Business Partner Spotlight | Steve Lowy of The Lowy Group

In our latest spotlight feature, we focus on travel and serviced apartments and talk to our London Office landlord and Business Partner, Steve Lowy MIH.

Tell us a little more about yourself and your career to date?

I grew up with hospitality in my blood. I worked in restaurants pre-University, starting as a waiter and ending up being the hospitality manager for a restaurant in Central London. I then went on to study Hospitality and Tourism Management at The University of Salford, which I loved. From there I travelled and worked. I worked in a restaurant in Sydney near the Opera House and later became GM for a 500 Bed backpackers’ hostel in Central London.

Whilst running that, I came up with the idea of Umi Hotels, a budget brand with a focus on young people both staying and working in the hotel. We grew to three locations and became famous for our work employing young people from all over the world. From there, I created Umi Digital, a marketing and tech business for the hospitality sector, with a similar emphasis on training and development of young people. The Managing Director of Umi Digital, Harry, was a former intern at the organisation.

Four years ago, I started Anglo Educational Services and The Residence and became CEO. The businesses are a combination of student housing & academic services, as well as the Residence, a luxury serviced apartment company.

It has been quite a journey covering most parts of the sector so far!

As Chairman of BETA (British Educational Travel Association) and also Founder/CEO of The Residence, luxury serviced apartments across London, tell us a little about why you chose to focus on these areas of the hospitality industry and why?

I think youth travel is the essence of a strong tourism sector in any destination. I was very fortunate that growing up I used to travel to play sports, with my school and then independently backpack around the world. All those experiences have enriched my life and I feel it is so important for the UK. I think the UK is an amazing destination for young people, whether they come here to study, work, or just experience. The more we can do to make it easier for them to travel, the better it is for the UK as a whole.

With luxury serviced apartments, I felt there was a demand and need for the product. Offering somewhere for people to ‘live’ with us for a few months, rather than ‘stay’ with us for a few nights. We provide a hotel-style service, but in luxury living properties and it has been really popular to date. We have been able to grow that division through Covid and hope to grow it further in the future. We are currently really excited to have our first hotel school intern from Maastricht working in our sales and reservations department. I had hosted many of them in my hotel days!

You’re an MIH. What does it mean to you?

I think it was wonderful to be recognised and have the 20+ years I have had in the broader hospitality sector really stand for something. It is wonderful to be part of a community that is truly passionate about hospitality and its future.

You are an Institute of Hospitality Business Partner, why did you decide to get involved?

In early 2021 when the whole sector was in a bit of disarray, I had opened a small co-working space within our offices and classroom in central London. I happened to speak to IoH CEO Robert Richardson FIH, to see if we could help the IoH and likewise, the IoH would help us. We then decided the Business Partnership route would work well. Being part of the IoH is something we are all really proud of.

What makes the hospitality industry such a great place to work?

The People! I have so many people I have worked with over the years, that I can truly call friends. It is ultimately an industry where we help people, and therefore many of the people in the sector are people that are easy to connect with on a human level.

Why say ‘I’min’- #imin to the Institute of Hospitality?

I think associations are very important for any sector. I think the challenges that the industry has faced over the last two years and is currently facing means you are “in it together”. The networking and educational side of the Institute really allows you to learn from your peers and feel part of a larger community.

What’s the best/worst and weirdest experiences you’ve had during your time in hospitality? 

Best: There has been many! But the one of the best was cooking at an event with my University for Prince Charles. It was an early highlight. Recently it has been writing a cookbook and food guide to London for the Residence. That was pretty special too.

Worst: Many years ago, one of the team at our London hotel passed away from a terrible epileptic fit. She was young, and very much part of the Umi Hotels family, so that was very challenging.

Weirdest: Again, it is hospitality! There are lots of these and many not appropriate for print but through Covid, I received a request from a potential guest asking if we took pets… and finding out the pet was a large snake!