Robert Richardson FIH MI is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Hospitality (IoH), the award-winning, global, professional body of almost 15,000 hospitality professionals worldwide and a registered charity. IoH is dedicated to driving the recognition of the hospitality profession and uplifting its membership through lifelong learning, mentorship, and network-building.
A long-time member of IoH, Richardson built his career in the hospitality industry. Working his way up through the ranks from hotel floor staff to hotel General Manager, and now as CEO of IoH, he has a deep belief in making the hospitality industry open, inclusive, and accessible to all who seek to join it. In 2021, Robert led the Institute to win the Chartered Governance Institute UK&I “Diversity & Inclusion Strategy of the Year” award in recognition of these efforts.
Prior to joining IoH, Richardson served in senior management positions at major hotel chains including Hilton Worldwide, IHG and Ramada Jarvis, before applying those industry best practices to a few of England’s best independent hotels. For the last 12 years, Richardson served as General Manager across two independent, luxury properties, including a luxury boutique hotel and golf resort in the Kentish countryside, and a grade 2 listed coastal heritage property.
A true people champion, Richardson believes that for organisations to succeed and thrive, people must feel they belong regardless of background or position. To this end, he regularly speaks on his efforts in the international and U.K. conference circuit and trade press, as well as contributing frequently to radio and podcast conversations in both his home country of the U.K. and abroad.Richardson was recognised by Hotel Designs on their 2020 Brit List as “one of the top 25 hoteliers operating in Great Britain” and on Boutique Hotelier’s “2022 Power List” as an “Industry Titan”, “one of the top 50 inspirational and influential hospitality professionals operating in the world today”. In 2022 Richardson was made an “Honorary Master Innholder” by the Worshipful Company of Innholders and was recognised in the USA produced “Global Hospitality” Magazine as “one of the 100 Most powerful People in Europe’s travel and Hospitality Industry” in both 2022 and 2023.
Additional recognition includes: Southern Enterprise Awards’ Boutique Hospitality Manager for two years running, the Shaw Trust Employer of the Year Award, for his work developing hospitality employment strategies for people with disabilities, Boutique Hotelier’s “2020 Power List” as a “Young Trailblazer”, and the Institute of Hospitality Judges’ Special Achievement Award.
Richardson is also a trustee for the registered charity “Room to Reward”, a unique volunteer-recognition charity created to say ‘thank you’ to the inspirational volunteers who give up their time to make a difference to those who need it most.
Now more than ever, stakeholders in the global hospitality industry need to unite, support each other, and stand behind initiatives that promote and advocate for the industry.
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