How Volunteering Builds Better Hospitality Leaders - David Mariotti
David Mariotti is a veteran hospitality leader with experience including roles as GM, area GM, and VP of Operations at Remington Hospitality, managing properties like One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach, Florida.
Recently, David began volunteering at the Gabriel House of Care, a nonprofit hospitality house on the Mayo Clinic campus in Jacksonville, Florida, that provides affordable lodging to organ transplant and cancer patients and their caregivers.
In this conversation, David shares how volunteering has reconnected him to the core of hospitality, what hotel leaders can learn from serving in unfamiliar environments, and practical ways to build volunteering into your team's culture, including the "care committee" model he used at his resort.
Topics covered:
- Operating a hotel during COVID with a team of eight
- Growing up in his father's laundry and dry cleaning business in St. Augustine
- The story of the Gabriel House of Care and Jorge Bacardi's double lung transplant
- How slowing down and connecting with vulnerable guests builds hospitality skills
- The care committee model for property-level community involvement
- Hosting surf camps, 5Ks, and serving meals as team volunteering
Resources mentioned:
- Gabriel House of Care
- Healthcare Hospitality Network (100+ hospitality houses across North America)
- Jon Gordon's books: The Power of Positive Leadership, The Power of a Positive Team, Seven Commitments of a Great Team, The Energy Bus, Difficult Conversations Don't Have to Be Difficult
- Ronald McDonald House
- HEAL (Healing Every Autistic Life)
Connect with David Mariotti: LinkedIn
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Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands
