Steven Hesketh

I've been to plenty of trade shows over the years. Some are worth it. Some are a long day on your feet and a bag full of leaflets you'll never read. This year, SAVVY Collective took a stand at The Independent Hotel Show in London. Stephen Miles and I headed down with the team to meet independent owners, have some proper conversations and see what the industry was really talking about. I came away with more than I expected. Just not always from where I expected it. First things first: the...

Last week I read the open letter from Barbakan Delicatessen & Bakery to Andy Burnham, and I genuinely don’t think I could have said it better myself. The letter spoke about the reality of running an independent business today. Rising costs, increasing pressure and the feeling that no matter how hard you work, there always seems to be another cost coming around the corner. It struck a chord because we are living it too. We are an independent hospitality business and we are proud of that. We...

This week, 25 town criers from eight nations have descended on Chester for a tournament that hasn’t been held in the city since 2014. It is fun, unusual and completely in keeping with a city whose town crier tradition dates back to 1554. But the part we find really interesting is what has gone on behind it. Marketing Cheshire secured £50,000 of funding through Airbnb’s Best of British Fund to bring the tournament back to Chester. And that kind of investment matters. An event like this does...