ABOUT TRADE HOSPITALITY
TRADE Hospitality started life in January 2019 as TRADE Soho, a members’ club for people that work in the hospitality industry, located on Frith Street in Soho. Founded by Master Sommeliers and hospitality veterans Xavier Rousset and Gearoid Devaney, the club quickly became the industry’s go-to venue for lunches, meetings, events, tastings, post-shift party sessions and everything in between.
Fast-forward to March 2020 and the impact of the COVID pandemic meant the club was no longer viable in its current form. Xavier & Gearoid decided the time was right to take the TRADE community online. They spent much of the first national lockdown creating a virtual version of the club, which is how TRADE Hospitality was born.
Rachel Harty was brought on board to lead the evolution of TRADE Hospitality. She has an established background in the hospitality industry, having been on the launch team for Imbibe Magazine and Imbibe Live and more recently founded HospoDemo, a series of protests which called on the government to give the hospitality industry more support during the pandemic. Natalaigh Taylor, who has a background in hospitality marketing and events, runs the day-to-day running of the app, liaising with partners and members on a regular basis.
The TRADE Hospitality app provides an ecosystem of resources for anyone working in hospitality, with the aim of enhancing their work and social lives, and helping them to connect with other hospitality professionals. The app has a steadily growing user base of more than 2,000 members, many of whom have VIP membership, paying a small monthly charge for access to various private members’ clubs around London and other exclusive perks.
TRADE Hospitality is constantly evolving; the team are currently working on exciting plans for 2023, which will be announced in the near future. Watch this space!