A Q&A with Bespoke Hotels' Thomas Greenall

Thomas Greenall joined us after speaking on the panel "Power to the People: Solving Hospitality Workforce Challenge". 

Thomas comes from a family of hotel and leisure specialists and has worked his way up through the Bespoke Hotels since joining 10 years ago from the restaurant industry
 
How did it feel to be back at the AHC? 

I've absolutely loved it. It's been a great couple of days, it was my first time on the AHC stage, joined by some really interesting characters. I'm from a more corporate background I suppose, and then there's a gentleman called Harry Cragoe who has an independent hotel so it's been great to hear from different angles on how to look after your team. 

Where do you see the opportunities coming out of the crisis? 
I think the industry is changing - it's having to change, and we're going to have to pay our team more because they deserve it. We're going to have to look after our staff better and create new things for them so I do think it's going to change for the better. 

What do you think will be the top three trends in hospitality and travel for 2022? 
I think the staycation market is going to continue. People are going to be so worried about international travel. I've got two young children and it's hard to find hotels for young children. I think that's got to be the way forward, operators need to think about families in better ways. I think we've probably burned a few bridges with guests over this summer, they might have been used to going to any Benidorm or Tenerife or the Med and suddenly they're ending up in in Britain with with a cold, cold, climate and rain. You know, we've got to improve our service standards and make it great for people to stay in our hotels.