Hospitality Hero 2025 Round Up

I wanted to write a proper Hospitality Hero year roundup because hospitality people are terrible at pausing. We just crack on. We hit the next deadline, cover the next shift, deal with the next bill, and pretend the last twelve months didn’t nearly flatten us at points.

But…. Hospitality Hero isn’t just “a nice idea” anymore. This year proved it. We didn’t just talk about change, we built things that pushed the industry forward, we created spaces where people could learn and connect, and we kept saying the uncomfortable stuff out loud that too many people avoid.

This year, Hospitality Hero showed up in many ways:

Events, that mattered. Education that tackles the perception problem at the root.

We created space for people in unemployment to learn and build confidence in a real-life training café.

We hosted several Art of Hospitality events this year across Chester & Liverpool and not one of them was “just a networking day” each one had a purpose. Proper agendas. Real topics. Real conversations. The kind where people leave with actions they can use.

And the speakers made those rooms. We’ve had the Lumberjaxe boys, Brendon and Jaydon, sharing their incredible story on stage (because that journey is exactly what people need to hear right now), we’ve had Dan Price, the Cheshire Police Commissioner, Ashley Boroda, iMA Practitioner, Dani Wallce, the Queen Bee of Inclusion and a mix of Industry operators, educators, suppliers, students and leaders who brought honesty and valuable insights.

What I loved most was the mix in the room: hospitality professionals, students, local business owners, suppliers, upcoming talent, people who’ve been in the game 30+ years, and people who are just starting. Hospitality doesn’t get better in silos. It improves when the people on the floor, the people managing, the people owning, and the people coming through the pipeline are in the same conversations. I personally really enjoyed our student panels, where we got to hear their feelings and takes towards the industry. Finding that public transport in the UK does not help with those later hospitality shifts for our younger workers. Having these conversations is the first step to solving such issues, bringing them to the table to a room of operators allows space for managers and owners to think about how they can potentially help their younger workers.

“Save hospitality so hospitality can save us” went global – we got to take the message to our first American audience, when I was able to articulate a 20 minute speech at an amazing event in Hollywood in May.

This year we’ve got clearer on what Hospitality Hero is really about. It’s not a logo. It’s not a slogan. It’s a mission.

That’s why “save hospitality so hospitality can save us” isn’t just a catchy line. It’s literal. Hospitality is part of the answer to loneliness, to disconnection, to communities feeling soulless. And this year, we took that message beyond our usual circles, including our talk in the US, where we were able to share what we’re building, why it matters, and why this isn’t just a UK issue. The challenges might look different depending on where you are, but the core truth is the same: if we don’t protect this industry, we lose more than businesses. We lose places that glue people together.

So yes, we talk about standards, training, guest experience, culture, profit, sustainability, all of that. But underneath it is the bigger thing: hospitality is a social connector, and we cannot afford to let it become an afterthought.

This year we have also worked on the future pipeline, because fixing today without fixing tomorrow is pointless

Hospitality has a perception problem, and it starts young. If we only start talking to people about hospitality careers when they’re teenagers, we’re too late. By then, the narrative is already set: “hospitality is low skilled,” “hospitality is temporary,” “hospitality isn’t respected.”

That’s why we’ve pushed hard on education. We have created our first ever children’s book, “Bee Our Guest”, not as a cute side project, but as a strategic move. The point is simple: if kids understand what hospitality is, how hotels and restaurants work, what the roles are, and why it matters, they grow up with a completely different view. They notice the magic behind the scenes. They build confidence asking questions. They start seeing hospitality as skilled, creative, social, and meaningful. And if even a small percentage grow up thinking “that could be me,” we change the long-term pipeline. That’s how you fix a workforce problem properly, not with panic hiring, but by changing perception early.

We created our first ever training café.

In collaboration with Soul Kitchen Chester, we brought Sunset Café and Soup with Soul to life as a “real-world” training café. Soul Kitchen supports people going through homelessness and unemployment, and we’re now working together to bring their members into a safe, supported hospitality environment where they can train, build confidence, and learn the basics, properly, without the pressure and judgement that can come with a standard job straight away.

This isn’t “volunteering for the sake of it.” This is structured. It’s hospitality skills, routine, teamwork, customer interaction, and pride, with our professionals alongside them the whole time, guiding them through what good looks like and helping them believe they can do it.

And it’s already working. This year alone, we’ve seen two members move into real paid hospitality jobs after just a few weeks’ training with us. That is exactly the point: bring structure back, bring confidence back, and give people a pathway that feels achievable, not intimidating.

Because hospitality can change lives when we stop treating people like they’re disposable and start giving them the tools to thrive.

We told the truth about what’s happening to independents

This year I’ve been louder because I’ve had to be. Independent hospitality is being squeezed from every angle and it’s not just “a tough year.” It’s an uneducated government. Costs up, margins tighter, policies landing with zero understanding of how hospitality works, and then, the same people act shocked when places close.

The UK doesn’t get to celebrate “unique independent culture” while pricing it out of existence. It doesn’t work like that. You can’t say you love local and then make it impossible for local to survive.

So yes, we celebrated wins this year. But we also spoke about the hard stuff because pretending everything is fine doesn’t save anything. If anything, it speeds up the decline. (Check out last weeks blog to see how the new business rates are going to destroy hospitality)

However, what I’m most proud of this year…

I’m proud that Hospitality Hero is becoming something people recognise as real. Not just online. Real in rooms full of people at events. Real in conversations happening after the event ends. Real in young people being included instead of ignored. Real in the way this community is starting to back each other openly.

And I’m proud that even as we’ve grown, the mission hasn’t changed: hospitality deserves respect, and the people in it deserve better.

Next year: less noise, more impact

This year we have made really strong foundations; a regular conference that’s growing into a movement, a children’s book putting hospitality into homes and classrooms, an online training course that gives people real tools, an in-person training café changing lives in real time, and a brand people are starting to recognise and rally behind.

Next year is about making what we’ve built hit harder and go further. Scaling the conference so it reaches more cities, more leaders, more students and more operators who need the energy and the answers. Getting the book into schools and using it to shift perception early, where it actually matters. Growing the training so it creates better managers, better teams, better standards. Expanding the training café model so more people who’ve been knocked down by life can rebuild confidence, structure and a real route back into work.

Because the mission isn’t changing, it gets louder: save hospitality so hospitality can save us. Next year we’re not here for noise. We’re here for impact.

If you supported Hospitality Hero this year, came to an event, shared content, bought the book, sponsored, spoke, mentored, recommended us, messaged, backed the mission quietly or loudly, thank you. You’ve helped build something bigger than one event or one business.

And if you’ve been watching from the sidelines, consider this your sign to get involved. Hospitality doesn’t need more critics. It needs more heroes.

If you don’t know already, we are hosting our first collaborative TAOH with Downtown in Business this February. Get Your Tickets Now: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/downtowninbusiness/1895312