Our venue has grown significantly over the years, from just a handful of hosted spaces to a large-scale hospitality operation serving tens of thousands of guests on major event days. As the hospitality offer has expanded, we have needed an event staffing partner who can match that growth in a professional, reliable and people-focused way. Aesthetics have consistently been that partner.
We work with more than one agency, but Aesthetics sit at the top for me because they always deliver what I ask for, they are responsive, and they are genuinely nice to deal with. If I email, I get an answer quickly. If I need to adjust numbers, they accommodate it. If I need regular staff back in the same facilities, they do their best to make that happen. It feels personal rather than transactional.
The core of what I need from a hosting team is not just smart people to stand at a door. Our hospitality guests are not all corporate anymore; we see a lot of milestone visits now. Engagement celebrations, special birthdays, families coming together. For those people, it is not just a meal and a match – it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The hosting team is a big part of making it feel that way. Aesthetics understand that. Their staff meet and greet, check guests to the right facility, show them to their table, help with drinks, and then go that bit further so that guests feel noticed and valued.
On site, our hosting teams need to work as one with our catering teams. Even though they are booked separately, once they are in the room they are one team. Aesthetics’ supervisors liaise well with our facility managers and with the catering room managers, and because we get a lot of repeat staff from Aesthetics, there is already a good working relationship in the rooms. That makes communication smooth and it puts the focus where it should be, which is on the guest.
Another big positive is their diversity of staffing. I have asked for a good mix in terms of gender and background so that the hosting team reflects the variety of people we welcome, and Aesthetics are very good at that. It helps move the perception of ‘hosts’ away from the old-fashioned idea and towards what it actually is now: a professional guest experience role.
In terms of challenges, I have never had an issue with Aesthetics themselves. What I have had is other agencies letting me down very close to a major fixture. On one occasion, with only a couple of weeks to go, another supplier told me they could not deliver a room that had been on their schedule for months. I went straight to Aesthetics and asked if they could help. They covered it. No drama, no excuses. I knew they would, but they should not have been put in that position. It showed me again that they plan properly, overbook sensibly, and use their large database intelligently so that they can step in when the unexpected happens.
What I also like is that it never feels like I am just another booking. The team are personable, they listen to feedback, and they act on it. When my facility managers send in their post-event notes about staff, that gets picked up, and if someone was not quite right for the role, that is respected in future allocations. It feels like a two-way relationship.
If someone in a similar role at another large UK venue asked me who I would recommend for hospitality hosting, I would tell them to speak to Aesthetics first.
