The Hospitality Guild gains £300,000 in sponsorship deals for Hospitality House
The Hospitality Guild has agreed sponsorship and industry funding worth nearly £300,000 towards the development and fit out of a state of the art industry training and meeting centre, Hospitality House.
The sponsorship agreements follow last week’s announcement that the Guild and the National Skills Academy for Retail have been successful in securing £500,000 investment from the Skills Funding Agency for the development of the building.
Suzy Jackson, executive director for the Hospitality Guild, said that Hospitality House will act as an iconic symbol of the industry’s belief and support of its people.
"Hospitality House will be a state of the art training and meeting hub, providing a practical facility
and a sign of unity for the hospitality industry", she said. "The fact that a number of suppliers have committed
products and services to help develop and fit out Hospitality House shows the broad appeal of the
initiative".
The new sponsorship deals will see refrigeration company, Gram Commercial, provide more than
£40,000 worth of fridges, plus installation and training, for Hospitality House, with Electrolux adding
to its existing contribution of kitchen equipment.
This is in addition to sponsorship already agreed
with Hilton Worldwide, Compass Group UK and Ireland, Conti Espresso UK, Claremont Group
Interiors and Heineken.
Paul Anderson, commercial director at Gram Commercial, said that his organisation was keen to
show its support for Hospitality House. "After learning about the concept of Hospitality House", he said, "I was really keen to get involved. Providing a state of the art facility like this to use to train hospitality staff in the future is a great idea and we're
thrilled to be able to contribute to its development".
Electrolux's head of sales – food service, Nigel Westall, said that he saw taking part in the
development of Hospitality House as the ideal chance to give something back and play a role in
giving people the skills they need to work in the industry.
"Electrolux takes its corporate responsibility seriously and Hospitality House enables us to maximise
our brand reach and gain introductions to other businesses and organisations that collectively can
help make a difference, particularly to youth unemployment through innovative skills training".
Suzy Jackson said that the growing investment in Hospitality House illustrates the wide belief within the
industry that the venue will provide an excellent return on investment. "The government’s commitment to provide £500,000 towards Hospitality House demonstrates what
a great initiative this is and we’re continuing to work with other organisations to secure additional
sponsorship", she said.
"We've also gained fantastic support from a range of other sponsors, including Claremont Group
Interiors for the creation of the 3D fly-through and the fit out, Conti Espresso UK for the café area,
and Heineken for the training bar. Compass Group UK and Ireland and Hilton Worldwide have invested in the project as founding
members of the Hospitality Guild, while People 1st is offering significant resource. We've also had
some great support from our partner organisations, which has really helped.
"It's exciting to see it all come together and while we've agreed 80% of the cash or in-kind
requirements, we're still working with industry suppliers on sponsorship opportunities. We've still
got a little way to go".
The refurbishment of Hospitality House is due to take place in the coming months and the new
venue will open to employers for use by summer 2013.
To visit The Hospitality Guild website, click here.
The UK Sponsorship Database
