Episodes

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Scott LaMont is the CEO of EDSA - a planning, landscape, and architecture firm - and in this episode, he shares what he sees regarding the role of AI in designing hospitality environments. Follow Scott on LinkedIn Learn more about EDSA 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 tea...

Gilda Perez-Alvarado is the CEO of Orient Express and Group Chief Strategy Officer at Accor. In this episode, she shares what she's excited about in the world of hospitality today. 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 using this ...

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 came to think about the power of hospitality in a new way. Follow Craig on LinkedIn Listen to our other episodes with Craig Watch the documentary: Follow Me and I Will Be Behind You

Are you getting the rest you need? I want you to think about this because working in hospitality means giving out, and unless you find time to rest, you won't be able to provide hospitality at the level you want, for as long as you want. Someone who has been very influential in how I think about the role of rest over the past few months is our guest today, Nathan LaGrange, Executive Director of Oasis Rest International. In this episode, you'll hear what he's learned about rest and resting well....

Rachel Humphrey is the founder of The Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance and is Principal at DEI Advisors. In this episode, we explore how we can make hospitality events more inclusive and reflective of the industry's talent pool. Listeners will learn about: The current state of diversity among attendees and speakers at hospitality events. The importance of visibility for women and diverse groups in leadership roles within the industry. Practical strategies for conference organi...

In this episode, we're learning from Jake Wurzak (LinkedIn, X)- Founder and CEO of DoveHill Capital Management and CEO of Wurzak Hotel Group. Jake shares his perspective on the hospitality industry today, revealing why now might be the best time to invest. Listeners will gain an understanding of: The value of investing in hospitality today The benefits of being vertically integrated in hotel management and investment. Innovative investment strategies, including structured equity and pr...

In this episode, we learn from Jake Wurzak (LinkedIn, X)- Founder and CEO of DoveHill Capital Management, CEO of Wurzak Hotel Group, and Host of the Masters of Moments Podcast - about the power of education and teaching others to succeed in today's landscape. If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy our other episode with Jake, Mastering The Game of Hotel Investment, Design & Branding, as well as our other episodes on investment and development. Questions, comments, or suggestions? Get in...