Hospitality marketing, Social media in hospitali, Word-of-mouth marketing
Cassie Davison
Why Your Social Media Strategy Isn't Working ...

Social media was once a game-changer for hospitality businesses, but today it’s noisy, crowded, and exhausting. Chasing likes, shares, and followers has replaced real connection with customers. Algorithms decide who sees your posts, while businesses compete against global brands and endless content. The solution? Go back to basics. Focus on your purpose, serve your community, and deliver exceptional experiences worth talking about. Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool—when customers feel valued and cared for, they’ll spread the word. Stop chasing trends and start building a purpose-driven business that people love, remember, and choose every time.

Why Your Social Media Strategy Isn't Working and Won't Work
Cassie Davison
Hospitality Business Made Easy

Hospitality Business Made Easy

Most of us started in this industry young, learning from the ground up. The formula for success used to be simple: deliver five-star service, train your staff, and stay one step ahead of the competition. But today, the industry is tougher than ever—rising costs, shrinking markets, and increasing competition are relentless.

What if there was an easier way? By ignoring your competition, rediscovering your purpose, and aligning everything—your team, customers, and operations—to serve that purpose, you can simplify your business, build a high-performing team, and attract loyal customers who market your business for you.

Join us for the Hospitality Made Easy Masterclass, where we’ll help you reconnect with your purpose and unlock the next breakthrough for your business. This proven approach will transform how you work, freeing you from overwhelm and reigniting your passion for hospitality.

Purpose makes hospitality easy. Hospitality Made Easy Masterclass.

Hospitality Business Made Easy
Cassie Davison
Why Hospitality Feels Like Home

Hospitality is more than just an industry; it’s where many of us first learned to thrive. It’s a place where every role matters, from entry-level to leadership, and where teamwork is key to delivering exceptional customer experiences. For young people, it’s often the first taste of belonging—a family that values effort and care. It teaches responsibility, discipline, and the joy of serving others. Hospitality gives us purpose: knowing a simple act, like a smile or kind word, can transform someone’s day. Yes, it’s challenging, but for those who love it, the rewards—connection, growth, and purpose—make it all worthwhile.

Why Hospitality Feels Like Home
Cassie Davison
The Reality of COVID’s Impact on Pubs and the ...

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the pub industry with unprecedented force, turning once-thriving community hubs into shuttered spaces and leaving publicans scrambling to survive. The sudden closures left many with significant overheads, from rent to perishable stock, and limited cash reserves. Even as pubs reopened, they faced a different world, contending with limited capacities, health restrictions, and shifting customer habits.

The impact didn’t end with lockdowns. The energy crisis sent bills skyrocketing, while inflation made everyday operations increasingly expensive. Combined with severe staff shortages, the challenges for pubs remain steep. Yet, the industry has shown resilience, pivoting to new services and strengthening ties with their communities. Pubs now stand at a crucial juncture, needing continued support from patrons, government aid, and industry collaboration to fully recover. Their survival underscores a legacy of resilience, community, and tradition that remains integral to British culture.

The Reality of COVID’s Impact on Pubs and the Ongoing Struggle for Survival
Cassie Davison
Stop Underestimating Small Businesses: What ...

As a small business owner in the hospitality industry for over 25 years, there's one thing that still makes my blood boil—the assumption that small businesses need the expertise of big corporate CEOs to succeed. While larger companies have their strengths, small business owners are constantly innovating, learning on the job, and building deep customer relationships. We don’t have vast resources or teams of specialists, but we do have creativity, resilience, and a sense of purpose that drives us forward. Small business entrepreneurs are scrappy because we have to be, finding solutions with limited resources and pushing boundaries through experimentation. It’s time to recognize that the real innovation and exciting talent in the hospitality industry often come from these small operators, not the corporate boardroom. At Kith & Kin, we celebrate this scrappiness and provide a space where hospitality professionals can come together, share ideas, and support each other.

Stop Underestimating Small Businesses: What Really Makes My Blood Boil

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Why the Perfect Serve Matters So Much in Hospitality

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Why the Perfect Serve Matters So Much in Hospitality

Humans are creatures of habit, and in hospitality, rituals and routines are everywhere. Whether it’s champagne for a celebration, Pimms on a sunny day, tequila shots at a party, or hot chocolate topped with cream and marshmallows, these traditions are cherished by customers. They don’t just want these experiences—they expect them to be done right.

The perfect serve is more than just presentation; it’s about meeting customers’ expectations and honoring the rituals they love. When you deliver a perfect serve, you create memorable experiences that build trust, loyalty, and a desire to return. Customers are willing to pay premium prices for the right brands, served in the right way, by the right people.

In hospitality, the perfect serve isn’t just important—it’s essential. It’s what makes your business stand out and keeps customers coming back for more. Ignoring this is a huge mistake.

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The paradox of choice

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The paradox of choice

In “The paradox of Choice” Barry Schwartz argues that whilst choice represents freedom and autonomy and is essential to human wellbeing (we all love to believe that having a choice is essential to us) having too much creates huge anxiety to our customers.

What Schwartz is suggesting is that to feel happy we as humans measure our success against the outcome of our goals therefore every decision we make is measured against the actual outcome compared to the perception of the possible other outcomes…the grass is always greener.

So, when we make choices we worry that it is the ‘wrong’ one and that our choice was a mistake, happiness was with the ‘right’ choice.

Now for big decisions, we can see that this a valuable process but, when we do it for seemingly small decisions, then we are placing ourselves into a nearly impossible situation.

“This is a really simple business...

“This is a really simple business...

“This is a really simple business … it’s when we complicate it we really mess up”

Roberto Goizueta, Coca-Cola CEO 1980 – 97.

It is a true statement, perhaps for all business, but particularly in hospitality where it is all too easy to get overwhelmed by the details and complexity.

"Customer care exisits in the mind of the customer"

"Customer care exisits in the mind of the customer"

I remember being taught this and then repeating it to my staff on staff training days but what does it mean?

Well, I guess the point being made is that it doesn’t matter how hard you think you are trying or if you think you did a good job what actually matters is how the customer perceives your effort.

Whilst that sounds harsh and in ‘normal’ life we are led to believe it is your effort that counts, in hospitality or perhaps any customer interaction that is not the case.

When using this as part of my training I would be pointing out to our staff that it is not enough to say that the customer is wrong and that you did do something well.

Customer care is different to customer service.

I feel too grown up to say it but ‘it is just not fair’

I feel too grown up to say it but ‘it is just not fair’

Even before Covid the legal requirement for an operator was immense.

Our licenses require us by law to be responsible for the behavior of everyone on our premises at all times if we are on site or not.

But Covid and the Government response has thrown up a whole new set of legal responsibilities overnight which change sometimes daily.

With the implementation of new rules, sometimes with no notice, there is no time for the local enforcement authorities to even decide their local interpretation.

So whilst operators are trying their best to interpret the dribbles of information that they receive and the different interpretations from different bodies from Central Government, to Local Government to our varied trade bodies the enforcement authorities are doing the same thing and coming up with different ideas.

The mess that is ensuing is the operator, whilst working exceptionally hard to keep everyone safe (and incidentally trying to save their business and communities in all this) being called up for breaches of the ‘rules’ whilst neighbouring operators ‘get away’ with other seemingly more significant breaches.

I feel too grown up to say it but ‘it is just not fair’

Did Eat Out to Help Out actually help?

Did Eat Out to Help Out actually help?

With pubs and restaurants preparing to reopen on 2nd December it looks like this time they will not be having the support that was seen over the summer with EOHO.

But was that scheme as successful as it first appeared?

Of course everyone loves a bargain and the prospect of a cheap meal out sounds like of course it would be a good reason to venture to your local but I am sceptical because I think there was a lot more going on this summer.

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Responding to negative TripAdvisor Reviews

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Responding to negative TripAdvisor Reviews

Operators need to build great resilience to it and perhaps develop a strategy for dealing with negative feedback.

Nearly all my clients ask the same thing. It is a panicky heart-breaking moment; how do you respond?

Well, first you need to understand what your response is trying to achieve?

It is instinct to want to make sure that someone else sees and understands your point of view.

Getting strangers to know you, like you, and trust you is the number one purpose of social media promotion and activity - here is a great opportunity for you.

You can’t please everyone and if you try you will end up pleasing no one.

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First considerations

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First considerations

No matter how many times I create a new venue or transform a business, there is a thrill.

You are taking an idea that exists only in your head and making it a reality - if it was easy everyone would be doing it!