The Hospitality Professionals Association has seen a 15% jump in its membership since its recent structural overhaul – with more and more hospitality specialist leaders recognising the value in career-long networking and the learning opportunities offered by HOSPA.
The restructure saw HOSPA break its membership down into four distinct tiers – Member, Fellow, Associate and student.
Seeking to make its offering more accessible, the revamp has caused a clear spike in membership numbers, which is primarily made up of senior figures within the hospitality industry.
Commenting on the increase, which has occurred since October 2021, Jane Pendlebury, CEO of HOSPA, (pictured), said, “It’s fantastic to see that our reworked structure has caused such an uptake in membership – and it’s evidence that it’s a change that’s appealed. Ultimately, we want more people to be able to access and benefit from our services and, so far, it seems to have done just that.”
The interests of those who have recently joined the organisation are split across the association’s main communities of finance, revenue management and technology, while a quarter have an interest in asset management and general management. Other joiners are either in commercial or academic roles.
Pendlebur commented: “Those who have joined recently have come from really diverse backgrounds within the sector, covering an array of specialisms and abilities – so it’s great to see that it hasn’t encouraged an increase in one particular area, but across all.
'The main thing that sets HOSPA apart from other hospitality associations is the seniority of its membership – with the bulk of them being high level operators within the sector, and that’s something we want to continue. This is something that’s tallied up with what we’ve seen within our new members.”
The four tiers of HOSPA membership consists of Members, who are operators entitled to complimentary membership, Fellows, who are the most senior influencers in the hospitality industry, Associates, who are suppliers and consultants, and students, who are those starting out on the first steps of a career in the industry.
The revised structure caters to all aspects of the hospitality industry and whether a supplier or an operator, in a senior role or an up and coming, aspiring leader of the future; an array of new features looks to improve the experience of active contributors to HOSPA, while the wider benefits of HOSPA’s services include:
• Exclusive invitations to private events and forums.
• Access to unrivalled educational material to support careers, including best practice guides, industry reports and analysis.
• Access to webinars and masterclasses, and regular news updates covering the major industry topics.
Jane Pendlebury concluded, “With the industry seemingly going from crisis to crisis in recent months, many of us are seeking help and support from peers to properly understand the lay of the land.
' At HOSPA, that’s essentially what we’re about – creating a network of professionals who can help and guide one another, with an authoritative voice at its heart helping to guide best practice and approach. It seems that more people than ever are turning to us for our support, which is great to see and very rewarding for us.”
Recognised as one of the UK’s foremost authoritative voices in the hospitality
industry, HOSPA’s influences reaches thousands of individuals from various
strands of hospitality. The new membership structure aims to increase its current membership base, while simultaneously improving the experience of its existing members.