BII will become 'more relevant and respected' says Pender

By Naomi Larsson

15-Jan-2015 - Last updated on 15-Jan-2015 at 11:55 GMT

Related tags: Bii members, Board of directors, Bii

Anthony Pender: 'The BII is still respected, but I don’t think people feel it’s relevant to them at the moment'

The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) will become more “relevant” and “respected”, the organisation’s new chairman Anthony Pender has promised.

In an interview with the BIIBusiness magazine, Pender said the BII had “lost its way”, but believes the industry still wants and needs an organisation that represents and supports its members. He said: “The BII is still respected, but I don’t think people feel it’s relevant to them at the moment.”

The BII offers support services designed to help members meet the challenges of running their businesses. This includes 24-hour legal helplines, one-to-one mentoring, HR support and discounts on a range of products and services.

Pender, who took on the new role in November, has promised to focus on supporting the needs of BII members as well as raising standards and promoting careers in the sector.

Young members

He said: “It’s really important that we bring young members on board and give them the tools to progress their careers. It’s a message we need to bring to the regions and out to young people.”

He also advised non-members of the BII to look again at the organisation, adding: “Don’t just join the BII, but take a look at what we are doing, then consider what membership can bring you.”

Pender is founder and managing director at the five-strong Yummy Pub Company and is vice chairman of the Perceptions Group.

5 comments

BII becoming relevant

Posted by Nigel Wakefield CBII, 17 January 2015 - 17:32 GMT

An inspiring comment by the New Chairman, sadly too late, they have lost too many genuine members and credibility by failing to help members with serious advice and help when they needed it.
You cannot have an organisation with no understanding of what is actually happening to their core business, originally genuine members. The senior staff were parachuted in to run the BII, totally failed to listen or heed the warnings of the guys who dealt with licensees, in stead they sacked all the people that looked after members.
The management believed the BII was a gravy train, many paid off for their inefficiency with generous golden handshakes of members hard earned funds.
A number of us have for many years tried to help people in trouble, which the BII claimed was not in their brief.
We are still doing it on a much broader base with supportive companies and information, in our opinion what the BII should have been doing, not going for mass membership from Pub Co's with people getting little or no information and help.
It is very sad because we all believed, the BII was the way forward, but many incompetents with no knowledge of the industry took control and we have what we have, a toothless tiger with no direction or understanding of industry problems. Some of us are passionate about uniting the industry and making it a career for life as it used to be.
If we can help anyone with advice or problems please email us at info@usenumberone.com

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Cut all pubco Ties

Posted by Fred Bloggs, 16 January 2015 - 09:47 GMT

The Bii has been in pubco pockets for far too long - cut all ties and perhaps you can start to win some trust back.

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Hiding behind training

Posted by Star Lessee, 16 January 2015 - 09:45 GMT

I am new to the industry but cancelled principally as they appeared to provide no guidance or leadership on the new Pubco law. Seemed to me that they just want to push services they make money on.

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