Nov 17, 2021
Buzzwords like “craft,” “ethical,” and “sustainable” seem to be
everywhere in hospitality. But do those terms actually mean
anything, and if so, how do they relate to the most important
resource of all: people?
Burum Collective founder and writer Helen Anne Smith explores this
strange and sometimes intentionally dissonant question in their
first piece for Good Beer Hunting, titled “Last Call — The Human
Sustainability Crisis at the Heart of the Hospitality Industry,”
which was published on September 29, 2021. In it, they explain how
resource sustainability, while crucial, often disregards the human
element, and what consumers and employees alike need to do about
it. In this podcast conversation, Helen reveals how they’re
channeling emotions like cynicism and anger to push for a better
industry for everyone, how to harness a sense of powerlessness and
turn it into action, the importance of intersectionality when
making necessary demands, and how we all need to collectively work
together to ensure the safety and survival of the most vulnerable
among us.
This isn’t a conversation for you to listen to, lament, and set
aside. I encourage you to sit with the discussion and think about
what you can do to make the hospitality industry a better, most
just, more liveable, and more equitable place.