Hospitality Daily Podcast
Learn to delight people, make money, and thrive each day with Josiah Mackenzie and the best in the business. Voted #1 hospitality podcast and the most-listened-to podcast in the hotel industry.
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Recent Episodes
June 26, 2026
Where AI Actually Pays Off in Hospitality, and What Owners Should Demand - Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities
In this episode, Ben Rafter , CEO of Hotel Equities , shares where he believes AI is already delivering measurable results in hospitality and why operational applications are advancing faster than guest-facing experiences. He explains how Hotel Equities evaluates and tests new technology through HE Labs, the questions hotel owners should ask when selecting a management company, and where he sees AI driving hotel performance in the years ahead. Learn more: HE Labs by Hotel Equities Hotel Equities
June 25, 2026
How AI Addresses the Biggest Cost in a Hotel: Labor (Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities)
In this episode, Ben Rafter , CEO of Hotel Equities , shares how his team is using AI, data, and real-time operational insights to improve labor management, often the largest controllable expense in a hotel. He explains how better scheduling and smarter decision-making create opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining the guest experience. You'll also hear why data alone isn't enough and how intelligent recommendations help hotel leaders think more like owners. Learn more: HE Labs by
June 24, 2026
Why Hotel Ownership Is Becoming Unsustainable, and What We're Doing About It - Ben Rafter, Hotel Equities
In this episode, Ben Rafter, CEO of Hotel Equities, shares why he believes today's hotel operating model is becoming increasingly unsustainable for owners. He explains the growing pressure from labor, insurance, and other operating costs, why healthy hotel ownership is essential for the entire industry, and how Hotel Equities is responding through its problem-first innovation initiative, HE Labs. If you're looking to better understand the economic challenges facing hotel owners and how leadin...
June 18, 2026
How Hotel Companies Turn AI Into Competitive Advantage - Steven Moore & Joseph Benjamin, Actabl [Sponsor Bonus]
The use of AI is one of the biggest strategic questions in hospitality, and many hotel leaders face the same challenge: they believe in the potential, but need a clearer path from experimentation to measurable results. In this episode, Actabl CEO Steven Moore and CTO Joseph Benjamin explain Actabl's new forward-deployed engineering offering for the hotel industry. They discuss why data foundations matter, how AI might help hotel companies improve profitability, and why custom workflows matter fo
June 18, 2026
Hospitality's Perspective Problem - Martin Soler
Martin Soler shares one of the most common challenges in hospitality: seeing the industry only through your own perspective. Drawing on his experience as a hotel operator, technology leader, and advisor, Martin explains why great ideas often fail when we don't fully understand other viewpoints. He shares practical ways to adopt different viewpoints, make better decisions, and evaluate opportunities more effectively. Hospitality leaders will come away with a simple framework to avoid blind spots
June 17, 2026
Personalization Is an Art - Martin Soler
Personalization is one of hospitality's most important goals, but is it really a technology problem? In this episode, hospitality advisor and former hotel general manager Martin Soler explains why guest preferences are far more contextual and dynamic than many systems assume. Drawing on examples from both hospitality and everyday consumer technology, Martin explores the limits of hyper-personalization and why the most memorable guest experiences often come from observation, empathy, and human...
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About the Host
Josiah Mackenzie
Host and Producer
Josiah is the founder of Hospitality Daily. Through its podcast, newsletter, and social channels, Hospitality Daily helps you stay informed and inspired each day by the most interesting people in hospitality. After getting his start in hospitality working at the front desk of a small property on the California coast, Josiah went on to hold leadership roles in technology companies serving tens of thousands of hotels around the globe with operations, revenue, and investment management before founding Hospitality Daily.