
A Week in America | 12 November 2025
This week, Martin spent a day watching American democracy unfold live on television – votes, counter votes, scandals and shutdowns – and a healthy portion of financial sweeteners too.

This week, Martin spent a day watching American democracy unfold live on television – votes, counter votes, scandals and shutdowns – and a healthy portion of financial sweeteners too.

Hospitality’s wobbling. Too many teams are on autopilot, margins are thin, and guests can feel it.

In hospitality; there’s costs everywhere… but the real killer is productivity and a culture that’s “quietly talked us out of graft”.

In this week’s blog, Jo looks at how a new wave of leaders — from New York’s Zohran Mamdani to the Netherlands’ Rob Jetten and the Greens’ Zack Polanski — are connecting with voters through energy and optimism, while Labour seems stuck in the November gloom.

The appearance of Reform cheerleader Matt Goodwin on BBCs Question Time last week, his second invitation onto the flagship political programme in under twelve months, has sent Frank McKenna over the edge. In his latest blog, he asks why the BBC, and much of the mainstream media in the UK, are so doughy – eyed over Populists, and so hard on Labour.

We like to pretend hospitality just lives in hotels, restaurants, and conference centres. Yet, we all know, it doesn’t.

Jim urges the Chancellor to take the political flak and put up income tax in the forthcoming budget. He also reflects on the political boomerang the Prime Minister suffered in sacking Lucy Powell.

Frank McKenna reflects on some of the political stories that have hit the headlines this week.

In this week’s blog, Jo discusses the political chaos surrounding the grooming gangs inquiry — a stark reminder of how victims are failed time and again. With mistrust in institutions and endless delays, Jo asks whether another inquiry will change anything, or if it’s time, as Michael Heseltine once said, to Just Do It.

It was a full-throttle day at The Queen at Chester Hotel where real operators, educators, suppliers, and businesses showed up to talk honestly about what’s working, what’s not, and what we’re going to do about it.

For years, hospitality barely featured in school corridors. Career boards were stuffed with law, medicine, tech… but the industry that employs well over 2.7–2.8 million people in the UK barely got a mention.
The Hospitality Connect Program is changing this. The idea is that schools and venues link up and they take students into those venues to educate and inspire them on the world of hospitality.

This week, Martin looks at the US Government Shutdown, its impact and the remarkable plans the President and his administration are pushing to clear the US debt…