YOU might expect them to be arch enemies – protecting their luxury ensuite rooms, cocktail lists and menus with their lives. But as the most famous sons of this great city once sang; “Come Together” – so that’s exactly what Liverpool’s hotels, bars and restaurants are doing. The Liverpool Hospitality Association is holding its summer social with a trip on the Mersey on September 12th, with one aim in mind, spreading the word about the city’s great nightlife, food, drink and places to stay. The LHA meets once every two months to talk about the issues that affect the sector as a whole and to discuss ways that these business rivals can work with each other for the greater good.
Tom Cobden, the association’s chair of sales and revenue, believes Liverpool’s approach is unique: “I’ve worked in Birmingham, Preston, Manchester and Leeds and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “It’s great just how well we all work together – there’s a sprinkle of magic in Liverpool.”
Bars and restaurants were invited to join once the former Hoteliers Association was revamped to become the Liverpool Hospitality Association two years ago. The LHA has around 60 members but Tom and the executive committee hope that by widening the group out to all aspects of the nighttime economy, it will grow and grow. Key business leaders have been invited to the summer social to better their understanding of what the association does.
Tom added: “We are hoping for 200 people at the summer social. It is for members, prospective members and their clients. It is the ideal chance for people to relax in an informal setting and for us to showcase the work that we do.” “Because the hotel sector has always been pretty strong within the organization, we are looking to grow our work with the city’s bars and restaurants and bring more of the key people on board from those vital areas too.”
Marketing Liverpool is on the LHA executive committee offering all members valuable insight about what events and opportunities are coming up. The competition between venues is healthy and respected within the group, but as Marcus Magee, the chairman of the LHA explained there is a bigger agenda. “The Liverpool Hospitality Association is all about collaboration with our members. We share best practice and in turn this continuously develops the knowledge of our members on our great city. “Our network has continued to grow every year and this has been driven not only by the way we work with our members but how we engage with key business stakeholders within Liverpool and the wider region.”
Sarah Kelly, the group sales manager at Savvy Hotels added: “There is a unique friendliness in this city and that shines through in the hospitality sector. This will be a really fun event and it has been great to see the LHA grow over the past 18 months.”
- Tickets for the summer social which takes place between 4.30pm-6.30pm on September 12th, will start from £50 for two people and anyone interested in going should contact Sarah at Sarah@Savvyhotels.com
