Episodes

Jan. 19, 2024

Creating Alchemy with Ian Schrager (And How Hospitality Needs to Change) - Ben Pundole, PUBLIC Hotels

Ben Pundole, a long-time collaborator with Ian Schrager, currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Brand, Culture, and Experience at PUBLIC Hotels. In this episode, you'll hear the insights Ben learned from Ian on delivering remarkable hospitality, and how this has evolved over time. Follow Ben on Instagram Visit A Hotel Life Let's connect! Engage with the Hospitality Daily community on LinkedIn Join The Huddle - Hospitality Daily's private membership community Send me a me...
Guest: Ben Pundole
Jan. 18, 2024

How "Prideology" Helped Me Inspire My Teams as CEO - Bill Walshe

If hospitality is all about making other people happy, how do you support and inspire your teams as they do this? In this episode, Bill Walshe, the former CEO of Viceroy Hotel Group and current strategic advisor and keynote speaker, shares what he calls "Prideology" - a philosophy he learned is essential for anyone in hospitality to understand and live by. Follow Bill on LinkedIn Visit Bill's website Watch Bill's TED talk: A Roadmap of Pride Listen to our other episode with Bill: Creating A ...
Jan. 17, 2024

How I Get Media Coverage - Michelle Heston, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Would you like to get more media attention and attract more guests and staff to your properties? If so, you're in for a treat because today we're joined by Michelle Heston, Executive Regional Director of Public Relations for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and the Vice Chair of the Visit California PR Committee. In this episode, you'll learn what she's learned about hospitality, partnerships, getting media attention, working with influencers, and much more. Let's connect! Engage with the Hospitality...
Jan. 16, 2024

How Becoming A Hotel Owner Expanded My Perspective on Hospitality - Jeremy Wells

Jeremy Wells is a thought leader in independent hospitality, the author of two books - Future Hospitality and Indie Hotel - and a partner at Longitude°, a branding and experience design consultancy that some of the coolest hospitality concepts in the world turn to for guidance. A few years ago, he got into the world of hotel investment and now owns The Ozarker Lodge. In this episode, you'll hear how this has shaped his perspective on hospitality. Let's connect! Engage with the Hospitality...
Jan. 15, 2024

Why I Moved from Finance to Building Cultural Competency to Drive Results in Hospitality - Seema Jain

From a background in finance to executive leadership roles at Marriott, Seema Jain saw the power of cultural competency at work. Now the Founder and CEO of Seva Global, Seema teaches us in this episode what cultural competency is, how to develop it - and the power it has in any hospitality business. Let's connect! Engage with the Hospitality Daily community on LinkedIn Join The Huddle - Hospitality Daily's private membership community Send me a message if you'd like to appear on the sh...
Guest: Seema Jain
Jan. 14, 2024

How We Use Nutrition & Wellness Programming To Serve Our Guests - Sid Garza-Hillman, Stanford Inn

I recently had an incredible stay at the Stanford Inn in Mendicino - a small town on the northern California coast - and one of the things that stood out to me was their thoughtful approach to nutrition and wellness - not only in their food and beverage offerings but in the education and programming they offered. We're joined today by Sid Garza-Hillman, the Wellness Programs Director at the Stanford Inn, to learn about this and the opportunity it might present for you. In this episode, you...
Jan. 13, 2024

Slowpokes: Canada’s Hotel-Based Social Run Club

Want to provide hospitality beyond the walls of your property through activities and programming that both serves your guests and the community at large? Annex Hotel Chief Operating Officer Ryan Killeen shared how they're doing this through a social run club they host in Toronto: The Slowpokes. To learn more, I sat down with the founders of Slowpokes, and in this episode, you'll hear from them what it takes to start a community-driven program like this - and how to host it as a hospitality prov...
Jan. 12, 2024

How Our Influencer Strategy Made Millions - Isaac French, Experiential Hospitality

Isaac French, founder of Experiential Hospitality, has one of the crazier stories I've heard in hospitality about how he built Live Oak Lake - a 7-cabin landscape hotel in Texas - for $2.3 million in 2022 and sold it for $7 million in 2023. Isaac credits social media and working with influencers as the biggest factors of this success story - so I wanted to share how exactly he did this with you. In this episode, you'll learn the common misconception most people have with social media, how to le...
Guest: Isaac French
Jan. 11, 2024

How We Cut Food Waste, Delight People, and Make Money Doing It - Christina Grace, Foodprint Group

Would you like to have happier teams, more inspired guests, and make more money by winning more events business? If so, I want you to learn from Christina Grace, founder and CEO of Food Print Group (@FoodPrintGroup), a software and services company that partners with hospitality owners and operators to eliminate waste. Cutting down on waste is something we can all get behind. It's good for the planet and our profits. Christina draws from her extensive background in food systems and research to ...
Jan. 10, 2024

How Bill Kimpton Pioneered Boutique Lifestyle Hospitality - Jorge Treviño

Bill Kimpton is widely credited with pioneering the concept of the boutique hotel in the United States, and our guest today, Jorge Treviño, opened 44 hotels and 53 restaurants for him at Kimpton Hotels. In this episode, you'll hear what Jorge learned through this process about creating lifestyle hotels and providing exceptional hospitality in a fresh way that remains more relevant today than ever. Let's connect! Engage with the Hospitality Daily community on LinkedIn Join The Huddle - Ho...
Jan. 9, 2024

The Power of Collaboration in Hospitality for Events - Micayla Diener

Events are such a big part of the world of hospitality - whether it's hosting internal events for your teams or hosting others and helping them produce their events on your properties. Today, we're learning how to do this well from Micayla Diener, the Global Events Lead at a major technology company. Micayla studied hospitality management in college before starting her journey to leadership in events, and in this epsiode you'll learn about what goes into planning and producing successful events...
Jan. 8, 2024

How We Build Community and Grow Through Partnerships - Frank Uffen, The Social Hub

What might it look like to use your hospitality business as a platform for partnerships with others in your community to delight your guests and customers and grow your business? Frank Uffen, Managing Director of Community & Partnerships at The Social Hub (formerly The Student Hotel) and Founder of The Class Foundation, is joining us today to share some insight on this. In this episode, you'll learn how Frank builds community through partnerships, useful frameworks, and some examples of what t...
Jan. 7, 2024

How We Re-Imagined Space to Provide Hybrid Hospitality - Frank Uffen, The Social Hub

Could you create more opportunities for yourself and your business by thinking of hospitality more expansively? Joining us today to share how he and his team did this is Frank Uffen, Managing Director of Community & Partnerships The Social Hub (formerly The Student Hotel) and Founder of the Class Foundation. In this episode, you'll learn about how The Student Hotel got started, why and how it rebranded to The Social Hub, and the opportunity with Hybrid Hospitality today. Follow Frank on Linke...
Jan. 6, 2024

How To Use Photography To Showcase Your Hotel - Jiri Lizler

How can you use photography to communicate your hospitality and grow your business? Joining us today is award-winning commercial photographer Jiri Lizler, whose work has been featured in everything from Conde Nast to Forbes to The Times and whose clients include brands from Chanel and Warner Brothers to Ritz Carlton and Six Senses. In this episode, you'll learn how to prepare for and plan a photoshoot, common misconceptions, and trends in photography that Jiri is seeing today. Follow Jiri on ...
Jan. 5, 2024

How I Creatively Drive More Revenue for Hotels & Resorts - Judith Cartwright

Judith Cartwright is the Founder and Managing Director of Black Coral Consulting and the former Senior Vice President of Revenue & Distribution at Kerzner International, where she developed a total revenue optimization model that drove revenues across all business units for the company's global portfolio of brands, including Atlantis, One&Only, and Mazagan. In this episode, you'll learn what she learned through this process, including the cross-functional working relationships that are most impo...
Jan. 4, 2024

How To Create a "Revenue Pizza" To Maximize Profits for Your Hospitality Business - Judith Cartwright

Do you know what it will take to drive more revenue - and profits - from your hospitality business this year? Today, we're learning from someone whose name has kept coming up in our community as a world-class revenue strategist: Judith Cartwright, Founder and Managing Director of Black Coral Consulting and former Senior Vice President of Revenue & Distribution at Kerzner International, where she developed a total revenue optimization model, which drove revenues across all business units for the ...
Jan. 3, 2024

What Hospitality Providers Need To Know About Media Now - Dorothy Dowling

In this episode, we're learning from Dorothy Dowling, Managing Director at Horwath and the former Chief Marketing Officer at BWH Hotel Group, about the current media landscape and the revolutionary role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in reshaping communication today. We cover: The evolution of media creation and distribution and its implications for hospitality businesses. How AI is democratizing content creation, enabling marketers to tell compelling stories without hefty budgets. ...
Jan. 2, 2024

How I Stay Motivated to Provide Hospitality - Rami Zeidan, Life House

Why does travel and hospitality matter to you? Having a really clear answer to this is really important as we begin a new year because knowing your "why" is going to help you perform at your best. In this episode, I want you to hear Life House CEO Rami Zeidan explain what motivates him to provide hospitality because I think it will inspire you to get really specific and personal about why you're in this business and excited for the year ahead. Follow Rami on LinkedIn Learn more about Life H...
Jan. 1, 2024

How I'm Creating New Beginnings for Others Through Hospitality - Craig Poole, Reading Hospitality

Craig Poole is the President of Reading Hospitality, which owns and operates the DoubleTree Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. He's a three-time Hilton Connie Award winner and was recognized as General Manager of the Year by the American Hotel and Lodging Association. In today's episode, you'll learn how he uses hospitality to create new beginnings for people. Follow Craig on LinkedIn Listen to our other episodes with Craig Watch the documentary: Follow Me, and I Will Be Behind You This episod...
Dec. 31, 2023

My #1 Lesson From 2023 - Josiah Mackenzie

In this episode, Hospitality Daily host & producer Josiah Mackenzie shares his #1 learning from the past year - and how it shows opportunity for all of us in the year ahead. Links: Join the Hospitality Daily community on LinkedIn Learn more about The Huddle - Hospitality Daily's private membership community This episode is brought to you with support from Sojern. Finding and appealing to travelers online means getting to know them, and that's why first-party data - the information you ha...
Dec. 30, 2023

Hybrid Hospitality: How We're Merging the Best of Hotels and Short-term Rentals - Ryan Killeen, The Annex Hotel

Join us as we dive into the world of hybrid hospitality with Ryan Killeen, the Chief Operations Officer at the Annex Hotel in Toronto. With a rich background that includes roles at Airbnb and Sonder, Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge to the table, discussing the future of hospitality that marries the comfort of short-term rentals with the luxury of hotels. In this episode, listeners will learn about: The evolution of short-term rentals and hotels into a new, hybrid model. Ryan's journe...
Guest: Ryan Killeen
Dec. 29, 2023

What Next-Gen Hospitality Might Look Like - Adam Wallace

In this episode, we're talking with Adam Wallace, CEO of Spherical, about what he's learned from hospitality trailblazers so far and who is building the next generation of hospitality experiences. Listen to our other episodes with Adam: The Hotel Culture I Experienced That Cared For People, Enabled Innovation & Earned Media Attention The Problem With Marriott and Hyatt This episode is brought to you with support from Sojern. Finding and appealing to travelers online means getting to know t...
Dec. 28, 2023

The Power of Community and Connection - Michelle Jensen Session

Michelle Jensen Session is the co-owner of Kensington Investment Group, which owns and manages a mix of commercial and hotel properties. She's also the co-founder of Aquarius Hospitality Solutions, a strategic advisory firm for hospitality. In this episode, Michelle teaches us about community and connection and why they matter so much. Follow Michelle on LinkedIn Learn more about Aquarius Hospitality Solutions Follow Aquarius Hospitality Solutions on LinkedIn Follow Aquarius Hospitality Sol...
Dec. 27, 2023

Balancing Fun with Attention to Detail: What I Learned from Steve Bartolin at The Broadmoor - Tom Luersen, CoralTree Hospitality

Today Tom Luersen, President of CoralTree Hospitality, shares what he learned from Steve Bartolin, Chairman of The Broadmoor. Follow Tom on LinkedIn Learn more about CoralTree Hospitality This episode is brought to you with support from Sojern. Finding and appealing to travelers online means getting to know them, and that's why first-party data - the information you have about your guests - is so important to providing hospitality today. I teamed up with Sojern to study how hoteliers are us...