#258 - Hospitality Meets Barrie Robinson - The Glass Collector Who Got Lucky

What do holiday parks, imposter syndrome, accidental career sabotage, and one of the UK's most respected hospitality leaders have in common?

This week's guest is Barrie Robinson, National Operations Director at Parkdean Resorts and Chair of the newly launched North Star Competitive Career Accelerator.

Barrie's journey into hospitality wasn't exactly traditional.

After lasting just six weeks at university ("reading newspapers and pretending to be a tree" wasn't quite the career path he'd envisioned), he started work as a glass collector in his local pub.

Fast forward a few decades and he's now responsible for operations across the UK's largest holiday park operator.

But the route between those two points is where things get interesting.

In this episode we chat about:

• Why hospitality might be the UK's best-kept career secret
• What makes holiday parks one of the most overlooked sectors in hospitality
• Turning a village pub from £500 a week into £6,000 a week
• The power of creating experiences rather than simply serving customers
• Living with imposter syndrome, even at senior leadership level
• The boss who became known as "Eff Off, Don't Answer"
• The unfortunate incident involving a new boss, several pints, and a train journey home
• Why great leaders allow people to fail safely
• How winning the ALMR Operations Manager of the Year award transformed Barrie's confidence forever
• The return of the North Star Competitive Career Accelerator and why it's set to develop the next generation of hospitality leaders

Along the way we explore leadership, community, career development, truth-telling, resilience, and why some of the most valuable lessons in hospitality come from the moments you'd rather forget.

Some Cracking Quotables

"Hospitality is one of the UK's best-kept career secrets."

"People don't come to work to do a bad job."

"If you trust the truth, it is always the right thing to do."

Barrie is thoughtful, honest, funny, and deeply passionate about helping people realise their potential.

And if nothing else, this episode contains one of the greatest leadership stories ever told involving an Audi A6.

Enjoy.

Show Partner

A big shout out to today’s show partner, RotaCloud — the people management platform built specifically for shift-based teams.

RotaCloud lets managers create and share rotas, record attendance, and manage annual leave in minutes — all from one simple, web-based app.

It also makes life easier for teams, allowing staff to check rotas, request holiday, and pick up extra shifts directly from their phones.

To find out more, head to RotaCloud

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