Going Above & Beyond for hospitality

Focusing on live networking and topical industry issues, the Institute of Hospitality’s Above & Beyond series of events, in collaboration with Planday, have become a hot ticket item.

They attract those who want to listen to, pick the brains of and learn from experts in numerous fields while mixing with other people in a wide range of hospitality careers.

The events were launched in September 2021, with the first held at The Shangri-La, The Shard, London. Since then, the IoH has successfully delivered 10 Above & Beyond events, with the latest being hosted at The Rosewood Hotel in London. Events are open to both IoH members and non-members.

With each session focusing on a topical industry panel discussion, helping support the Institute’s core aim of continuing professional development (CPD), The Above & Beyond at The Rosewood was no exception.

IoH CEO Robert Richardson FIH MI hosted the panel with guests, Chris Gunton, managing director, CGA Integration, Harry Fielder, director at Umi Digital, Mike Enslin, country manager for Lightspeed, and Brett Smith, VP of customer success, Planday, all talking about technology and how it can impact your business.

This was a fascinating topic covering questions including:

• What is needed to make technology work better for us in hospitality?
• Will technology replace people in the industry?
• How can technology make a business more sustainable?
• Will Artificial Intelligence (AI) eventually take over hospitality and people?
• And will future employees need to be more technology savvy?

With CPD at the heart of the event format, the IoH captures the knowledge from each panel discussion and creates a White Paper. The first was published in February this year, on Wellbeing following the January Above & Beyond event, and the second on Cultivating A Culture in Hospitality, was published in April following the March event. The latest White Paper on Technology and how it can impact your business, will be available on the IoH website from 26 June.

As Robert Richardson FIH MI explains, the events have been overwhelmingly well received to date: “The audience and panellists at our 10th event at The Rosewood, London, were as informative, enlightening and enthusiastic as when we launched our first event over 20 months ago. “ It has been fantastic watching so many hospitality professionals come together, participating in the discussions, as well as utilising this fantastic opportunity to network. We are incredibly proud to have such a great hospitality family atmosphere at our Above & Beyond events.”

Steve Beckworth, director of marketing and business development at the Confederation of Tourism & Hospitality who attended the Above & Beyond at The Rosewood commented: “This was another fantastic Above & Beyond event. These IoH events are vitally important for bringing the hospitality and hotel community together, sharing ideas, learning, and connecting.”

And as Richardson concluded, none of this would be possible without the support of Planday and our other partners: “As a charity, we can only provide these types of events for the industry thanks to the financial support and donations we receive from our business partners and sponsors. I would like to thank them all, on behalf of the Institute and our hospitality family, for making these vital and insightful events possible.”

The next Above & Beyond event will be held at The Waldorf Astoria, Edinburgh on 25 September. Tickets are available from the events section at www.instituteofhospitality.org IoH website.