Blog. National Hospitality Day

We’re inviting operators and suppliers to do what you do best: delight your customers and guests by laying on exciting activities, offers and events. How you decide to support is up to you. Activities could be as ambitious as hosting a gala dinner with guest chefs or arranging a Q&A with a local celebrity. Or they could be as modest as laying on free nibbles and entertainment; or cooking a hog roast in the garden.

Whatever you do, the common aim is for participating businesses to showcase the industry at its best: creative, entertaining, nourishing, engaging – at the hub of our communities, and providing jobs and income for the country.

We’ll ask all participating businesses to build a fundraising element into their activities, to support UK hospitality’s four main charities: The Drinks Trust, Hospitality Action, The Licensed Trade Charity and The Springboard Charity. By doing so, you’ll be helping them to support those hit by the pandemic with financial assistance, mental health support and career development.

The pandemic hit the hospitality industry like a hammer blow. Restaurants, pubs, bars, hotels and venues have all grappled with an existential threat to their business, this past year, as have the farmers, brewers, manufacturers and distributors that supply them. Businesses, livelihoods and lives have been lost, and many of our favourite places have sadly closed forever.

Those that are still open are fighting a daily battle for survival. They need support if they are to survive, thrive and continue to provide the experiences that make life worth living.

The pandemic has taught us how much richer our lives are for having hospitality in them. Until last March, we took our favourite destinations for granted. When they closed, we realised how keenly we missed the venues at the hearts of our communities. National Hospitality Day will give the nation a chance to show its appreciation by venturing out and re-engaging with the places they love.

National Hospitality Day marks the first time the sector’s main associations, bodies and charities have joined forces. Participating organisations include UKHospitality, The Institute of Hospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping.

Mark Lewis, Chief Executive of Hospitality Action, which conceived the concept, said: “The hospitality industry has been the hardest hit by the pandemic, with thousands of businesses and livelihoods lost. Even as the economy slowly unlocks, the hospitality sector is still unable to fully re-open with restrictions keeping businesses closed or struggling to turn a profit. The hospitality industry provides community hubs, employment and a huge contribution to the public purse. Our lives will be poorer without them

By supporting National Hospitality Day, the public can provide a vital injection of trade which could save their favourite places from closure.

Hospitality businesses looking to participate in National Hospitality Day can register their interest at www.nationalhospitalityday.org.uk.