Planning with Purpose, Leading with Progress - January 2026

By Farouk Rajab, President/CEO, RI Hospitality

Every industry has a certain rhythm, a north star. Hospitality’s is fast, adaptive, and people-centered. We serve, we engage, and we innovate. But as we look toward 2026, the question is not just how we respond to changing industry dynamics, consumer habits, or public policy. The real question is: How do we lead?

This past month RI Hospitality began its strategic planning process—the first since 2021. Strategic planning, in our world, is not a binder that sits on a shelf. It is a living conversation. It is where policy, workforce, education, and employer needs intersect, and where we decide which paths are worth forging ahead and building, not just following.

As we ring in the new year, we enter this process from a position of momentum rather than maintenance.

Over the past 18 months, we have seen a visible shift in how hospitality is valued in Rhode Island. We are no longer speaking only with industry partners. We are at the table with workforce councils, housing advocates, higher education leaders, municipal planners, and state economic development teams. That shift matters, because the future of our industry is influenced not just by labor statistics or tourism trends, but by access to housing, by how young people perceive service careers, and by whether employers can meaningfully grow the next generation of managers.

The Association’s work reflects that broader lens.

The Education Foundation has expanded from certification and compliance to talent cultivation. Through partnerships with CCRI, Johnson & Wales, Salve Regina University and local school districts, we connected more than 3,000 students this year to hospitality career pathways, apprenticeships, and real-world employer exposure. We launched workforce readiness programs for new entrants and employees ready to move into supervisory and management roles. We expanded English-language training to help workers build confidence in the workplace and in customer-facing roles.

The ANCHORS has matured from an annual event into a workforce and recognition platform supporting employee retention, employer branding, and professional visibility. Award categories now spotlight innovation, training culture, advancement opportunities, and community impact, reflecting the industry’s evolution.

Our advocacy has followed the same trajectory: more collaborative, more strategic, and more proactive. RI Hospitality has contributed insight to statewide discussions on workforce funding, tourism recovery, credentialing, and housing policy, ensuring that hospitality employers and workers remain part of the economic narrative. We are helping define what success looks like for our industry at the policy and community level.

As we enter the next round of strategic planning, our focus will not be on creating a checklist, but on aligning our mission with the realities facing our industry. A significant part of that will involve strengthening Rhode Island’s hospitality talent pipeline by connecting education, employment, and advancement in ways that begin earlier, reach further, and create clear pathways for long-term career development. This includes continuing to cultivate leadership through programs such as the David DePetrillo Memorial Scholarship, which honors service, vision, and community commitment while supporting the next generation of hospitality professionals.

We will also continue elevating hospitality within statewide policy discussions, ensuring that our industry is not treated in isolation, but recognized as essential to conversations about workforce readiness, economic planning, housing access, education alignment, and community impact.

At its core, hospitality is not just a sector, but an ecosystem: restaurants, hotels, caterers, tourism venues, educators, local governments, cultural institutions, and workforce partners all contribute to a shared experience that strengthens communities, supports economic vitality, and builds belonging.

With input from members, partners, educators, and business and policy leaders, we will shape the next chapter of hospitality in Rhode Island, not by reacting to change, but by preparing for it.