Kate Nicholls and Robin Hutson made honorary Master Innholders

The Master Innholders has announced nine new members, including two honorary members, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls and chair of the Pig group of hotels Robin Hutson, to recognise their support to the industry over the last year.

The organisation, which champions the development and education of the next generation of hotel professionals, has awarded the following hoteliers with Master Innholder status:

• Sam Goss, general manager, Castle Hotel Windsor – Mgallery
• Sal Gowili, general manager, the Ritz London
• Francisco Macedo, general manager, Cliveden House, Berkshire
• Simon Mahon, general manager, the Grand, York
• Andrew Mackay, owner, the Caithness Collection
• Conor O’Leary, managing director, Gleneagles, Perthshire
• Marco Truffelli, partner and managing director, Rufflets St Andrews

Applicants of the membership take part in a rigorous application process, including a 1,500-word essay on their values and evidence of their involvement in the industry. This year, due to the challenges posed by Covid-19, a virtual interview process took place with current members of the organisation.

David Morgan-Hewitt, chairman of the Master Innholders and managing director of the Goring hotel in London’s Belgravia, said: “If the last 14 months have taught us anything, it’s the need to join forces as an industry and collaboratively tackle the challenges and opportunities that we face today.

“I am immensely proud to welcome this dedicated group of leaders to our organisation, each of whom has been selected for their continuous passion and drive to give back to our industry, while engaging and inspiring the next generation of talent.

“I am particularly pleased that Robin and Kate have accepted our invitation to become honorary Master Innholders. They have both been such loud and clear voices lobbying for our incredible but battered industry. Robin is, quite simply, one of the outstanding hoteliers of his generation and is a role model to so many of us. Kate has been a true force to be reckoned with by ministers across government, not least when interviewing them for our incredibly successful webinar series – Hoteliers: Battered But Not Beaten.”