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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Why Being Purpose-Driven is Essential in the Hospitality Industry

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Why Being Purpose-Driven is Essential in the Hospitality Industry

Running a hospitality business is a tough gig—there’s always a crisis to manage, whether within your own operation or due to external factors. For many, the constant problem-solving and adrenaline-fueled innovation are what make the industry so exciting. But the relentless pace and long hours can become overwhelming. The key to navigating this chaos lies in being purpose-driven.

Knowing your purpose—why your business exists beyond just making money—brings clarity to every decision you make. It’s about remembering why you fell in love with the industry and understanding the value you provide to your customers. When decisions are guided by this purpose, they become easier and more aligned with your goals. You stop comparing yourself to competitors and focus on what truly matters to you and your customers. Being purpose-driven not only simplifies your business but also reignites your passion for it.

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Unlocking Life Skills: The Hospitality Industry and the art of conversation

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Unlocking Life Skills: The Hospitality Industry and the art of conversation

Recently delved into a fascinating conversation about the often-overlooked skills cultivated by the hospitality industry—true hidden gems. Take the story of a young social media influencer, thriving online but struggling with face-to-face interactions. To bridge this gap, a novel approach was taken: a weekend job in hospitality.

Why? Because the hospitality industry is a powerhouse of confidence-building and meaningful conversations, essential life skills that often go unnoticed. It inadvertently becomes a classroom for tacit skills—putting others at ease, ensuring comfort, and communicating effectively. These skills are not mere survival tactics but crucial life skills honed through experience and shared camaraderie.

This post celebrates the diverse skill set honed in hospitality—some become the class clown, others master the art of listening with intent, all contributing to a unique rhythm and patter.

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Did you know that the cure for a broken ankle is to walk on it?

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Did you know that the cure for a broken ankle is to walk on it?

Treatment for my broken ankle didn’t involve crutches or plaster

Modern science and ideas are always ‘evolving’ and changing.

I am still marveling at how wrong I was.

And what has this got to do with pubs, bars, and restaurants you ask?

Obviously technology and how it can be used has changed but I think more interestingly, our understanding of each other and human behavior has changed.

Moreover, culturally our customers have changed and are continuing to do so.

Things change, people change, cultures change and so ‘that’s the way we have always done it’ should also change.

Moving with the times and watching how the world around you changes can be a bit scary but it can also be exciting to see how we ‘evolve’ and get better all the time.

We have just got to remember that this applies to our businesses also.

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Kith & Kin - a new way to support your business

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Kith & Kin - a new way to support your business

For owner-operators of pubs, bars & restaurants, it is not a typical working environment. There is a never-ending to-do list and all the people you could ask for support from are ‘competition’

But wouldn’t it be nice to just give yourself a little bit of time to sit down, grab a coffee and chat to other owner-operators from across the UK who share your frustrations.

In a relaxed, informal Zoom meeting you could gain inspiration, share ideas, and collaborate - all for FREE

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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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Burnt Chefs, Invisible Chips and Mental Health in Hospitality

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Burnt Chefs, Invisible Chips and Mental Health in Hospitality

It is reported that in the general population 1 in 4 people will experience a period of poor mental health within their lifetime. The Burnt Chef Project has conducted studies that suggest that within hospitality the numbers are more like 4 out of 5 due to the stress and pressures that working within this industry can cause. With 3.2 million people in the UK that work in the industry, this is not a small problem.

This is an industry where no matter what level you are working the pressure is always full on. From the moment you work through the door every day, expectations are high, from customers, colleagues, and for the best of us even ourselves. Delivering a ‘perfect’ service to everyone is what we are all about.

I learnt early on in my role as a leader in the industry that I needed skills to be able to support the mental health of those in my care and certainly developing an empathetic approach, influencing mindset, and building cultures to support this has been the greatest unseen challenge that I have had in my career.

Let’s hope in years to come that as an industry we can find a way to continue to look after each other and change our culture so that the jobs that we all love doing so much, providing exceptional services to the public, can be one which no longer risks our mental health and that when we do need help that we’ve developed a culture where there is no stigma.

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What next after Eat Out to Help Out?

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What next after Eat Out to Help Out?

After all the uncertainty of lockdown the heartache and worry what a rush! …

There will be fewer customers spending less money but if we provide for them what they need it will be the best of us that they choose.

Congratulations to all the venues that have ridden this wave so far - there is a long way to go but this uncertain future could be really exciting.

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Are you prepared to fail?

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Are you prepared to fail?

“If we are brave enough often enough we will fail” Brene Brown

When things go wrong of course there are regrets, days when you are consumed with thoughts of how you could have done differently and if only you’d been able to see around corners (or known what information you didn’t have) you could have perhaps made different decisions that would have resulted in different outcomes. But if creating and running businesses was easy then everyone would be doing it.

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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!