Veryan Palmer, Director at Cornwall’s iconic five-star Headland Hotel & Spa Resort, has been awarded the acclaimed Master Innholder status by the Worshipful Company of Innholders.

Veryan is among just 10 industry-leading professionals who have received the award this year in recognition of their outstanding contribution to hospitality. The award will be made by the Master of the Worshipful Company of Innholders at a special Court presentation at Innholders’ Hall in London Tuesday 4th June.

“To become a Master Innholder, you need to demonstrate great leadership qualities, what you stand for as a hotelier, your involvement in the wider hospitality community in terms of education and charity, and an appreciation of the heritage and traditions of the Worshipful Company of Innholders, who award the honour,” said Dan Rose-Bristow FIH MI, Chairman of the Master Innholders.

“Our 10 successful applicants this year all demonstrated their passion and drive for our profession and were all committed to becoming an active part of our community.”

“I am extremely proud to welcome all these inspiring individuals to our family, who will become Master Innholders when they receive their award from the Worshipful Company of Innholders in June,” he added.

Veryan’s family’s connection with The Headland began in 1979, when her parents bought the Victorian hotel rescuing it from decades of decline and disrepair.

She became a Director in 2020 and has continued to support its journey  in being a multi-award-winning destination hotel, complete with 86 five-star bedrooms, 39 five-star cottages, a five-bubble-rated spa, a six-pool AquaClub, four restaurants, and, arguably, the best sea views in Cornwall.

“I have been told that my first encounter with the Master Innholders would have been when I was less than 10 years old, when Hilary Metcalf, the first female Master Innholder (in 1979), joined The Headland Cornwall as General Manager in the mid 1990s,” she said.

“Little did I know then how various Master Innholders would come to guide my hotel career in the future.”

“I have been incredibly lucky to have been managed, guided or mentored by several MIs during my hotel career, including David Morgan-Hewitt, Jeremy Goring, Graham Copeman FIH MI, Sue Williams MI FIH, Andrew Stembridge, Richard Ball, Danny Pecorelli, and following their lead have had aspirations to join the Master Innholders for many years following my award of a St Julian Scholars scholarship courtesy of the Master Innholders and Worshipful Company of Innholders back in 2012. 

“I am thankful to all who have supported me over the last two decades in the wonderful world of hospitality, and I look forward to upholding the aims of the Master Innholders for the years to come,” she added.

As a leading force in the hotel industry, the Master Innholders is renowned for its commitment to promoting education and development within the sector.

Its various programmes, such as the Master Innholders Aspiring Leaders Diploma, the Innholders Scholarship, the Hotel Leadership Conference and MIDAS, are all designed to offer career-changing training and support and promote discussion and research into the pressing challenges the industry faces today.