Yorkshire & NE gathering

The nights may be drawing in, but the welcoming lights of Grantley Hall will greet members of the UKHA Yorkshire & NE region on Wednesday, 29 September when they gather for what will be their second ‘real life’ meeting since venues reopened.

The stunning 5-star luxury country hotel and spa sits in the Yorkshire Dales between Ripon and Harrogate, providing a lovely setting for an autumn meeting. The region’s secretary, James Hare, head housekeeper at Woodhall Hotel & Spa, needs confirmation of attendance for catering purposes, and also welcomes enquiries from potential sponsors or speakers at future events.

Contact him at jhare@handpicked.co.uk.

Link up and connect

If you’re not already a member of the UKHA this is an excellent time to apply for membership of the professional body run by expert volunteers which champions the status of housekeepers and promotes housekeeping as a career. Beyond that, you will be able to access a host of valuable information and exchange ideas with other housekeepers in your region and across the UK. Membership costs just £35 a year, with associate membership fees starting at £135 for companies supplying or servicing the hospitality and accommodation sectors. Application forms can be found at www.ukha.co.uk. Details of regional WhatsApp groups can be found on the National Zoom Meetings page there. Also take a look at the UKHA twitter feed at @HousekeepersUK which provides news from the association and linked hospitality issues – and even details of vacancies at top hotels.

Membership fees

A REMINDER: The UKHA has decided to extend the membership year for a second time, now with a renewal date of 31 March, 2022. A decision had been taken for fees to be due from 1 October but the length of the pandemic has seen more businesses struggling and some friends and colleagues losing their jobs. Moving the date to March next year provides the equivalent of a free year’s UKHA membership. Some members have already paid 2020 invoices, while those with outstanding payments for that year are being asked to honour them, in the knowledge that the next invoice will not arrive until April 2022.