Hospitality Needs Support – But It Also Needs to Step Up

There’s no denying that hospitality is going through a tough time. Rising costs, recruitment challenges and economic uncertainty are taking their toll across the industry. But while we do need support, we also need to take more responsibility for our own future.

As hoteliers, restaurateurs and operators, we’ve spent too long talking about the challenges without showing what we’re doing to address them. It’s time we started helping ourselves – and for me, that begins with skills and perception.

Too often, our industry is still seen through an outdated lens: low pay, long hours, unsociable shifts. And while there are pockets where some of that remains true, the reality is that hospitality has grown up. Pay has improved. Work-life balance is taken seriously. Many businesses – ours included – are doing more than ever to support, train and retain our teams.

Yet that message isn’t cutting through. We’re still failing to tell the story of what hospitality can offer – not just as a stop-gap job, but as a career. And if we want that to change, we need to start much earlier. That’s why I believe engagement needs to begin not at 16, or even 11, but as early as five years old.

Through The Hospitality Hero, I’m involved in a number of initiatives that aim to do just that. At the end of June, we’re launching a children’s book that introduces young readers to hospitality through the story of woodland animals working in a hotel. It’s playful, but purposeful – helping children to understand the range of roles that exist in our industry and to see it as something exciting and full of opportunity.

At the other end of the age scale, I’m also involved in Hospitality Edge, which supports those not in education, employment or training, including individuals moving on from homelessness or time in prison. It’s about confidence, skills and real employment opportunities – and we’re already seeing results. At Chester Townhouse, we’ve just launched the Sunset Café, which gives participants a chance to gain hands-on experience in a supportive environment.

I’m also proud to be an ambassador for Hospitality Connect, which links schools with hotels and opens doors for young people who may never have considered a career in our sector. In Merseyside and Cheshire, we work with a number of schools, including SEN providers, to give students a taste of different hospitality roles – from chef to front of house to digital marketing. And we’ve now extended this to North Wales too. At Hotel Wrexham, which we took over just over a year ago, we recently welcomed a local school to spend time with our

team and learn about the wide variety of careers on offer. It’s been a fantastic way to build stronger local ties while investing in the next generation.

Wrexham has been an important part of our journey. Since acquiring the hotel – formerly Holt Lodge – we’ve rebranded the pub and restaurant as The Savvy Fox, launched a new business network in the form of Wrexham Connect, and are continuing to invest in both the site and the community. It’s shown us first-hand how much appetite there is for hospitality that is ambitious, inclusive and future-facing.

And that future relies on stronger connections, not just between businesses and schools, but across the whole ecosystem. That’s why I also run The Art of Hospitality conference, which brings together universities, colleges, employers and third sector organisations to debate how we can collaborate better. Our recent event in Liverpool included voices from North Wales through partners like WeMindTheGap, alongside institutions from Chester and Liverpool. These discussions are vital if we want to create lasting change.

No single programme will solve all the challenges our industry faces. But we’ve got to stop waiting for someone else to fix things. We need to lead by example – in our businesses, in our communities, and in how we speak about hospitality.

The industry I know is full of passion, talent and resilience. It deserves to be seen that way – and it’s down to all of us to make sure it is.