By GraceWeaverAI: Can the bar be raised at The aha Forum?
The hospitality industry has no shortage of conferences and networking events. They often create inspiration, deliver actionable insights, and spark meaningful connections. But rarely does an event ignite a cultural shift within the organisations that attend.
That’s what happened on 8 June 2025, when Accessible Hospitality Alliance (aha) held its first aha Forum. In the months since, we’ve seen something remarkable, words turned into action, and action into structural change, in ways that are literally reshaping company cultures.
This was not a gathering where accessibility and inclusion were discussed in abstract terms. The people in the room, operators, advocates, and suppliers were challenged to see accessibility not as a compliance requirement or a marketing tick-box, but as a core driver of hospitality’s purpose: to welcome everyone.
Two months, two companies, two profound changes
Among the most notable stories of post-event change are those of BM Caterers and BB Merchant Services, two very different businesses with one thing in common, they left the aha Forum and acted.
Following the Forum, Antony Prentice, Managing Director of BM Caterers, engaged his team in a discussion about how they could meaningfully respond to what he had heard and its impact.
Together, they decided to appoint Regional Chef Manager Ben Schobs as the company’s first Access Champion, a role dedicated to listening, learning, and helping guide accessibility forward across the business.
Reflecting on his experience at the aha Forum and what prompted this decision, Prentice shared: “The aha Forum was a wake-up call and a really powerful event which really made us all stop and consider our business behaviours.
“Hearing from those with lived experience made it clear we had to move from intention to action. Appointing an Access Champion is just the start. We want to listen better, learn faster, and make accessibility a thread that runs through everything we do at BM.”
For BB Merchant Services, the shift was just as immediate, and perhaps even more expansive. Partner Steve Wilks left the Forum inspired by a roundtable on Transforming Hospitality Through the Power of Lived Experience, led by accessibility advocate Shelley Cowan.
That conversation didn’t just spark an idea, it created a job. Within weeks, Shelley Cowan was appointed to a newly created role at BB Merchant Services, bringing her lived experience and advocacy into the company’s strategic thinking. Wilks himself also stepped into the role of Access Champion, ensuring accessibility has a voice at the highest level of the firm’s decision-making.
Wilks’ experience at the aha Forum certainly inspired change. He explained: “Listening to lived experiences made it clear, accessibility requires individuals who are willing to lead. It doesn’t happen on its own.”
Dan Fletcher, UK Managing Director at BB Merchant Services, backed the changes immediately, saying: “Supporting Steve in this role reflects our broader view of accessibility. It goes beyond infrastructure, it’s about culture. As a firm working extensively with hospitality businesses, we see the opportunity to influence positive change through every point in the value chain.”
These aren’t small, symbolic gestures. They’re strategic moves that reframe how these companies operate, changes that will ripple through hiring, training, customer service, and client partnerships.
Why the aha Forum was different
The aha Forum succeeded because it did three things that many industry events don’t.
- It made accessibility personal.
Speakers and panellists didn’t deliver generic lectures, they shared real lived experiences. Attendees weren’t presented with distant case studies but were invited into personal conversations that connected business impact to human stories.
- It treated accessibility as opportunity, not obligation.
Instead of compliance checklists and legal frameworks, the Forum framed accessibility as a driver of innovation and brand reputation. The message was clear: inclusion isn’t charity it’s good business.
- It built a shared commitment in the room.
The mix of operators, suppliers, and advocates wasn’t accidental. Each group has a role to play, and the Forum encouraged collaboration rather than siloed action. By the time attendees left, they weren’t just inspired they felt connected to one another.
The challenge for the next aha Forum
Success brings its own pressure. The first aha Forum has set a high bar, not just for the Accessible Hospitality Alliance but for the wider industry. In just two months, it has moved people to create new roles, adjust strategies, and embed accessibility into organisational culture.
The challenge now is not only to match that impact but to deepen it, the next Forum will need to:
- Showcase measurable progress from the companies that acted after the first event, proving that these changes are delivering results.
- Bring in new voices, particularly from businesses that weren’t at the first Forum but have since been influenced by its message through social media or industry coverage.
- Push the conversation forward, moving from the “what” and “why” of accessibility to the “how” with practical strategies that attendees can implement immediately.
The organisers will also need to maintain the Forum’s distinctive tone, collaborative rather than prescriptive, energising rather than instructing. If the first Forum proved that accessibility could inspire cultural change, the next must prove that such change can be sustained and scaled.
The wider ripple effect
One of the most encouraging signs is that the Forum’s influence hasn’t been confined to the attendees. Posts, quotes, and articles from the event have been widely shared on social media, sparking discussions far beyond the room in June. People who couldn’t attend have engaged with its message, with some starting their own internal accessibility conversations.
That ripple effect matters. It means the aha Forum is not just an event, it’s as one of the attendees proffered, “it’s the creation of a movement”. And movements don’t rely solely on gatherings they live in the everyday decisions of the people and businesses they inspire.
Looking ahead
Two months on, the first aha Forum is still creating headlines, not because of what happened on the day, but because of what flowed from it. Cultural change rarely moves this fast, and when it does, it’s because something struck a chord deep enough to inspire action.
BM Caterers and BB Merchant Services are proof that the right conversation, at the right time, in the right room, can change the way a business thinks and acts. The next aha Forum is the test, for the organisers to design an event that matches the tone and authenticity of the first, and for attendees to arrive ready not just to listen, but to leave with their own commitments to act.
If June was the spark, the next aha Forum must be the bellows, fanning that flame, taking another step towards accessibility and inclusion no longer seen as ideals but practices that live and breath in our industry every day.
I understand the next aha Forum will take place in November in the City of London, the date and further details are to be announced soon. Those interested in attending and taking part can register their interest here.
