The conference will put frontline hospitality workers centre stage.
This March, a new kind of industry event is arriving in the City that is a first-of-its-kind nationally, bringing representation and radical care to the heart of the industry.
The FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference is a three-day, peer-led gathering built to uplift, connect and empower the people who keep hospitality alive: the floor staff, bar teams, kitchen crews, hosts, delivery runners and more.
Each day is dedicated to a specific peer group – Women, Pride, Men – to ensure every conversation is led by those it directly relates to. From top to bottom – hosts, panelists and attendees – the emphasis is on shared experience, lived understanding and cultural progress from the inside out.
Our reason for doing this is to provide an outside support network for owners and venues to help alleviate wider demands felt by their employees, alongside inspiring and empowering those members of staff to gain knowledge and valuable insight to boost passion, care and a sense of belonging for their sector.
“It’s not about titles – it’s about the people,” say organisers Ben & Ricky (pictured above) co-founders of FAVES. “We’ve felt the quiet questions that get buried, the pressure that goes unspoken and the ambition that doesn’t know where to land. This conference is for all of that.”
Each day features:
* Several honest, forward-thinking panels led by experienced voices
* A documentary screening
* Live Q&As after each panel
* A cocktail masterclass preparation talk
* Several expert stands providing mental health, finance, equality and wellbeing resources
* Entry is just £5, with all proceeds donated to a local charity supporting that day’s community
Panel themes include:
* Relationship with Alcohol & Substances – how we navigate blurred lines in work and wellbeing
* Pivoting from the Bar – transferable skills and new pathways in hospo
* Tackling the Manosphere – challenging misogyny and creating safer spaces
* We See You – making venues inclusive and needs-led
* How to Build Your Own Ladder – founders share real stories behind successful brands
* Evolving Hospo – offshoots keeping hospitality relevant and connected to culture
FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference is created specifically for frontline and main-level staff for them to be sharing ideas, identity and impact; a space for hospitality’s doers, dreamers and deep thinkers to feel seen, heard and leave better equipped, all shaped by those who live and breathe this industry.
Whether you’re seeking clarity, connection or community – this space is yours. Come as you are. Leave with more than you realised you needed.
FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference
Venue: Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
Date: 2 | 3 | 4 March 2026
£5 per day – all proceeds go to charity. Book your place using the links below:
FAVES – Leeds Hospitality Conference – DAY 1 Empowering Women
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/faves-leeds-hospitality-conference-day-1-empowering-women-tickets-1556743765509?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
FAVES – Leeds Hospitality Conference – DAY 2 | Championing Pride
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/faves-leeds-hospitality-conference-day-2-championing-pride-tickets-1556773935749?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
FAVES – Leeds Hospitality Conference – DAY 3 | Uplifting Men
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/faves-leeds-hospitality-conference-day-3-uplifting-men-tickets-1556777987869?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
Main image by Blagovesta Tacheva, taken at Caffeine Addict March 2025.
