane utilization, party bookings and redemption traffic.
Café team
Open lean, add coverage around arrival and parent-wait peaks.
Managers & facilities
Use a second leader during peaks and preserve close, safety and recovery coverage.
Challenges & responses
The dashboard is designed for exceptions—not just reporting.
Arrival volume outruns the forecast.
Open overflow check-in, deploy a floater, and pace walk-ins.A critical role falls below coverage.
Activate cross-trained backup and protect safety minimums first.Bowling or trampoline waits climb.
Adjust reservation pacing, turn zones faster, and communicate wait times.Ticket times threaten the dining experience.
Simplify the station mix, add expo support, and throttle large orders.Event demand creates a beverage queue.
Add a support bartender, batch approved items, and separate service wells.A POS or attraction system goes offline.
Switch to documented offline procedures and reconcile once service returns.Visuals
Each chart answers a business question.
When does demand peak?
The trend view identifies periods that require earlier staffing, inventory and programming decisions.
Which departments create the most value?
An indexed activity measure is paired with contribution percentage so volume is not mistaken for value.
Where is capacity becoming constrained?
Utilization connects guest traffic to operating limits before wait times damage the experience.
Where is labor outpacing revenue?
Department labor rates reveal where scheduling and cross-training deserve attention.
Results
The model turns activity into a short management agenda.
Protect the holiday peak
December is the strongest modeled month. Staffing, inventory and promotional plans should be settled before demand arrives.
Watch bowling capacity
Bowling carries the highest modeled utilization, making lane turnaround and reservation pacing priority measures.
Connect play to dining
Measure whether attraction visits convert into dining, beverage and café purchases instead of managing each area alone.
Control café labor
The modeled labor pressure is highest here. Scheduling and cross-training should follow demand by hour and day.
Recommendations
What I would implement next.
- Automate exportsStandardize recurring inputs from hospitality POS, attraction, bowling, arcade and scheduling systems.
- Add hourly demandMove from daily patterns to staffing and capacity decisions by hour.
- Track cross-spendConnect attraction activity with food, beverage and arcade purchases.
- Set exception alertsFlag missed revenue, labor and utilization targets for manager review.