Last night at Grosvenor House it was Back to the Floor with Hospitality Action. For the third time esteemed Hoteliers and the great and the good from the hospitality industry put on their aprons and served 370 of their hospitality colleagues. This time the event was held in The Great Ballroom. An iconic venue for an evening that was filled with fun, celebrations and of course the main reason why everyone was there to raise funds for Hospitality Action.

The evening started with a Champagne reception and I was served by the wonderful Harry Murray MBE FIH MI, Chairman, Lucknam Park.

Then we were called to dinner by our compere for the evening Peter Hancock FIH MI, Chief Executive, Pride of Britain Hotels whose wit and repartee kept us entertained throughout the night.

There were over 50 ‘waiters’ and ‘sommeliers’ who served our tables including:

Peter Ducker FIH, Chief Executive, Institute of Hospitality who was our wine waiter, and Michele Mella FIH MI, General Manager, Barnsley House who was our table waiter. Being a little ‘short staffed’, a few of the students from the Edge Hotel School also helped out on the night together with their Principal Andrew Boer.

Throughout the evening we were entertained with dishes being piped in, dancing girls and a group of wandering A cappella singers. To help raise money for Hospitality Action there was a prize draw, a silent auction as well as a live auction and of course the waiter and sommelier ‘tips’ all went to the charity. At the end of the night together we raised an amazing £92,000 for an extremely worthy cause.

Hospitality Action celebrates its 180th anniversary since being established back in 1837. It is the Hospitality Industry Benevolent Organisation which offers vital assistance to all who work in, or have worked in the hospitality industry in the UK and who find themselves in crisis. Star Quality Hospitality is proud to be a a Corporate Member.

Back to the Floor was the brainchild of Philip Newman-Hall FIH MI, Hotel Advisor and Consultant and Danny Pecorelli FIH, Managing Director of Exclusive Hotels and Venues with the first ever Back to the Floor event being held at Pennyhill Park in 2013. Then 2 years later in 2015 a bigger event was held at The Langham and this year as it grows ever larger it was held at The Grosvenor House. Hot off the press the next Back to the Floor event will be held in 2019 at The Dorchester.