Last week, Weston College hosted the Institute of Hospitality West of England: Best of the West Conference, designed to celebrate the best of western hospitality and discuss critical issues such as recruitment, retention, and innovation.  

The event was sponsored by Accelerate which is a unique initiative that will provide sector support and workshops to individuals in North Somerset that is funded by the UK Government Community Renewal Fund. The Accelerate Programme has allocated part of their funding to the Best of the West event, as Weston-super-Mare is so dependent on tourism, they want to help local hospitality businesses thrive.  

The conference featured a vibrant panel session which was chaired by Sarah Peters of Commercial Development, Alex Polizzi of Polizzi Collection and The Hotel Inspector, Dean of Services at Weston College Sandra Bull, Dan Flanagan - Recruitment Manager from Liberation Group and Butcombe Brewery and Front of House Manager Chris Bancroft at The Newt. 

Key skills sessions on communication on hospitality for the deaf community were delivered as part of the conference and attendees had the chance to meet suppliers, meet industry professionals and learn more about the training and employment support that Weston College can offer. 

Lynsey Mckinstry from the Business Growth team at Weston College comments “Working with the Institute of Hospitality, who expressed their interest in bringing their annual conference to Weston-super-Mare, we felt that this was the perfect opportunity to offer businesses and individuals the chance to network and be part of the conversation about the industry and the challenges it faces.” 

“We hope all attendees from the world of hospitality found this event useful and that it cemented our promise and commitment to assist with supporting their business growth. We aim to help the industry move forward positively within a sector so hard hit over the past two years and see it flourish!”