Business leaders of Liverpool's best bars, restaurants and hotels will meet on board a boat on the River Mersey in a bid to spread the word about the city's nightlife, food, drink and cultural offerings.
The Liverpool Hospitality Association's (LHA) summer social trip will take place on September 12, in what will be the latest meeting to discuss issues affecting the sector as a whole, and ways the business rivals can work with one another for the "greater good".
Tom Cobden, the association’s chair of sales and revenue, said Liverpool's approach was "unique", adding: “I’ve worked in Birmingham, Preston, Manchester and Leeds and I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s great just how well we all work together – there’s a sprinkle of magic in Liverpool.”
It will consist of a two-hour cruise on board a Mersey Ferry.
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Bars and restaurants were invited to join once the former Hoteliers Association was revamped to become the Liverpool Hospitality Association two years ago.
The LHA has around 60 members but Tom and the executive committee hope that by widening the group out to all aspects of the nighttime economy, it will grow and grow.
Key business leaders have been invited to the summer social to better their understanding of what the association does.
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Tom added: “We are hoping for 200 people at the summer social. It is for members, prospective members and their clients. It is the ideal chance for people to relax in an informal setting and for us to showcase the work that we do.
“Because the hotel sector has always been pretty strong within the organization, we are looking to grow our work with the city’s bars and restaurants and bring more of the key people on board from those vital areas too.”
Marketing Liverpool is on the LHA executive committee offering all members insight about what events and opportunities are coming up.
The LHA said the competition between venues is healthy and respected within the group, but as Marcus Magee, the chairman of the LHA explained, there is a "bigger agenda".
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He added: “The Liverpool Hospitality Association is all about collaboration with our members. We share best practice and in turn this continuously develops the knowledge of our members on our great city.
“Our network has continued to grow every year and this has been driven not only by the way we work with our members but how we engage with key business stakeholders within Liverpool and the wider region.”
Sarah Kelly, the group sales manager at Savvy Hotels added: “There is a unique friendliness in this city and that shines through in the hospitality sector. This will be a really fun event and it has been great to see the LHA grow over the past 18 months.”
Tickets for the summer social which takes place between 4.30pm-6.30pm on September 12, will start from £50 for two people and anyone interested in going can contact Sarah at Sarah@Savvyhotels.com.