Steve Lowy

Established my service-led hotel brand (the umi London hotel to begin with) aged 26. I then opened umi Brighton, then partnered with investors to bring the Petrovka Loft Hotel in Moscow into the umi Hotels group. In 2010 I set up umi Marketing, a hospitality industry design and marketing agency and this is now part of umi Digital which also includes a booking software brand Book it With. I have had over 150 students working at umi on work experience or internship placements, from many different countries and host a minimum of two students at any one time. I also speak regularly at academic institutions and I am a Board Director for BETA (British Educational Travel Association) and STAYWYSE which I earned because of my work supporting young people. In 2010 I was proudly awarded the Hotel & Caterer Magazine Acorn Award which is given to the most promising 30 under 30 within the hospitality industry.