What do a kitchen porter, a Swedish adventure, a hotel fire, a freezing swimming pool, and the CEO of one of Britain's most iconic hotel groups have in common?

This week's guest is John Badley, CEO of Andrew Brownsword Hotels.

Today, John oversees a collection of some of the UK's most beautiful and historic hotels.

But his story starts somewhere much humbler.

A teenage job sweeping a car park for £10, a desperate desire to escape the cold, and a sister who eventually gave in and let him become a kitchen porter.

The rest, as they say, is history.

In this episode we chat about:

🧽 How a car park sweeping job became a lifelong hospitality career

🍽️ Starting as a KP and working his way through the kitchen ranks

⭐ The pursuit of rosettes and the lessons learned in fine dining

🇸🇪 Why a move to Sweden changed his perspective forever

👨‍🍳 The unusual role that saw him wearing chef whites and a three-piece suit at the same time

📈 The leadership lesson that came from being rejected for promotion

🔥 Managing one of hospitality's most devastating crises when a hotel was destroyed by fire

🏊 The infamous swimming pool experiment that taught a painful lesson about guest perception

🧭 Why every leader needs a North Star

🤝 The impact of mentors, including hospitality legend David Guile

💡 Why curiosity remains one of the most underrated leadership skills

🚀 How Andrew Brownsword Hotels is building for the future whilst protecting its remarkable heritage

Along the way we explore leadership, resilience, commerciality, culture, curiosity, and the extraordinary opportunities hospitality can provide for those willing to keep learning.

One of my favourite moments came when John shared the lesson that transformed his career.

After being repeatedly overlooked for promotion, he was finally told the reason:

It was a difficult conversation at the time, but it taught him one of the most important leadership lessons of all:

Your success is measured not by what you can do, but by what your team can do without you.

Another standout moment came when discussing leadership and performance.

A simple phrase, but one that underpins John's entire approach to leadership, culture and long-term success.

There was also a wonderful reminder of the mindset that has carried him from kitchen porter to CEO:

And perhaps the most powerful takeaway from the entire conversation:

Not recklessly.

Not repeatedly.

But don't become so afraid of failure that you stop trying new things altogether.

There are also stories involving Swedish adventures, luxury hotels, thousands of firefighters, frozen swimming pools, and enough leadership wisdom to fill a management textbook.

Funny, thoughtful, honest and packed with practical lessons.

A brilliant conversation with one of hospitality's most grounded leaders.

Enjoy.

Show Partner

A big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.

It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.

To find out more, head to RotaCloud

What do dough balls, coffee, Covid crisis meetings, global expansion, and one very determined mum have in common?

This week's guest is Caroline Ottoy, Managing Director of WatchHouse.

Today, WatchHouse is one of the most exciting hospitality brands on the planet, with 29 locations across the UK, USA and Dubai, and ambitious plans to reach 100 sites globally over the next few years.

But Caroline's journey started in a very different place.

A teenager destined for a science degree, a year spent slightly losing her way, and a mum who effectively packed her bags and sent her to hospitality university whether she liked it or not.

Thankfully, she did.

In this episode we chat about:

• How an agricultural college accidentally launched a hospitality career
• Spending a year working in France and becoming fluent in French
• The early days of ASK and opening restaurants across the UK
• Living above the restaurant and learning hospitality the hard way
• The legendary Dough Ball Incident
• Growing brands from start up to national success
• The move from restaurants into Planet Organic
• Leading through Covid and creating daily "Cobra Meetings" to keep teams aligned
• Learning to step up when uncertainty is everywhere
• Overcoming imposter syndrome and finding confidence on stage
• The mentors, cheerleaders and leaders who changed her life
• Why EOS has become one of the most powerful tools behind WatchHouse's growth
• The ambitious journey to 100 WatchHouse locations worldwide

Some of my Favourite Quotables

"Visions are irrelevant without great people"

"Everything is about people. Everything"

"I was a really good waitress. I'm telling you now, I could handle a big section"

"We didn't really know what we were doing. We were just finding out as we went along"

Along the way we explore leadership, resilience, culture, friendship, hospitality careers, and the extraordinary impact great people can have on the direction of our lives.

One of my favourite moments came when Caroline reflected on receiving a message from a former team member years later, thanking her for the role she'd played in shaping his career and life.

It's a beautiful reminder that in hospitality, we often have a far bigger impact on people than we ever realise.

Funny, thoughtful, inspiring and packed with lessons for anyone building teams, leading people, or simply trying to figure things out as they go.

And yes...

There is a story involving enough dough balls to fill half of Bristol.

Enjoy.

Show Partner

A big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.

It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.

To find out more, head to RotaCloud

What do holiday parks, imposter syndrome, accidental career sabotage, and one of the UK's most respected hospitality leaders have in common?

This week's guest is Barrie Robinson, National Operations Director at Parkdean Resorts and Chair of the newly launched North Star Competitive Career Accelerator.

Barrie's journey into hospitality wasn't exactly traditional.

After lasting just six weeks at university ("reading newspapers and pretending to be a tree" wasn't quite the career path he'd envisioned), he started work as a glass collector in his local pub.

Fast forward a few decades and he's now responsible for operations across the UK's largest holiday park operator.

But the route between those two points is where things get interesting.

In this episode we chat about:

• Why hospitality might be the UK's best-kept career secret
• What makes holiday parks one of the most overlooked sectors in hospitality
• Turning a village pub from £500 a week into £6,000 a week
• The power of creating experiences rather than simply serving customers
• Living with imposter syndrome, even at senior leadership level
• The boss who became known as "Eff Off, Don't Answer"
• The unfortunate incident involving a new boss, several pints, and a train journey home
• Why great leaders allow people to fail safely
• How winning the ALMR Operations Manager of the Year award transformed Barrie's confidence forever
• The return of the North Star Competitive Career Accelerator and why it's set to develop the next generation of hospitality leaders

Along the way we explore leadership, community, career development, truth-telling, resilience, and why some of the most valuable lessons in hospitality come from the moments you'd rather forget.

Some Cracking Quotables

"Hospitality is one of the UK's best-kept career secrets."

"People don't come to work to do a bad job."

"If you trust the truth, it is always the right thing to do."

Barrie is thoughtful, honest, funny, and deeply passionate about helping people realise their potential.

And if nothing else, this episode contains one of the greatest leadership stories ever told involving an Audi A6.

Enjoy.

Show Partner

A big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.

It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.

To find out more, head to RotaCloud