Work With Cassie
Operator Insight for Organisations That Want to Understand Independent Hospitality
Helping organisations avoid expensive misunderstandings of independent hospitality.
Independent hospitality is not difficult to reach.
It is difficult to reach well.
Small and medium-sized businesses make up 99.6% of the UK hospitality sector, yet too much of the conversation about hospitality is still shaped by the corporate end of the market.
That matters because independent hospitality is not simply a smaller version of corporate hospitality.
It works differently.
Independent operators are founders, owners, employers, hosts and leaders. They build businesses around identity, personality, relationships and purpose. Every commercial decision is personal because every decision affects the business they have built.
Understanding that difference changes everything.
Whether you are designing products, launching campaigns, funding support, planning partnerships or shaping strategy, success depends on seeing the sector through the eyes of the people you are trying to serve.
That is where Cassie works.
Operator Insight Advisor
Cassie helps organisations understand how independent hospitality operators think, decide and behave.
She is brought in to interpret the independent operator mindset, helping organisations see their products, services, campaigns and decisions through the eyes of the businesses they are trying to reach.
With more than 30 years in hospitality, 25 years as an independent owner-operator, an MBA, award-winning businesses and the author of Stand Out Hospitality, Cassie brings something few people can.
She understands both sides of the conversation.
She understands what organisations are trying to achieve.
She also understands what operators are actually hearing.
That difference matters.
Because the gap between intention and interpretation is where trust is either built or lost.
The value is having an experienced, commercially literate operator voice close enough to challenge assumptions before they become expensive mistakes.
Organisations access that insight in different ways, depending on what they are trying to achieve.
How Organisations Work With Cassie
Most organisations begin with one piece of work before deciding how they would like to work together longer term.
Hospitality Speaker
From £2,500 + VAT
Cassie speaks at conferences, trade shows, leadership events, supplier events, business association events, roundtables and sector gatherings.
Her keynote is rooted in the themes of Stand Out Hospitality and in the lived reality of independent hospitality ownership. It explores why independent hospitality still matters, what operators are really carrying, why belonging is a commercial advantage, and how standards, story and identity shape businesses people come back to.
Above all, it reminds independent operators that they are not alone. Audiences leave feeling seen, understood and reconnected to the reasons they fell in love with hospitality in the first place.
For organisations, the keynote offers something equally valuable: a deeper understanding of the realities operators face every day, helping leaders, suppliers and partners build stronger relationships with the businesses they serve.
This is not a generic motivational talk. It is a clear, powerful and human keynote built around the realities of independent hospitality and the people who choose to build it.
Strategic Partnerships and Sponsorship
By agreement
For organisations that want to have a meaningful, visible and well-aligned impact on the independent hospitality sector, Cassie offers selected partnership and sponsorship opportunities through Kith & Kin.
This may include Kith & Kin Live sponsorship, funded Step Back workshops, operator insight projects, content and thought leadership partnerships, regional support packages or bespoke collaborations around independent hospitality.
These partnerships are not designed as sales platforms. They are shaped carefully to protect operator trust and ensure the work creates real value for the sector.
Step Back Workshops for Independent Hospitality Operators
From £7,500 + VAT
Step Back is a pre-designed, funded reset workshop for independent hospitality owner-operators.
It is designed for local authorities, funders, place-based organisations, business associations and hospitality suppliers who want to support independent operators in a way that feels relevant, credible and genuinely useful.
The workshop gives operators structured time away from the pressure of the business to think clearly about what is working, what is slipping and what needs to change. It is built around the themes of Stand Out Hospitality and the real pressures independent operators are carrying.
Operators leave with one priority issue, one non-negotiable standard, one practical 30-day action, a clearer sense of direction and more confidence in what matters next.
Step Back works because it respects the experience already in the room. It is not about telling operators what they should know. It is about giving them the space, structure and challenge to see what they already know more clearly, and turn that into practical action.
Operator Insight Diagnostic
Strategic day From £10,000 + VAT
A focused strategic review of your products, messaging, partnerships or plans through the lens of an experienced independent operator.
Ideal before launching:
products
campaigns
sponsorships
support programmes
operator engagement initiatives
commercial strategies
The purpose is simple:
To understand how operators are likely to experience your organisation before significant investment is made.
It is like having an experienced independent operator review your thinking before your customers do.
Operator Insight Retainers
By agreement
For organisations making regular decisions about independent hospitality.
Rather than buying consultancy projects, many organisations choose ongoing access to independent operator insight.
Typical support includes:
leadership challenge
strategy reviews
campaign feedback
product positioning
event planning
sponsorship advice
interpreting operator feedback
identifying friction before it becomes expensive
This is not about writing your strategy. It is about making better strategic decisions by understanding how independent operators are likely to think, respond and engage.
It is having an experienced operator voice in the room whenever important decisions are being made.
For operators and leadership teams
Hospitality Team Workshops
From £2,500 + VAT per day
Cassie also works directly with selected independent hospitality businesses and their teams.
These workshops are for operators who want to reconnect their team with what makes the business matter.
They are practical, human and built around the same themes that sit at the heart of Stand Out Hospitality: standards, service, belonging, leadership, customer experience, identity and story.
They are particularly useful for teams that need to reset, refocus or understand the role they play in creating the experience customers come back for.
These are not corporate training days. They are designed for real hospitality teams doing real hospitality work.
NED, Advisory and Strategic Support
By agreement
Cassie is available for selected non-executive, advisory and strategic support roles where there is strong alignment with independent hospitality, operator insight, place, leadership, community or sector development.
This may suit organisations that want an experienced operator voice in the room when making decisions about hospitality, SME engagement, regional support, supplier strategy, events, partnerships or sector positioning.
Why Organisations Work With Cassie
Because independent hospitality is not a market you can truly understand from the outside.
You need someone who understands the commercial pressure, the emotional weight, why operators keep going, and what it feels like to build a business that people love while carrying the risk, responsibility and reality of running it.
Cassie has lived that reality.
She also knows how to translate it for people with commercial objectives, funding responsibilities, products to shape and decisions to make.
For suppliers, that means stronger relevance, better trust and a clearer understanding of what operators will actually respond to.
For funders and place-based organisations, it means support that reflects the real role independent hospitality plays in places, communities and local economies.
Helping organisations understand independent hospitality better, and helping independent hospitality feel better understood.
What People Say
“Step Back was valuable because it gave us space to share experiences and remember what we do this for. It helped me refocus on identity, particularly pride, and the role belonging plays for customers. Cassie’s approach was engaging, focused and rooted in the real experience of hospitality. I’d say it is worth attending for any operator who wants to check their perspective on the industry.”
“Cassie’s expertise in this sector is unparalleled. I wholeheartedly recommend anyone in hospitality to connect with her at your earliest opportunity. Discover first-hand how she can propel your business forward.
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“Step Back gave us time to reflect, set aims and objectives, and pin down the issues that need attention. Cassie completely understood where we were all coming from because of her own lived experience. Her approach was clear, easy to follow and grounded in real hospitality. We left with a 30-day plan and a clearer understanding of what needs improving.”
“Step Back gave us space for open discussion about the issues facing similar businesses and helped me focus on the single issue I need to address. Cassie’s approach was informative, casual and inclusive. The biggest thing I took away was the importance of re-igniting the belonging part of hospitality.”
“Your session sharpened my thinking ahead of a meeting with a founder-led business that is starting to expand. It reminded me to begin with the bigger questions first, then build the people foundations around that. That is such a more valuable conversation than simply starting with contracts and policies.”
“Cassie recognised that the sector needed something the pandemic had taken away: human connection. She set up Kith & Kin to allow hospitality people to reconnect to one another and, equally importantly, to themselves. That is Cassie’s strength: to recognise a challenge and rise to meet it.”
Start a Conversation
If you are serious about understanding independent hospitality operators more deeply, Cassie can help.
Whether you are planning a conference, designing support, launching a product, funding a programme, building a partnership or trying to improve operator engagement, the first step is a conversation.
