What Does This Christmas Song Reveal About Life in Hospitality?

Christmas is often sold as joyful and effortless. In hospitality, it reveals something else entirely. Long shifts, emotional labour, and the quiet determination of people who keep showing up while the rest of the world slows down. Always Open for Christmas captures that reality with honesty and care, reflecting what life in hospitality actually looks like in December.

The single, created by the Hospitality Choir, exists to recognise the people who keep hospitality open, welcoming, and functioning when the rest of the world is at home.

Why this song resonates so deeply

During the latest Talking Hospitality Christmas episode, Chris Fletcher founder of Tech on Toast shares the story behind the song.

He was inspired by real experiences across the industry — particularly the story of a young chef who found herself living in her car after falling into financial difficulty, before being supported back into stable accommodation and work.

That support came from Hospitality Action — a charity that, for nearly two centuries, has provided crisis grants, housing support, mental health assistance, and practical help to hospitality people when they need it most.

This isn’t abstract. It’s happening now. And it happens more often at Christmas than many realise.

Chris speaks openly about why this matters:

• Hospitality people are often the last to ask for help

• Pride, pressure, and exhaustion collide in December

• Timely support can be genuinely life-changing

Hospitality Action exists precisely for these moments — stepping in quietly, practically, and without judgement when someone’s world starts to wobble.

The voices behind the song

The power of Always Open for Christmas comes from its collective nature. This isn’t a polished pop project. It’s a room full of people from the industry, showing up as they are.

• Chris Fletcher – the catalyst and connector, turning a human story into action

• Adena Cahill – whose vocals bring lift, warmth, and emotional clarity at exactly the right moment

• Dozens of hospitality professionals — many of whom had never sung before

Recorded at Abbey Road, yes — but rooted firmly in kitchens, bars, hotel corridors, staff rooms, and the lived reality of hospitality work.

How listening actually helps

This isn’t a song you put on for background noise.

Streams generate income. Income supports charities like Hospitality Action. That funding goes directly into:

• Emergency financial grants

• Housing and homelessness prevention

• Mental health and wellbeing support

• Confidential advice for people in crisis

Listening is participation.

You can:

• Stream the song on major platforms

• Add it to workplace playlists

• Share it with your teams

• Talk openly about why it exists

That conversation alone can make it easier for someone to ask for help.

Useful links

• Hospitality Choir & single information: https://hospitalitychoir.org

• Hospitality Action (support, grants, and help): https://www.hospitalityaction.org.uk

Please support people who are struggling in Hospitality, by downloading/streaming or listening "Always Open At Christmas" today.