Ops Club - Hospitality Connect IRL (In Real Life)
Why come?
Honestly? Because you never know what's around the corner.
The best connections I've made didn't come from a topic or a talk. We just happened to be in the same room. I could probably name 100 people I've met over the last two years who've been useful to know - an intro, a bit of learning or a different way of looking at something.
That's where most of my learning comes from now. Not a panel or a slide deck, just a conversation with someone who's solved the thing you're stuck on, or who sees it from a completely different angle. A GM talking to an ops director. Someone from pubs swapping notes with someone from hotels or competitive socialising.
This isn't somewhere we're going to teach you a thing. What we will do is make sure you leave having met at least 10 new people - from other sectors, other roles, other sides of the business. What you learn from them is up to you.
Don't wait until you have to start networking - build it as part of your own development.
And if you run a team, send your GMs, area managers and marketing managers along. They need that outside view, and it's free 🔥
Not networking. Connecting.
A free hospitality gathering, in real life, for anyone working in or for hospitality.
When I started Ops Club in March 2025, it was simple. A room full of people who keep hospitality running, being honest with each other. One partner picked up the bar tab, there were no pitches, and the conversations were the whole point.
This one is going back to those roots.
Who's it for?
Anyone working in or for hospitality. Ops teams, HQ teams, owners, leaders, GMs, chefs, finance, people and marketing. Pubs, restaurants, bars, QSR, leisure and hotels. Consultants and fractionals working in the industry too. Every level, every function.
We're linking up with other hospitality communities too, so you'll meet faces from well outside your usual circle.
What happens on the night?
No panels, no performance, no faux presentations. The focus is connection - that's where all the effort is going.
Isabel Pollen is facilitating, so you won't be stood in a corner pretending to check your phone. We'll do the introductions for you.
Isabel is a RADA-trained actress turned coach who has spent more than 13 years helping leaders - including teams at Wagamama and Gordon Ramsay Academy - with confidence, communication and storytelling. She's got the energy and control to make this easy and fun, and to help us all connect.
Drinks are on our bar tab partners. Drink, don't drink, or have a few (within reason 😆). Come as you are.
Why January?
New year, fresh energy, and a bit more appetite to try something new. Get out of your four walls and invest in yourself and your future, in a room full of people you align with.
Bring someone with you
A GM, your new hire, a colleague from HQ or someone in the industry who needs it. It makes walking in easier for both of you.
Suppliers - sponsor the bar tab
Just like the very first Ops Club, the bar tab is funded by partners. There are 15 places for suppliers, tech companies and agencies. Your place funds the drinks for the room, you're there on the night, and you'll be thanked for making it happen. No stands and no pitching - you're there to connect like everyone else. Choose the Bar tab partner ticket.
The details
📅 Tuesday 26 January 2027
🕟 4:30pm - 6:30pm
📍 Central London, Zone 1 - venue announced soon
🎟️ Free for hospitality teams, consultants and fractionals - around 120 places
You don't have to work the room. You just have to walk in - we're really friendly.
See you there,
Travis 🔥