Institute of Hospitality launches Midlands and South West Regions

Two more English regions in the Midlands and South West have been relaunched by the IoH following the restructuring of their previous branch network in 2022.

After securing nominations, Craig Routledge MIH, has been appointed chair for the new IoH Midlands Region and Neil Porter FIH will coordinate the new IoH South West Region.

Confirming the appointments, Robert Richardson FIH MI said: “I am delighted to welcome Craig and Neil as our new regional chairs. They are both talented leaders and long-standing IoH members who will engage and represent our members and the IoH extremely well in the Midlands and South West.”

Craig Routledge MIH, who is currently General Manager of The Greenway Hotel & Spa in Cheltenham, has been a General Manager for eight years with the Eden Hotel Collection, at three different properties and has almost twenty years of hospitality experience working across the UK. Specialising in luxury country house properties, he has a love and passion for all facets of the hospitality industry.

As Craig explains: “I started in hospitality with a week’s work experience and was completely hooked on a hospitality career path from that point. I am passionate about developing the next generation of hoteliers, as I believe hospitality offers a truly unique path not found in many other sectors. Having no degree under my belt, I am proof that you can succeed by sheer drive, passion and continual personal growth and development.

He continued: “I’m absolutely delighted to take on the role of chair for the IoH Midlands Region, having been based in the region for over 10 years. The IoH has taken huge strides forward in the last past couple of years and I’m excited to help further shape the IoH’s presence here in the Midlands as we begin the next exciting chapter.”

Neil Porter FIH, the new chair of the IoH South West is no stranger to the role as he was previously chair for the old-format IoH West of England branch: “I’m delighted to be elected chair of the newly launched and reformatted IoH South West Region and am looking forward to engaging with a much wider audience due to the change in regional boundaries.”

Neil, who initially trained as a chef, has been an IoH member for over 35 years, taking the Institute’s previous HCIMA qualification part-time, over a five-year period. Having worked for over 24 years in local government managing education catering, he joined BAM Facilities Management in 2005, successfully leading the mobilisation of many new projects whilst ensuring the successful operational delivery of contracts in both the public and private sectors. Neil is also a board director of a local education partnership, director for LACA and a primary school governor.

The new English regional IoH, under the restructuring plans set out in 2022, aims to deliver a range of activities, supporting the IoH’s career development and lifelong learning ethos to engage with the IoH’s existing membership, whilst encouraging new members to join their industry’s professional body.

Both Craig and Neil agreed: “We look forward to supporting Robert and the IoH team in gaining Chartered Status and working collaboratively with the other regions across the UK and worldwide.”