Episodes

In this episode, Lily Wecker , the CEO at Aethos , shares how the brand designs guest experiences around 360-degree wellbeing rather than entertainment alone. She walks through Aethos's mix of outward-facing programming, DJ nights, live sketching, listening sessions, and inward-focused rituals like a personal-question card game played after community dinners. You'll hear why Lily believes wellbeing has to include social connection alongside sleep, food, and exercise, and why she builds both dist...

In this special bonus episode, Josiah Mackenzie and Nazpari Aydin , Founder and Managing Director of Destination AI , introduce the State of Hotel AI survey , a study designed to reveal what's really happening with AI across the hotel industry, where it's delivering results, and where it still falls short. They discuss why an honest look at AI adoption matters, how the findings will help you benchmark your organization against your peers, and what attendees will learn from the research at this y...

In this episode, Lily Wecker , CEO of Aethos , shares how her teams break hotel brand standards to deliver a feeling rather than a checklist. You'll hear why one property has no TVs in the rooms, why she tells front desk teams to observe guests instead of predicting what they want, and how a GM in Sardinia turned beach rocks into welcome-card holders. This conversation is hosted by our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker . Also see: Human-to-Human: Rethinking Luxury Hospitality - L...

In this episode, Lily Wecker , CEO of Aethos , explains why she believes the future of luxury hospitality is shifting away from status and product, and toward genuine human connection. In conversation with our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker , she shares how Aethos is redefining luxury through community, belonging, and a human-to-human approach to service. It's a fresh perspective on how guest expectations are evolving and what hospitality leaders should be thinking about next. ...

This episode introduces our week-long series with Lily Wecker , CEO of Aethos , in conversation with our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker . She reflects on her journey and a pivotal moment that changed how she thinks about success, leadership, and listening to yourself. A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here . You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestions If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each ...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

Martin Soler returns to explore "The PMS Wars," his ongoing series examining one of the most important shifts in hotel technology. What started as a race from legacy systems to cloud-based PMS platforms is now evolving into a conversation about AI, data infrastructure, and the future of hotel operations. In this episode, Martin explains why hospitality adopts technology differently from other industries, why changing a PMS remains one of the hardest decisions a hotel can make, and why AI will...

Hospitality is often criticized for lagging behind on technology. Martin Soler sees it differently. In this episode, he explores the paradox of hospitality innovation, arguing that hotels have frequently been ahead of other industries while also becoming burdened by technology that adds complexity rather than removing it. This conversation examines how AI could reverse that trend, freeing hospitality professionals from administrative work and allowing them to spend more time creating meaningful ...

In this episode, Martin Soler shares where hoteliers should focus as technology and AI reshape the industry. Recorded ahead of HITEC 2026, Martin explains why strong data foundations matter more than the latest AI tools, how to evaluate technology vendors through the lens of integrations and APIs, and what hotel leaders should prioritize today to prepare for what's next. If you're trying to make smarter technology decisions in a rapidly changing environment, this conversation offers a practical ...

This episode is sponsored by Actabl. Learn more about its new product, Altitude, here . For years now, AI has promised hotel leaders something it hasn't delivered: the ability to ask a question and get an answer you can actually trust. Today, that changes with the launch of Actabl Altitude. In this episode, I sit down with Stephen German , Actabl's SVP of Product, to tell the story behind it. We get into why most AI answers fall apart the moment you check them, what it really takes to trust a nu...

What separates good leaders from great ones? According to Dina Winder , the EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) , the answer is simple: great leaders create more leaders. In this conversation, Dina shares why she has dedicated so much of her time to mentoring future hospitality professionals through Highgate, H AMA, and AHLA's FORWARD initiative , and why she believes senior leaders have a responsibility to actively pull others u...

What's really going on in the hotel industry right now? In this episode, Dina Winder, EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), shares her perspective on the forces shaping the hotel industry today. Drawing on conversations with owners and asset managers across the industry, she explains why demand has remained the top concern in multiple HAMA surveys and why filling rooms remains the foundation of hotel performance. Dina also disc...

Monthly owner calls are often viewed as performance reviews, but Dina Winder sees them differently. As EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) , she believes the most productive conversations focus less on what happened last month and more on what happens next. In this episode, Dina shares how hotel leaders can prepare for owner calls more effectively, why thinking like an owner builds trust and credibility, and how strong operators ...

Hotels have more technology, data, and operational tools than ever before. Yet some properties consistently outperform while others struggle to execute. In this episode, Dina Winder, EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) , shares why she believes hotel performance still comes down to leadership. You'll hear why the GM remains the most important role in the building, what effective leaders understand about both people and performanc...

Dina Winder is EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA) . In this episode, she shares the unexpected path that led her into hospitality, from investment banking and real estate to one of the hotel industry's most influential roles: asset management. Dina explains what asset management means in a hotel context, how asset managers represent ownership interests, and why the role spans everything from investment strategy and underwriting ...

In this episode, Rob Smith, the CEO and President of Stonebridge Companies, shares an operator's view on how AI can be used to take mundane, repetitive work off people's hands so they can spend more time with guests. You'll hear his "find us a drive-through window" philosophy of letting the best ideas come from people on property, why he sees scheduling and forecasting as the early wins for AI, and why he refuses to hand off guest complaints or housekeeping to a machine. A few more res...

In this episode, Rob Smith, the CEO and President of Stonebridge Companies, shares what he's found keeps people engaged and performing at their best. He also explains how culture is what underpins the outperformance that hotel owners care about. A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your in...

In this episode, Rob Smith, the President and CEO at Stonebridge Companies, shares an operator's read on why top-line growth — not cost-cutting — is a sustainable path through today's environment of profit pressure. He explains how Stonebridge grew same-store revenue by 7.8% in 2024 while the market grew by 1.8%, why their revenue-management-first approach drives 41% direct bookings at their independent hotels, and what a deliberate culture of accountability looks like when you're a 174-hotel...

In this episode, Rob Smith , the CEO and President of Stonebridge Companies , shares the unlikely path that took him from an accounting degree to running his own hotel by 25 and then spending 17 years as a hospitality leader in the Caribbean. You'll hear how a Caribbean hotel owner taught him to stop just getting through the day and start thinking strategically, why working alongside people from other countries changed how he leads, and why he believes everyone should work abroad at least once. ...