“Hospitality is the art of being hospitable.”Ian MinorTired of running yourself into the ground?Then stop running alone.On February 24th, the London Coworking Assembly presents Unreasonable Connection Goes Live!—a one-day working session for the people running London’s most vital neighbourhood spaces and the public sector allies working to help them thrive. It’s a day to share the load, find real solutions, and build a new playbook, together.Hospitality has become one of those words shouted from every coworking LinkedIn post, usually next to a photo of a nice coffee machine.But Ian Minor has spent 30 years in actual hospitality—nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and health clubs across three continents. The kind with burns, late nights, and a ruthless feedback loop where if the vibe dies, the room empties.He created Working From_ for The Hoxton. He’s a partner at Brave Corporation with Caleb Parker. He’s rethought everything from what you call your front desk staff to how many times a day you should nod at a member in the corridor.This conversation strips away the Instagram aesthetic and answers the hard question: what does hospitality actually cost when you’ve got two staff and a hundred members?This episode is for operators who know “hospitality” matters but aren’t sure what they’re supposed to do about it with limited resources.Timeline Highlights[02:53] Ian’s definition: “Hospitality is the art of being hospitable.”[03:37] “You’re going for an experience within hospitality, and that’s the thing that you’re really delivering. The food and the drink, for me, are part of the product, but they’re not the main thing.”[06:03] What an experience actually is: “Trying to make something that’s personal to that customer.”[07:28] The reputation multiplier: “That starts to build a reputation that has come from the experience or the service that they’ve been given... which was more than what they were expecting”[10:20] Going above and beyond: “If you always go above and beyond what is expected, you’re always going to deliver a lot more than what they even wanted, but they’ll always remember it.”[15:19] The critical question for operators: “What level of hospitality can they comfortably give with the current operation they have, and what do they aspire to give?”[16:54] The language shift: “I changed from reception to host. I’ve always called that department the Host Team.”[21:52] The test: “The human connection that you’re driving or you’re trying to get to is what can define whether or not your hospitality or not.”[22:47] Restaurant staff costs: “Anything between, let’s say, 23 to 28% of revenue goes on staff salaries.”[24:06] Flexible workspace reality: “You could probably be down, and what I’ve seen from what I’ve done, between 9% to 11% staff cost against revenue.”[26:38] Where to start: “Understanding if they’ve got operational manuals written, if they’ve got standard operating procedures written, which are the SOPs.”[27:55] Why consistency matters: “This break in consistency is the worst thing that you can have in an operation because as a customer, you just don’t know what you’re actually getting from them.”[29:03] Mapping the member day: “What does their day look like and how many touch points... can I get a nod... or a quick one-minute chat along their day.”[31:07] The foundation: “The first point of hospitality is just making sure that the service is consistent at the very basic level.”[32:34] The final instruction: “Just think about what you can deliver and then just try and deliver that consistently at a high level and then a higher level as much as you possibly can.”The Kitchen Confidential of the WorkspaceIan Minor doesn’t come from the world of serviced offices or real estate.He comes from nightclubs. Bars. Restaurants. Health clubs. Late-night operations across three continents.In that world, the feedback loop is immediate and brutal. If the vibe is wrong, the room empties. If the ice runs out, if the security is too aggressive, if the lighting is too harsh—revenue collapses that night.There are no five-year leases to hide behind.Bernie captures it perfectly: “If you’ve ever worked in hospitality, there’s like grind, hard work, blood, sweat, and tears and a lot of burns and cuts from doing it.”When coworking spaces started shouting “hospitality!” around 2020, Ian saw a gap. The sophisticated consumer—used to the high-touch service of a Soho House or a boutique hotel—was being forced into sterile, fluorescent-lit serviced offices with receptionists who barely looked up.He realised the skills of the nightclub operator—lighting, sound, service speed, emotional connection—were exactly what the office market lacked.So he brought them over.What Hospitality Actually MeansBernie asks directly: “If someone bumped into you in Liverpool Street Station and said, ...
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40 mins
Feb 12 202634 mins