Thoughts & Takeaways
Welcome to the Talking Hospitality blog: a place for practical insight and useful ideas for people working in and leading hospitality.
Some pieces are designed to make you think. Some are here to give you clear actions you can take back to your team. Most do a bit of both.
Some pieces are designed to make you think. Some are here to give you clear actions you can take back to your team. Most do a bit of both.
Oct. 22, 2024
Rising Demand for Health-Conscious Dining: Tips for Innovating Your Menu
As dietary mindfulness becomes a societal priority, UK hospitality businesses are meeting a growing demand for health-conscious dining options. Consumers today are increasingly aware of the connections between food, wellness, and quality of …
Oct. 15, 2024
Sustainable Hospitality: Strategies to Reduce Waste and Conserve Resources
Environmental sustainability has moved to the forefront of hospitality in the UK. With an eco-conscious public, hospitality businesses face increasing pressure to reduce waste, conserve resources, and minimise environmental impact. Recent data shows…
Oct. 8, 2024
Reducing Food Waste in Hospitality: Practical Steps & Resources
In today’s world, minimising food waste is a critical responsibility for UK hospitality. With food waste costing the sector around £682 million annually, according to WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), hospitality businesses are under pres…
Oct. 1, 2024
Emerging Culinary Fusion Trends in the UK: 7 Tips to Embrace the Fusion Wave
The UK culinary landscape is evolving as customers seek new, multicultural flavours. A notable trend on the rise is fusion cuisine, especially the blend of Eastern European and British dishes, creating dynamic new flavours and experiences. As more p…
Sept. 23, 2024
Cybersecurity in Hospitality: 5 Essential Tips to Protect Guest and Business Data
With hospitality’s rapid digitalisation, cybersecurity has become a top priority. Hospitality businesses handle sensitive data daily, from guest information to payment details, making them prime targets for cyber-attacks.…
Sept. 17, 2024
Reflecting on the changes in Hospitality from the podcasts first ever episode in 2020 to now
In the early days of the pandemic, Talking Hospitality—then cheekily called "Timothy Put the Kettel On"—was born out of a need to stay connected, to share insights, and to support the hospitality industry in one of its darkest times. Recorded in the…
Sept. 10, 2024
Hospitality’s Role in Tackling Food Poverty: Lessons from Kemi Akinola’s Journey with Be Enriched
In Season 1, Episode 3 of the Talking Hospitality podcast, titled The Heart of Hospitality: Kemi Akinola’s Fight Against Food Poverty, we had the privilege of exploring how Kemi and her team at Be Enriched swiftly pivoted to support communities duri…
Aug. 13, 2024
Is Gen Z Really Lazy, or Are We Missing the Bigger Picture?
In the bustling world of hospitality, it's easy to label the youngest members of our workforce as "lazy" and "snowflakes" Recent data would seem to back this up: 98% of Gen Z workers report experiencing burnout. 23% face unmanageable stress lev…
Aug. 6, 2024
Managing Seasonal Demand Fluctuations in Hospitality: 5 Tips for Year-Round Stability
Seasonal highs and lows are part of life in hospitality, but balancing them effectively can be challenging. With changing occupancy rates and operational costs, many hospitality businesses are turning to data-driven forecasting to keep things ru…
July 29, 2024
Navigating Mental Health in Hospitality: What We’ve Learned and Where We’re Headed
This third and final installment of our Talking Hospitality mental health series of blogs rounds off an essential conversation that began with supporting employee well-being and continued with insights into creating psychologically safe workplaces.…
July 23, 2024
Beyond the Surface: Mental Health in Hospitality
Following the article, "Supporting Employee Mental Health in Hospitality", we delve deeper into how the hospitality industry can tackle mental health issues. Reflecting on Episode 5, Season 1 of the Talking Hospitality podcast, titled "Changi…
July 16, 2024
Supporting Employee Mental Health in Hospitality
As highlighted in many of our episodes, mental health is a critical challenge within hospitality. Season 1, episode 4 despite being recorded in lockdown, brings fresh relevance to supporting employee mental health. The hospitality industry is kn…
July 8, 2024
In 2020 We Predicted The Future of Hospitality. Were We Right?
In our second-ever episode of Talking Hospitality, initially known as Timothy Put the Kettel On, we explored hospitality’s challenges and innovations during lockdown, from local sourcing to new tech solutions. Fast-forward to today, and it’s clear …
July 2, 2024
Managing Rising Labour Costs in 2024: 5 Tips for Hospitality Businesses
Managing Rising Labour Costs: 5 Tips for Hospitality Businesses With the minimum wage increasing to £11.44 per hour from April 2024, many UK hospitality businesses are feeling the pressure. Labour costs already make up a significant portion of expe…
June 25, 2024
New Compliance Requirements in UK Hospitality: 5 Essential Tips for 2024
New Compliance Requirements in UK Hospitality: 5 Essential Tips for 2024 The start of 2024 has brought a wave of new regulations to the UK hospitality industry. From Martyn’s Law, which bolsters venue security, to updated wage and tip rules, these …
June 17, 2024
Why Is Saying "We Don't Have Time" A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
When the war broke out in Ukraine, I had the privileged ability to put Ukrainian refugees into Hospitality work. During this time, I will never forget this, one 4-star hotel employer said to me: "I have vacancies for waiters, but I need them to…
June 10, 2024
What is "Trans"?
LGBT. LGBT. The “T” bit seems to be a hot topic right now if the mainstream and social medias are to be believed. There also seems to be a lot of ignorance or, rather, misunderstanding about what the “T” stands for. What does "Trans" mean? Or…
June 4, 2024
Why Does Everyone Keep Banging On About Pride?
How boring. It’s Pride Month and everyone has changed their logos to rainbow. It’s not even needed any more. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Not even remotely. Homophobia In Hospitality Even an industry such as our beloved Hospitality i…
May 27, 2024
Is It Possible To Collaborate With Your Competitors?
The Collaborative Advantage: Treating Competitors as Allies in the Hospitality Industry There is power in collaboration. But often, when it comes to business, there are people I know who tend to overlook the potenti…
May 20, 2024
Are Mavericks In The Workplace a good thing?
Ah. There are team players and there are not team players and then, there are the mavericks. Mavericks are defined in the Oxford Language dictionary as: "an unorthodox or independent-minded person." There comes a point in any evolving team where…
May 13, 2024
Why Is It Important To Train My Team?
The first answer is because, otherwise, they won't stay. One of the biggest resistances I hear from leaders over investment into training is "What if I train them and they leave?". To which I normally reply: "What if you don't train them and they…
May 6, 2024
How Can I Train My Team When I'm Too Busy?
"I'm too busy to train my team" Many, many times I have heard Hospitality business owners or managers complaining about how busy they are and that they just don't have time to train their staff. Does this sound familiar? Maybe you yourself hav…
April 29, 2024
When Is A Good Time To Approach Schools To Promote Hospitality?
If my previous blogs have failed to capture your imagination, and you still need convincing that we (as Hospitality industry professionals) should be approaching schools right now in a bid to educate them about potential careers... then read on! …
April 22, 2024
Has Hospitality lost a generation, and is too late?
It's not too late, but Hospitality needs to act NOW. It's very true that we are very close to having a "lost generation" of young people as a result of the lockdowns and disruptions to their education (and social skills). Speaking to, sitting down…