FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference '26 | Championing Pride | How to Build Your Own Ladder
FAVES Hospitality Conference
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Event: FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference '26
Day: Championing Pride
Panel: How to Build Your Own Ladder
Venue: Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
Insta @hospoconf
Suzy Mason, Leeds’ longest-running female club promoter and co-founder of Vague and Speedqueen, reflects on building some of the city’s earliest intentionally inclusive club spaces.
From confronting homophobia and resisting the commercialisation of club culture to championing women DJs, local talent and intergenerational community, Suzy reveals how a nightclub became far more than somewhere to dance.
Alongside personal memories from Speedqueen, this conversation explores how nightlife can shape identity, challenge prejudice, create chosen families and give people another way to live.
It also looks towards the future: preserving the overlooked stories behind Leeds club culture and inspiring a new generation to create the spaces they wish existed.
Recorded at FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference March '26: A Legacy served in Hospitality
A 3 Day Conference that isn’t just another event.
It’s Peer-Led, Not Corporate-Driven. This isn’t a top-down industry event. It’s built by hospitality workers, for hospitality workers - offering a rare, authentic perspective to trust.
Each day is for, with, and led by the demographic it's built around - Women (Mon), Pride (Tue), Men (Wed) to help create safe and empowering spaces rooted in shared experience.
This conference is designed specifically for the people on the floor, behind the bar, in the kitchen, at the door but also for all facets and areas within our industry. It’s a reset. A reckoning. A rally. Join us. Champion it. Be part of it.
WHY WE’RE DOING IT
We believe in hospitality - and the people who power it. But the facts speak for themselves:
• 170,000 trained staff short - chefs, FOH, senior roles
• 77% of venues struggling to recruit
• 34% cutting training budgets
• 30% of workers feel undervalued
• 35% see no clear path to progress
We’ve felt the pressure but we also see the potential...we’re not here to just point out the problems. We’re here to gather, talk honestly, and build what’s next all together. This isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about real progress, shared knowledge, and unlocking potential.
Championing Pride - a celebration of LGBTQ+ voices within Hospitality - where you don’t have to explain who you are, just show up fully as yourself.
This day is about visibility, validation and joy, but also real conversations around safety, identity, progression and power. Whether you’re out and loud, figuring it out, or quietly doing the best YOU - you belong here.
It’s about being seen in all your layers, connecting through shared experience, and embracing the creativity and challenges that diversity brings in a setting to find strength in community.
Why It Matters - Join conversations where your identity is centred, not footnoted. Hear how others have navigated the industry with shared lived experience, forge connections that affirm, support and inspire long after the day ends. Leave with community, confidence, and tools to thrive in hospitality.
FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference 'A Legacy served in Hospitality'
FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference '26 | Championing Pride | How to Build Your Own Ladder
FAVES Hospitality Conference
1 views
Event: FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference '26
Day: Championing Pride
Panel: How to Build Your Own Ladder
Venue: Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
Insta @hospoconf
Suzy Mason, Leeds’ longest-running female club promoter and co-founder of Vague and Speedqueen, reflects on building some of the city’s earliest intentionally inclusive club spaces.
From confronting homophobia and resisting the commercialisation of club culture to championing women DJs, local talent and intergenerational community, Suzy reveals how a nightclub became far more than somewhere to dance.
Alongside personal memories from Speedqueen, this conversation explores how nightlife can shape identity, challenge prejudice, create chosen families and give people another way to live.
It also looks towards the future: preserving the overlooked stories behind Leeds club culture and inspiring a new generation to create the spaces they wish existed.
Recorded at FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference March '26: A Legacy served in Hospitality
A 3 Day Conference that isn’t just another event.
It’s Peer-Led, Not Corporate-Driven. This isn’t a top-down industry event. It’s built by hospitality workers, for hospitality workers - offering a rare, authentic perspective to trust.
Each day is for, with, and led by the demographic it's built around - Women (Mon), Pride (Tue), Men (Wed) to help create safe and empowering spaces rooted in shared experience.
This conference is designed specifically for the people on the floor, behind the bar, in the kitchen, at the door but also for all facets and areas within our industry. It’s a reset. A reckoning. A rally. Join us. Champion it. Be part of it.
WHY WE’RE DOING IT
We believe in hospitality - and the people who power it. But the facts speak for themselves:
• 170,000 trained staff short - chefs, FOH, senior roles
• 77% of venues struggling to recruit
• 34% cutting training budgets
• 30% of workers feel undervalued
• 35% see no clear path to progress
We’ve felt the pressure but we also see the potential...we’re not here to just point out the problems. We’re here to gather, talk honestly, and build what’s next all together. This isn’t about ticking boxes, it’s about real progress, shared knowledge, and unlocking potential.
Championing Pride - a celebration of LGBTQ+ voices within Hospitality - where you don’t have to explain who you are, just show up fully as yourself.
This day is about visibility, validation and joy, but also real conversations around safety, identity, progression and power. Whether you’re out and loud, figuring it out, or quietly doing the best YOU - you belong here.
It’s about being seen in all your layers, connecting through shared experience, and embracing the creativity and challenges that diversity brings in a setting to find strength in community.
Why It Matters - Join conversations where your identity is centred, not footnoted. Hear how others have navigated the industry with shared lived experience, forge connections that affirm, support and inspire long after the day ends. Leave with community, confidence, and tools to thrive in hospitality.
FAVES Leeds Hospitality Conference 'A Legacy served in Hospitality'