Hospitality Connect: the role of local hospitality businesses in connecting lives and building communities

The aim of the research is to develop our understanding of existing and potential opportunities for hospitality businesses to play an influential role in supporting social connections within communities. More specifically, the project will employ a participatory action research (PAR) approach to identify the challenges and benefits of older people visiting local cafes and pubs. These venues provide important social spaces where people come together to connect with others. The UK’s high street has undergone significant change in recent years, from mostly retail-focussed environments to increasing numbers of cafes, presenting an opportunity to explore the ways in which many of these might be transformed into age-friendly spaces.  

Working with research partner, Toynbee Hall, and a community-based team of older peer researchers (PRs), the project will conduct go-along interviews with older adults (aged 65+), hospitality businesses and policy influencers. The findings from the research will be used to co-create resources with PRs and business owners/managers to help hospitality businesses become more age-friendly and to empower older adults to stay socially connected. These resources will take the form of an age-friendly hospitality toolkit and guidelines and a short promotional film. Data generated from the interviews will be presented at conferences and workshops, and through academic articles and project reports, and the findings disseminated by our partners at Toynbee Hall and via the project webpage.

The project is funded by the UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge as part of the Social, Behavioural and Design Research Programme (SBDRP).