S7: Exam failure to multi-millionaire hotelier with The Pig Hotels founder Robin Hutson

Conversations of Inspiration

Holly Tucker MBE

Education, Society & Culture, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Business, Personal Journals

5.0 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2020

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dubbed 'Britain's most influential hotelier', Robin Hutson, founder of the iconic PIG hotels, left school with 3 O-levels and few prospects. It was a sideways step into catering college which saw passion, vision and excitement alight for the first time - and would set the scene for Robin’s story to truly begin into becoming one of the most famous hoteliers in the UK.

This episode charts Robin’s career within hospitality, from courting famous faces at The Savoy in his early days to starting his first groundbreaking hotel chain ‘Hotel Du Vin’, before launching ‘The Pig’.
Holly & Robin discuss how to create a distinctive experience at each hotel whilst maintaining the golden thread of ‘brand’ throughout, as well as his philosophy of recruiting staff and the all-important attention to detail.

In his letter to self, Robin aged 63 ¾ speaks to his 15 ¾ self and shares all the things he might need to know in a very special shared moment. Whether you're building a business in hospitality, or just appreciate a brilliant brand with acute attention to detail, Robin’s story is a must-listen!

Enjoying listening to these unfiltered chats? It's worth following Holly Tucker MBE and Holly & Co on Instagram, and subscribing to our weekly newsletter on our website, where Holly downloads her thoughts, and exclusively shares small business finds and topical, 'ungoogleable' business advice.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I've just arrived at one of the most beautiful hotels in the new forest called The Pig and run by Robin Hudson
0:07.0	one of the most successful hotel years in the country. I'm lucky enough to have stayed here before
0:12.3	but feel a little different today because I'm lucky enough to have stayed here before but feel a little different today because I'm an interviewer rather than a guest.
0:17.0	I can't wait to have a nose around the kitchen gardens again and soak up the smell of the fresh herbs. Here's hoping I might time the end of this interview with lunch.
0:30.0	I'm Holly Tucker and welcome to Conversations of Inspiration. I'm the founder of Not
0:36.6	on the High Street and Holly and Coe and I'm the UK Ambassador of Creative Small
0:41.1	Businesses. I believe that having a business doing what you love
0:45.3	is the key to a happy fulfilled life and my dream is to help everybody start theirs.
0:51.5	So I've reached out to all my favorite small businesses, acclaimed
0:54.8	entrepreneurs and those who just simply inspire me and ask them to share theirs.
1:00.1	With thanks to our sponsor NatWest who have helped bring this free podcast to life.
1:06.4	Here are my conversations of inspiration.
1:09.0	Bow your head and let your eyelids go in.
1:14.0	You won't need to bring your frown.
1:17.0	Wow, what a heavenly start to the day this is for me.
1:21.0	I'm in my most favorite hotel nested on the gorgeous velvet sofa in front of
1:26.8	a log burning fire with delicious mocktail from the bar in hand sitting with the genius founder behind it all, Robin Hudson. But I'd love to start a little bit with
1:37.6	your backstory if we may. I read that you didn't receive a single O-level and that you weren't invited back into sixth form?
1:46.5	Is this right?
1:47.5	Almost true.
1:48.5	I'm quite proud of the three that I did manage to achieve. Okay, you got three.
1:53.0	Okay, this is good.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Holly Tucker MBE, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Holly Tucker MBE and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.