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Hospitality leaders call for greater collaboration to improve sector diversity

Lorraine Copes, founder and CEO of Be Inclusive Hospitality, said: “Collaboration is the key... it’s an enabler for change in a way that we’re not able to achieve alone.”

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Hospitality leaders have called for firms to back progress on diversity with clear intent, investment, collaboration and action.

The comments were made during the Be Inclusive Hospitality event held today, 28th September 2026, which examined pay, progression, fairness and inclusion across the sector.

The panel discussed findings from the Better Hospitality Report 2026 and the gap between diversity among frontline employees and representation in senior leadership.

The report revealed that more than 100,000 jobs had been lost in accommodation services since 2023.

It also showed that 60% of hospitality employers reduced headcount plans following the April National Living Wage increase, while 43% had cut entry-level recruitment.

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44% said finding employees with the right skills was their biggest recruitment barrier.

Lorraine Copes, founder and CEO of Be Inclusive Hospitality, who presented figures from the report, said stretched people teams often lacked the resources to put inclusion plans into practice.

Data also showed that 80% of hospitality employees were open to another opportunity, although 84% said they were satisfied with their current employer.

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57.3% of employees said a lack of fairness and inclusion affected decisions to leave.

A panel led by culture consultant Alya Lilani, examined pay, progression and workplace experiences, with a focus on race and ethnicity.

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This included Gemma Eley, people director at Hawksmoor; Junior Lewis, client director at Caterer.com; Karen Bosher, portfolio non-executive director (NED); and Gina Knight, head of people at Flat Iron.

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Eley said: “We should feel like we belong in our workplaces.”

She added that demographic, engagement and retention data could help employers identify where different groups have different workplace experiences.

Eley also called for hospitality employers to work together and press system providers to improve how their products collected and linked inclusion data.

Bosher discussed the problems faced by employees who challenged established ways of working.

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She said inclusion commitments need to form part of formal company policies rather than depend on voluntary action.

Bosher also discussed the possible use of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor workplace behaviour and data in real time. 

However, the panel raised concerns about transparency, employee protection and the way AI models were trained.

Panel members said businesses needed clear guardrails when adopting AI and should not allow the speed of technological change to push aside inclusion and sustainability.

They said HR roles were likely to include more responsibility for technology, which would require leaders to manage its adoption and effects on employees.

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The panel also discussed how to improve senior leadership representation without creating tokenism.

Members called for accountability where workforce data showed disparities and practical policies that were used rather than left as words on a page.

They also said firms need to invest in training and social mobility instead of relying on public statements without funding.

Additionally, the panel cautioned against recruiting from specific communities solely to fill labour shortages. 

It said employers should also consider whether workers had fair access to development and progression.

Copes said: “Collaboration is the key. It’s an enabler for change in a way that we’re not able to achieve alone.”

The event closed its remarks by stressing the importance of collaboration between employers, suppliers and sector bodies to improve data systems, training and routes into senior roles.

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