Last night’s Back to The Floor 4 raises £130,000 for Hospitality Action. This bi annual event brings together industry leaders, colleagues and associates to a fun filled night of service delights.  80 hospitality industry Chief Executives, Directors and Managers go Back to The Floor to serve their hospitality peers in a glittering banquet setting.

I had the pleasure of Joanne Taylor-Stagg, General Manager of the Athenaeum Hotel and Residences as being my waitress for the evening. My sommelier was Ben Dalton, Front of House Manager at The Ritz.  The funniest thing was that at the end of the night Ben revealed that he was not actually meant to be serving our table, but did so anyway, which is why our table was spoilt with two very attentive sommeliers!

The food was piped in and there were gospel singers and stilt walkers all laid on to entertain us.

Throughout the night there was a whole array of fund raising activities taking place. Tips were given for the Waiters and for the Sommeliers who were in fierce competition with each other to deliver the best service. There was a silent auction, a live auction and raffle prizes all up for grabs.

Lot 6 from the live auction was a Wine and Dine Experience for eight guests in the Raymond Blanc Cookery School at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons that went for an amazing £10,000. As always Peter Hancock did a fantastic job as our compere for the evening. I was delighted to be able to contribute a set of my Star Quality books and our Starlight Teddy as one of the raffle prizes. It was great to see Mitch Collier in attendance who features in my Star Quality Talent book as he shares his story of how Hospitality Action helped him when he was diagnosed with cancer:

How did Back to The Floor events start?

Back to The Floor was born from an idea when Philip Newman Hall and Danny Pecorelli were discussing with a group of hoteliers how service needed more recognition… Each time this event has been run it has got bigger and raised vital funds for Hospitality Action.

The first event was held at Penny Hill Park in 2013 with 170 guests, which raised £25,000

It was then held at The Langham in 2015 with 270 guests and raised £53,000

At Grosvenor House in 2017 with 340 guests, it raised £91,000

and then last night at The Dorchester with 420 guests we raised a record breaking £130,000

Venues have already been secured for the next two events:

2021 will take place at the Royal Lancaster

2023 will take place at Westminster Park Plaza

To find out more about the work that Hospitality Action does watch this video featuring their Chief Executive Mark Lewis: