Following on from our introduction to HQ Theatres last month, we catch up with HQ’s Hospitality Director, Mark Hollington, who talks us through the hospitality side of the business.

The many Hospitality related strands of HQ Theatres & Hospitality are a vital ingredient in its success. By focusing on Hospitality and Guest Experience we are able to define and continually improve the offer and products, harness the economies of scale that such an operation brings and ultimately provide an experience for our guests that rivals any other destination food and drink business both within the theatre industry and in the wider food and drink sector. We believe passionately that the whole visit is crucial in creating amazing experiences. Here is a whistle-stop tour of some of the key strands of our Hospitality operation.

Showstopping Food & Drink is HQT&H’s own design and brand style which runs through all Hospitality collateral and assets which our guests see and experience. This includes items such as menus and tariffs. The Food Group is a task force made up of mainly Head Chefs, led by our Head of Food Paul Lawman – this clever and exciting workshop is designed to engage Chefs and local leaders in menu creation. HQT&H’s menus change seasonally, a full menu change occurs in both spring and autumn along with Pantomime Menu’s and other festive additions where needed. Our food ethos is to use freshly prepared, seasonal ingredients.

Our most popular dish is our sustainably caught Beer Battered Cod with Triple-cooked Chips. We served almost 40,000 guests in our restaurants in 2019 and almost 20,000 of them chose our Cod & Chips! Watch out for our new ‘Signature Pie to Share’ which launches this autumn, it comes with triple-cooked chips and your very own self-serve slice!

Suppliers and Partners: We are immensely proud of our approach to selecting suppliers, partners and brands such as Bristol based Marshfield Farm, Heineken UK and Diageo. Price is of course important but we also consider their approach to sustainability, the ongoing support they offer and the training opportunities they offer our teams.

Experiential Ticketed and Other Special Events: Perhaps one of the most special and exciting aspects of the Hospitality operation is that over the years we have developed a dynamic and creative events management business which animates our function rooms, meeting rooms and other spaces and contributes significantly to our overall commercial success. We stage over 400 ticketed events across our group each year, ranging from self-produced themed Christmas and New Year Parties, club style events such as Ministry of Sound, and special date related events such as Halloween, Valentines and Summer Mardi-Gras style parties.

Sustainable Approach to Food & Drink: We are proud to champion a range of social good initiatives, when we consider procurement and product selection we proactively look for ways to reduce our environmental impact and contribute to a more sustainable experience culture such as selling Life Water in all our venues, purchasing fish accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council which is MSC 1-2 certified and using meat product which carries the Red Tractor accreditation. Our venues use disposable cups that are 100% recyclable and we removed the use of straws. We also partner Hallmark Vending for hot beverages facilities and product. Their charitable arm, The Point Foundation supports the education of children across Rwanda through multiple projects. And we are part of Born in the UK – a closed-loop recycling scheme for disposable coffee cups and glasses, resulting in zero waste and removing over one million cups each year from landfill.

Focus on People and Skills Development: 
The key to our success is undoubtedly down to our excellent team members who look after the guests. We have developed a range of benefits and opportunities which are tailored to support and grow our team such as The Four Pillars Training Programme which focuses on changing behaviours and imbedding a culture of guest engagement through adding value. All team members receive regular, bespoke training, devised and delivered by external specialists. HQT&H is also partnered with the Springboard Charity who promote careers in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry showcasing it as a vibrant, dynamic and great place to work.

FUN FACTS!

* We sell over half-a-million cups of coffees each year
* We get through over 5,000 barrels of beer ad cider each year
* Our guests munch through 72,000 portions of crisps each year
* Over 75,000 portions of chips are served up in our restaurants
* In 2019 over 150 couples tied the knot and / or had their reception in our venues
* We self-produced over 100 Christmas parties and served nearly 13,000 Christmas dinners!