Lilla Ferencz and James Cussell won the competition after arguing against the motion that ‘hospitality is about creating experiences, not processes and procedure’ in a final against the University of Derby.
In the debate, the winning team said: “At the core of experience is a procedure. Hospitality is like a play and without a script what would happen? If there’s no script, there’s no theatre. Service failure creates bad experiences because the organisation didn’t properly put into action its processes and procedures.”
Six university teams were put forward. The University of Surrey, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the University of Brighton and Glion Institute of Higher Education also took part in the competition.
Peter Ducker FIH, chief executive of the Institute of Hospitality, said: "I always come away from Passion4Hospitality inspired and energised. Students attended from across the UK and we even had a group who travelled from Hong Kong.
“We are delighted to see this event grow and attract more interest each year.”
Other items on the programme at the event included speed networking, one-to-one careers advice and expert advice from industry figures such as Jessica Berry from Firmdale Hotels and Sophie Murray from the National Association of Care Catering.