Cassie Davison Named Finalist in 2026 Business Book Awards

Hospitality industry leader and author Cassie Davison has been named a finalist in the Startup / Scaleup category at the Business Book Awards 2026 for her book Stand-Out Hospitality: How to Have a Business You Love That Loves You Back.

The shortlist was announced at a live event held at Pearson’s head offices on the Strand, London, recognising outstanding contributions to business thinking and leadership. This year’s awards saw a record 340 entries, with 130 titles shortlisted across 14 categories.

Davison’s book sits alongside titles by authors including Richard Harpin and Daniel Priestley, marking a notable moment for independent hospitality within a broader business conversation.

Stand-Out Hospitality is grounded in over 30 years of experience in the sector and more than 25 years as a founder and owner-operator. Rather than offering a traditional business manual, the book provides a clear and reflective perspective on the realities of running an independent hospitality business today.

It explores the challenges operators face, including loss of direction, increasing pressure, and the emotional weight of leadership, while reframing what drives sustainable success. The book focuses on identity, standards, loyalty, and belonging as the foundations of a business that works in practice, not just in theory.

Speaking on the shortlisting, Davison said:

“This recognition matters for the independent hospitality sector. The vast majority of the industry is made up of small, independent businesses, yet their reality is often underrepresented in wider business conversations. This book is about making that experience visible and giving it the weight it deserves.”

Through its focus on how operators actually think and make decisions, Stand-Out Hospitality positions independent businesses not as smaller versions of larger organisations, but as a distinct and vital part of the economy, with their own strengths, pressures, and opportunities.

Winners of the Business Book Awards 2026 will be announced on 16 September 2026 at The Drum.

About the Author

Cassie Davison is an independent hospitality operator, author, and industry voice with over 30 years of experience in the sector, including more than 25 years as a founder and owner-operator.

She has built and led award-winning venues across pubs, bars, restaurants, and festival concepts, earning 3 AA Rosettes and receiving over 25 industry and business awards. Her work has also been recognised by The Good Food Guide, VisitEngland, and the Chamber of Commerce, and featured in national publications including The Guardian, BBC, and The Times.

Cassie is the author of Stand-Out Hospitality, a book grounded in lived experience that explores how independent operators think, make decisions, and build businesses people genuinely connect with.

She is the founder of Kith & Kin, a network bringing together independent operators and the wider hospitality sector, built on the belief that belonging is the industry’s greatest competitive advantage.

Her work spans both sides of the sector. Through her writing and operator-focused work, she supports independent business owners to step back, think clearly, and lead with greater clarity. Alongside this, she works with hospitality suppliers and organisations to understand how their products, messaging, and commercial activity are actually experienced by operators, and where this impacts engagement, trust, and long-term growth.

www.cassiedavison.co.uk

Stand-Out Hospitality: How to Have a Business You Love That Loves You Back is available now.