"I'm In": The Official Institute of Hospitality Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This Podcast is Sponsored by Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland - https://www.leonardohotels.co.uk/

Host: Phil Street FIH

Guests: Eugenio Pirri FIH, Matthew Burbidge-Airs MIH, Lauren Sargent AIH

Artwork and Branding: Sonia Cresswell (MIH)

Music by: Leon Williams (FIH)

This month, Phil Street sat down with Eugenio Pirri, Lauren Sargent and Matthew Burbidge-Airs to take on a million-pound question: How do you build a world-class people team in hospitality?

Whether you’re an industry veteran or just getting started, this episode is a masterclass on creating exceptional people teams that not only align with business goals but also foster sustainable success, innovation, and adaptability in the ever-evolving hospitality sector.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Foundations for a World-Class People Team
• Structures That Work
• The Importance of Culture
• The role Technology can play
• Mistakes to Avoid
• What does the future of People Teams look like?

Why our Guests said, “I’m In!”:-

Eugenio Pirri:

Eugenio draws strength from his passion for people and culture, believing in the IOH’s role in elevating standards, inspiring young talent, and representing the hospitality industry on key platforms.

Lauren Sargent:

Lauren is proud of IOH’s events, networking tools, and, most meaningfully, its influence on those early in their hospitality careers. She also celebrates the proud moment of her company, Leonardo Hotels, winning the “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year” award in 2024.

Matthew Burbidge-Airs:

Matthew, an advocate for the opportunities hospitality offers, especially its unique travel element, sees the IOH as a hub for sharing ideas and building strong professional networks.

Outstanding Quotes from the Episode:

• "It's not our job to tell people what to think. It's our job to give people the tools to think for themselves." – Robert Richardson, shared by Phil Street.
• "The guest doesn't really care about silos; they just want to be looked after."  –Matthew Burbidge Airs
• "It's about giving the people managers the tools to be great people managers." – Lauren Sargent
• "If you don't know what your culture is, how are you supposed to recruit on it, train on it, or develop loyalty based on it?" – Eugenio Pirri

When it comes to building world-class people teams, this episode is hospitality gold. Don't miss this enlightening conversation packed with actionable insights and heartfelt reflections.

Tune in now!

**Join the Conversation:**

- Twitter: @IoH_Online

- Instagram: @ioh_online

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-of-hospitality/

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast and together we can help shape the direction of conversation!

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

This podcast is sponsored by Leonardo Hotels (UK & Ireland) - https://www.leonardohotels.co.uk/

Host: Phil Street FIH

Guests: Peter Avis FIH – Business Development and Community Engagement Manager for the London Hilton Park Lane, Vice Chairman of the IOH

Amber Staynings - CEO and Founder of Bums On Seats, Co-Founder of Heidi, an emerging tech start-up

Miranda Quantrill - Hospitality Educator at Westminster Kingsway College

Artwork and Branding: Sonia Cresswell (MIH)

Music by: Leon Williams (FIH)

Welcome to this special live episode of the "I'm In" podcast, the official podcast of the Institute of Hospitality. Recorded in front of a live audience, In this engaging discussion, Phil is joined by distinguished guests Amber Staynings, Peter Avis, and Miranda Quantrill to explore the profound impact of psychology in the hospitality industry, especially concerning guest experience. Below are the key takeaways from this enlightening conversation:

Key Topics Discussed:

Exceptional Customer Service:

• Defining exceptional customer service versus average service.
• Elements that contribute to a memorable guest experience, including emotional connection and service quality.

Psychological Principles in Customer Service:

• Importance and impact of genuine interactions and emotional intelligence.
• Real-life examples demonstrating the application of psychology to recover customer relationships.

Training and Staff Development:

• The critical role of training in building social and practical skills among hospitality staff.
• Need for consistency and investment in employee development.

Internal and External Perceptions:

• The impact of employees' appearance and mindset on service delivery.
• How culture, pride, and personal care influence job performance.

Balancing Work and Well-being:

• Addressing workload, self-care, and achieving a healthy work-life balance.
• Motivational strategies to enhance employee engagement and retention.

Practical Applications of Psychology:

• The role of psychological profiling to understand and cater to diverse customer needs.
• Training strategies using scenarios and gamification to improve service standards.

Leadership and Team Dynamics:

• Guidance on fostering a supportive and positive workplace environment.
• Encouraging open communication and clear expectations.

Motivational Insights:

• Panellists share their personal motivations and highlights from their careers in hospitality.

Key Quotes:

• “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Interactive Q&A:

• Audience questions addressed around the topics of guest psychology in podcasts, and personal career highlights of the panellists.

This episode provides valuable insights into the delicate balance of delivering exceptional hospitality through understanding and leveraging psychological principles. Whether you're an industry veteran or new to the field, the discussions within this episode are sure to resonate and

inspire.

**Join the Conversation:**

- Twitter: @IoH_Online

- Instagram: @ioh_online

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-of-hospitality/

Remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast and together we can help shape the direction of conversation!

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

On another day in May, Phil packed up his podcasting gear and headed to York to explore a truly transformative initiative that was introduced to our CEO Robert Richardson at the “Thrive in the North” hospitality conference.

The initiative aims to integrate ex-offenders and current offenders into the hospitality industry. Robert joined Phil for this roundtable discussion featuring insights from esteemed guests, including Simon Mahon, General Manager of the Grand Hotel York (who also kindly hosted the discussion), Paul Hunter (at the time, General Manager of No 1. York and now at the Swinton Estate), Jasmine Bhatt (Employment and Opportunities broker for York City Council), Lisa Kaye (Prison employment lead at HMP Askham Grange) and Adam Wardale (General Manager at Middletons Hotel York).

Through this discussion we cover a lot including:-

• How this initiative came about
• What is ROTL (Release on temporary license)?
• Initial push back and stigmas
• Getting everyone on board
• The Big Pro’s and reasons why
• Things to expect
• The support available
• The first steps to take to get involved
• Some success stories

Please do join us as we uncover the powerful potential of giving individuals a fresh start and the significant benefits it brings to both the hospitality industry and society at large.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

If you’ve been following the show to this point, you’ll know we like to delve into subjects that don’t get much airtime.  This month we get stuck into another such subject as we explore Retirement and Beyond.

To help Phil with this one we enlisted the help of legendary Hotelier Sue Williams FIH who herself has entered into a semi-retired phase, Steve Lowy MIH and brand-new member Alesandra Beqiraj AIH.

It’s a tricky subject to cover as a lot of people don’t contemplate it until later in their career but we wanted to get people thinking about some of things to consider around the subject.  Our panel did not disappoint, and we covered: -

• What the concept of retirement means to our panel
• Getting the fundamentals right
• Is retirement now a myth?
• Retirement v Taking a work break
• The impact of the changing world
• The steps to consider when contemplating retirement
• The importance of staying relevant
• The stories we tell ourselves
• Technology and retirement
• Financial Planning
• Is retirement a personal choice?

As always, our guests also offered up their reasons for saying I’m in to the IOH and they were:-

• To get behind an industry body that’s doing great work
• To connect with the rest of the sector, beyond their own space
• Networking and to make connections
• For professional development

A huge thank you to all our guests on the podcast for giving you all something to contemplate.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

On a sunny day in May 2024 at the IOHs very own Golf Day, Phil took his show on the road to the Belfry to reopen an unsolved mystery around the world of AI and its impact on hospitality. This chat served as a follow on from an Above and Beyond event earlier in the year where our audience asked a lot of questions, most of which we couldn’t get through owing to time constraints.  We attempt to answer all of these and more in this discussion.

At the event, Phil caught up with H&C News Founder Denis Sheehan FIH, Dr Roya Rahimi from the University of Wolverhampton (And someone who is making AI a subject specialism) and Katariina Reissaar MIH from the RAF club in London.

Our panel really opened up a lot of food for thought around the subject of AI and covered:-

• The emergency vs opportunity of AI
• The Geopolitical impact
• The rate of advancement
• How AI is being embraced
• Prompt Engineering
• Balancing personal touch with technological innovation
• The evolution of jobs
• Why Universities and colleges will still play a big role in future education in a fast-changing landscape
• The pressing need to engage with AI
• The rate of change and why you need to take it seriously
• How to get started

As ever, our guests also took the time to explain their reasons for saying I’m in to the IOH and they included:-

• To get behind the industry in its pursuit for professionalism
• The networking and introductions
• Mentoring
• Self Development
• Knowledge Sharing

There’s a phenomenal amount of learning to be taken away from this discussion and if you are someone who knows that AI is out there but doesn’t know where to get started, or even if you should get started, then we urge you to listen to this chat around possibly the most important subject of our time.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

Back in the middle of May 2024, we welcomed in Mental health awareness week and so we thought it’d be a great idea to explore this topic on one of our monthly chats.

For this one, Phil hosted Sally Beck FIH, General Manager at the Royal Lancaster London along with her guest Leo Marques, a mental health ambassador within Sally’s team as well as Jakob Gowin MIH, General Manager at the Melia Whitehouse in London, and Jonathan Walton AIH, Regional Head of People & Culture at Dakota Hotels.

There’s some really great insight in where to get started on this important topic within your business, including: -

• What mental health in the workplace means to our panel
• Why it should be taken seriously
• The importance of Ambassadors
• Some basic principles
• Where to go when you don’t have the answers internally
• The impact of an open environment
• Supporting leadership
• The role of communication
• Mentorship
• Creating a culture of happiness
• Some budget Friendly places to start

Again some great reasons were given as to why our guests said I’m in to the IOH and they were:-

• Learning opportunities
• Networking
• The vast learning resources
• Principle Alignment
• Knowledge sharing
• To be inspired by the leadership in the industry

A huge thank you to all our guests on the podcast for bringing some wonderful ideas to the table.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

All the way back when this podcast was conceptualised by Phil and IOH Central, Phil had long wanted to look at what it might be like to run government with a hospitality mindset and so nearly 3 years on, Phil finally gets his wish to make that episode a reality.

He was once again joined by three brilliant humans from the IOH membership including Martin Traynor OBE FIH.  Martin had served in government for many years before his recent retirement and was therefore able to offer us some valuable insight into the inner workings, ably assisted by Kris Hall MIH and Mae Umayam AIH.

Our panel cover so much and there were some fantastic points raised including:-

• The known barriers to making positive change
• The strengths that Hospitality could bring to Government
• Siloed Departments v Cross Departments
• Customer Journey/Citizen Journey
• Connection with citizens
• The can-do attitude
• The Recruitment process
• Evolution
• A government menu
• Dealing with Competition
• Leadership and popularity
• Stability
• Dealing with change

Again some great reasons were given as to why our guests said I’m in to the IOH and they were:-

• To give something back
• To add value to the institute’s objectives
• Networking opportunities
• To experience the warm welcome received at every meeting and event
• The events
• To get access to influential leaders and to learn and be inspired by them
• To remain in the loop on the industry

It’s worth noting that if you are tuning in to listen to us bash government, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed as this was more about how we can take the strengths that hospitality has and apply them to government.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

Hot on the heals of our International women’s day 2024 in March of this year, and listening to the amazing feedback we had, we realised that last time out, we may have centred more on the progress that’s been made without covering the work that still needs to be done for women in the workplace.  Phil, therefore, re-enlisted the assistance of Lizzie Grundy AIH and Tracey Fairclough FIH (Regrettably Kat Price was not available) to chat through this side of the coin.

As our guests had been on before, we just got stuck straight into this and our panel covered:-

• The challenges still faced by women in the workforce
• Maternity leave
• A look into a study done on perceptions
• Some alarming workplace comparisons with men
• Transparency
• Real world examples
• Economic Impacts
• Reasons why women leave jobs
• The importance of role models
• The Menopause
• Flexibility & Disruption
• #Metoo

As per the last conversation, Lizzie and Tracey were truly brilliant and massive thank you goes out to them for once again giving up their time for the chat.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

Hot on the heals of our building a stable business podcast last month, we thought it was a great idea to rekindle our importance of series and focus on the Financial Controller.

To help Phil look into this, we welcomed Harsh Sodhani AIH, a Sales Manager at the Hampton by Hilton London City, F&B Specialist Alper Zan MIH and the IOHs very own Finance Director, Leon William FOH.

Coupled with Phil’s own experience as a small business owner, it was fascinating to get the different opinions and focus on this role using Finance, Sales, Operational and Entrepreneurial hats.

In this chat, they cover:-

• What is the role of a Financial Controller and what does it cover?
• The attributes required to be a successful Financial Controller
• Advice for Aspiring Financial Controllers
• Nailing the basics
• The impact of tech and automation on the role
• Balancing Financial Rigour with the guest experience
• Ultimately, just how important is the Financial Controller?

Again some great reasons were given as to why our guests said I’m in to the IOH and they were:-

• Because the IOH provides professional recognition
• To make a difference to the industry
• To give back to the industry
• Getting established in a new territory
• Connecting to people
• The mentorship programs

As per last month, we re-iterate our point on if you are struggling with business or career at the moment, please don’t suffer in silence.  There’s an incredible network of knowledge available within the IOH and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help of any kind.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org

International Women’s Day 2024 Special

We’re always up for a special bonus conversation and so  we thought it would make sense to have a chat to coincide with International women’s day 2024.  Phil enlisted the help of Lizzie Grundy AIH, Kat Price MIH and Tracey Fairclough FIH to chat through some of the challenges and opportunities that exist in the work place for women in 2024.

As always, they kicked off by giving their reasons for saying I’m in to the IOH including: -

• The coming together of multiple sectors
• The educational tools
• To give back
• Community
• To make a positive change
• To be part of a collective

And then to the main chat itself which was epic from the outset. Our panel covered :-

• A brief history of women and paid work
• External circumstances
• Changing work patterns and flexibility
• Women in the kitchen
• The importance of Female Leadership
• Game changing times
• Generational viewpoints
• Mentorship
• Optimism
• The role of men in progression
• Respecting Individuality
• Policy

A huge thank you to our guests who absolutely bought the thunder to the conversation.

Enjoy!

To learn more about the Institute of Hospitality visit https://www.instituteofhospitality.org/

For any feedback on the show or to put yourself forward as a future guest, please contact Phil Street directly at phil.street@instituteofhospitality.org