Episodes

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're going to learn what inspired him to think about the power of hospitality in a new way. Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily LinkedIn page. Hospitality Daily isn't just a podc...

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're going to learn why he hired more than 200 people to run his 209-room hotel. Follow Craig on LinkedIn Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily LinkedIn page. Hospitality Daily i...

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 this episode, you'll learn both how Craig starts each day - and how he got started on the path to the business he runs today. Follow Craig on LinkedIn Watch the documentary: Follow Me and I Will Be Behind You Join the conversa...

Today, we're learning from Paul Miller, CEO of Questex, and in our discussion, we cover: Background on the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference Why events matter now (2:26) What's changed post-pandemic in what we want from events (4:05) Trends and opportunities in events (4:57) Creating a "Coachella experience" in B2B events (7:37) The case for investing in hospitality (9:14) To learn more about Paul Miller and his work: Follow Paul on LinkedIn ...

Today, we're learning from Shelley Brown. We've been talking about recruiting and hiring and engaging people in hospitality for years, but what's beneath all of that is creating a culture of belonging. The very best hospitality leaders I know focus on this because they know that if you welcome people to your teams well, and make them feel like they belong they will not only stay engaged and do their best work - but will help you recruit other talented people. Shelley began her career in hospit...

This episode is sponsored by MDO's Night Auditor Appreciation Day. The Night Auditor plays a vital, yet often overlooked role in running a hotel. In this episode, Jason Freed and Eduardo Burkard from MDO discuss the range of responsibilities this role typically covers while working overnight: from checking people in to covering the kitchen to processing important data for every function of the hotel. While the working hours and wide range of jobs to be done can be tough, this role is often wher...

Hotel Management’s Voice of the Owner survey just came out and showed employee mental health is the #1 most-anticipated challenge for hotel owners and investors over the next 12 months. Today, we’re learning from someone who has built a comprehensive employee benefits program to help address this: Dan Aswell, Senior Vice President of Total Rewards at Remington Hotels. In this episode, you’re going to learn the demographic least likely to receive important mental health support, what Dan offere...

Imagine if you had the opportunity to work on a small team with one of the hospitality industry's most legendary leaders. What would you be looking for, and what would you take away from it? Sara Osias is now Head of Experiences at Auberge Resorts Collection, but in this episode shares what stood out to her working with Chip Conley when they were both at Airbnb. You're going to hear a leadership lesson that you can bring into your meetings today to level up your decision-making and make your c...

To empower your teams to do their best work and delight your guests, you need to inspire them. And that, of course, requires being inspired yourself. Today, you're going to hear how Sara Osias, Head of Experiences at Auberge Resorts Collection, thinks about this and does this. In case you missed them, be sure to listen to our other conversations with Sara: My journey to leading experience design How I design and deliver experiences for our guests Join the conversation on today's episode on...

Our guest today is Alex Brown, Founder & President at CXN Travel and Recover Hospitality. In this episode, you'll hear how to identify and address burnout, how to reenergize yourself, the importance of building resilience - and a couple of quick stories from Alex on experiences that he's had that guide the way that he thinks about mental health in hospitality today. Connect and learn more about Alex: LinkedIn Recover Hospitality CXN Travel Join the conversation on today's episode on the H...

Our guest today is Alex Brown, Founder & President at CXN Travel and Recover Hospitality. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and there are few better to speak to both the challenges our industry faces and how to address them than Alex Brown, a hospitality management professional and hotel owner who transitioned to a career in substance use recovery support services. In this episode, you're going to hear what Alex has learned about mental health and advice for owners, operators, and hospital...

Today's guest is James Ferguson, Director of Culture at Wurzak Hotel Group. LinkedIn is responsible for most of the things I've able to create for you here at Hospitality Daily. In the past week, our stories reached more than 50,000 people on LinkedIn alone - which blows my mind. But it's not just me - time and again, I've heard from hoteliers that this social network plays a key part in their success and what they're building. One of those people is James Ferguson, Director of Culture at Wurz...

In today's episode, Sloan Dean, CEO of Remington Hotels, shares his experience of how ambition affected his relationships with colleagues earlier in his career. Through executive coaching and feedback, he realized he needed to let go of ego and focus on empathy and vulnerability. By changing himself, he was able to achieve success, leading to his current role today as CEO of Remington Hotels. His advice for us today: "If you want to change the world, change yourself." Join the conversation ...

Christopher B. Randall is the Director of Community Impact at the 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis. In this episode, you'll learn what his role covers, why community impact matters, and a few ways he engages people through programming and creating access. You're going to be inspired by ways you can engage and impact the community around you as well. Follow Christopher on LinkedIn Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily LinkedIn page. Hospitality Daily isn't just a podcast!...

In this episode, I recap some of my top takeaways from listening to Sam Altman talk about AI, ChatGPT, and the future of technology at the Stripe Sessions event in San Francisco. For more on AI: Read my guide: AI for Hotels: A Guide to Artificial Intelligence for Hospitality Leaders Watch me and Chris Cano discuss the implications for hospitality providers Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily LinkedIn page. Hospitality Daily isn't just a podcast! Every morning - T...

Richard Valtr is founder of Mews, and in this episode, shares the big trend creating opportunities for our businesses - and our careers. Read Richard's blog post Follow Richard on LinkedIn Follow Richard on Twitter Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily LinkedIn page. Hospitality Daily isn't just a podcast! Every morning - Tuesday through Friday - I summarize the stories you need to know as a hospitality professional in a short email. Read today's issue and subsc...

Today we're going hear from someone who oversees some of the most extraordinary experiences in hospitality today, Sara Osias. Sara is Head of Experiences at Auberge Resorts Collection, and in this episode, you're going to hear about everything from a creative spin on nightly turndown service to an arts-focused adventure to Marfa, Texas that includes a private jet and carefully curated culinary experiences. Experience is the key to standing out and making money in hospitality today. As we learn...

Sara Osias is Head of Experiences at Auberge Resorts Collection. In this episode, you'll learn how Sara draws inspiration from a diverse range of experiences along her own career journey - from camp counselor to teacher to an early member of Airbnb's hospitality team with Chip Conley - to lead experience design at Auberge Resorts today. I want you to hear her story because it will show you how each of our career journeys - no matter how unconventional they are - can lead us to providing except...

Naureen Ahmed is the Founder of Inspiring Women in Hospitality, and in this episode, we discuss listening to (and amplifying) all stories - and why that matters. Listen to Naureen's podcast here: Inspiring Women in Hospitality Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily LinkedIn page. Hospitality Daily isn't just a podcast! Every morning - Tuesday through Friday - I summarize the stories you need to know as a hospitality professional in a short email. Read today's issue a...

Naureen Ahmed is the Founder of Inspiring Women in Hospitality, and in this episode, we discuss the gender imbalance in hospitality leadership, what Naureen is hearing from women in hospitality around the world, ways to address the imbalance, and how Naureen is doing this through Inspiring Women in Hospitality in its "Inspire Programme" - a peer-to-peer mentoring initiative. Listen to the podcast: Inspiring Women in Hospitality Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily L...

Would you like to build a culture so strong it attracts talented people, keeps them engaged in doing their best work, and provides a way to scale success across your organization? That's what James Ferguson is doing as the Director of Culture at Wurzak Hotel Group. In today's episode, you'll learn about his unique role, how his career as a general manager informs his work today, how he approaches training and development, his "culture committee" concept, and what it's done for their company. ...

Veerle Donders is Concept & Brand Director at Zoku. In this episode, she shares why creativity matters more than ever today in hospitality - and how she helped bring it to life at Zoku. Listen to our past episodes with Veerle: Business travel, "bleisure," and fighting loneliness Community is a verb The future of hospitality is more human What to look for in a career in hospitality Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Daily LinkedIn page. Hospitality Daily isn't ju...

Our guest today is Michael Pace, General Manager of the InterContinental Mark Hopkins in San Francisco. Michael is a very creative person and shared a ton of ways partnerships and collaborations can not only do good but create something fun and worth talking about when we spoke recently. In today’s episode, he shares the stories of two very different collaborations he did - one with Porsche and the other to restore the bee colonies. Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality ...

Michael Pace is the General Manager of the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, and in this episode, shares the story of how he co-created the "EarthCare" initiative at Kimpton Hotels earlier in his career - which quickly became one of the leading environmental programs in the hospitality industry. Michael shares how they got started, what the program included, how they scaled it, and how to make the business case for sustainability. Join the conversation on today's episode on the Hospitality Dail...