NATIONAL Hospitality Day is Saturday, September 18, but what is it and why does it matter?

The day is a nationwide celebration of our brilliant restaurants, hotels, pubs and bars.

It champions the workers, owners and suppliers who help them.

Today, a special celebration is being held to help all businesses who have been hit by the impacts of Covid-19.

How it works

Lockdown showed the country how important hospitality is to our day-to-day lives.

Where, pre-pandemic, we may have taken the sector for granted, their absence made many realise just how much they meant to them.

Now that restaurants, hotels and pubs are back, the plan is to celebrate with a national event.

Why it matters

We play out our biggest life events in hospitality businesses, from first dates to wedding celebrations, and from baby showers to toasting the departed.

They’re where the moments that make life worth living take place: the morning chat with your friendly barista, the pint after work with pals, a soak in a warm pool, Sunday roast with the family, a comfortable bed after a long journey.

The pandemic hit the hospitality industry and the suppliers that support it like a hammer blow.

Restaurants, pubs, bars, hotels and venues have all grappled with an existential threat, this past year, as have the farmers, brewers, manufacturers and distributors that supply them.

Businesses, livelihoods and lives have been lost. Despite this, operators and their suppliers have demonstrated huge resilience, and a boundless generosity of spirit.

They’ve worked tirelessly to fuel the workers in the frontline of the fight against Covid.

What can you do to help?

National Hospitality Day is a chance for the nation to say “welcome back – we’ve missed you” by voting with its feet.

It’ll be a celebration of all that’s great about UK hospitality; a collective shout-out for the places we’ve all missed; and a financial shot in the arm for a sector that’s been hit hardest by Covid.

Restaurants, hotels and pubs up and down the country will be holding huge celebrations today.

Each event will include a charitable element to the day, allowing guests to help hospitality industry charities while enjoying themselves.

They are:

  • The Drinks Trust
  • Hospitality Action
  • LTC
  • Springboard

The best way to help is by attending one of the events near you today, or by donating directly to National Hospitality Day’s chosen charities.