Chairman

Robin has been an hotelier 40+ years. He trained with British Transport Hotels, including The Old Course in St Andrews and was a GM for the first historic house hotel, Bodysgallen Hall, then the Lygon Arms before the Royal Berkshire in Ascot for the Hilton Group. He became a regional operations director with Forte Hotels, turning the Bath Spa Hotel into a shining star. In 2000, he co-founded Bespoke Hotels which has subsequently grown into the UK’s largest independent hotel group and now boasts over 200 properties spanning the length and breadth of the country and overseas. Since founding Bespoke, Robin and the team have overseen yet more awards, winning the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award for Bermondsey Square in 2009 and he was the driving force behind the multi-award-winning five star Hotel Gotham in Manchester. He has also worked tirelessly to promote accessibility within the tourism and hospitality industries, launching the Bespoke Access Awards in April 2016, alongside RIBA and the Design Council, with the aim of turning hotel bedrooms and public areas into less-functional and hospitalised spaces, seeking to inject delight and surprise being the principle aim. The first prize-giving ceremony took place on 1st December 2016 at the House of Lords. In recognition of this, in 2017 he was named "Hotel Sector Champion of Hospitality" by the Minister for Disabled People and the Government’s Office for Disability Issues.