Episodes

Scott Curran is the Chief Operating Officer of Reneson Hotels - an owner of branded and independent hotels here in California - as well as the co-founder of GuestEQ, a hotel operations technology platform. These dual roles give him a unique perspective on how technology can improve operations and delight guests. In today’s episode you’ll learn: * The role of automation in hotel operations today * What he’s seen as a hotel owner and operator * Lessons from improving the hotel check-in proces...

Scott Curran is the Chief Operating Officer of Reneson Hotels, an owner and operator of branded and independent hotels in California that are at the top of guest satisfaction charts. We spoke recently about the power of technology to empower staff and delight guests - and Scott has a unique perspective as both a hotel company COO and the co-founder of GuestEQ, a hotel operations technology platform. I asked him about how he achieved best-in-class guest satisfaction ratings at his hotels, and h...

Scott Curran is the Chief Operating Officer of Reneson Hotels. Today, he’s sharing with us some of the challenges he’s seen with technology as a hotel owner and operator that he’s now addressing in his other role as co-founder of GuestEQ, a hotel operations technology platform. In today’s episode you’ll learn: * The biggest problem he’s seen with technology as a hotel operator * Designing for ease of use * The gold standard for technology usability 👉 How are you making technology easier for...

“Hotel staff are being pushed to the limit. Leaders need to not only show empathy but gratitude.” Brian Proctor is an exceptional hospitality leader who held executive roles at Starwood, Evolution Hospitality, and BridgeStreet - where he was Chief Operating Officer - before founding Leeds Hospitality Group. Brian is also the host of Tuesday's Thanks - a podcast that features people showing gratitude for those who made an impact on their careers. This theme of thankfulness is top of mind as it ...

It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the US, and I know you might be one of those hospitality heroes on the front lines providing hospitality, so thank you. David Jurcak is the President of Grand Hotel in Michigan. I had asked him how he maintains high morale among his teams, and what he told me was very fitting for today. In today’s episode you’ll learn: * How David’s mom shaped how he thinks about gratitude today * A memorable experience early in his career as a front desk agent * How to make a ...

“The fact that we are serving you is what makes your holiday happen.” Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the US, and this week is typically one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. Usually, on this show, we talk about how to provide hospitality but we're going to do something a bit different today that might either benefit you as a guest somewhere – or if you're working outside the industry understand what it's like to be providing hospitality on holidays like these. Maria Navarro has worked...

I’m always intrigued by unique hotel amenities because they are a small way to show remarkable hospitality and create something worth talking about. In today’s episode, Richard Garcia, Senior Vice President of Food and Beverage at Remington Hotels, shares a simple amenity that stands out from his travels - and what made it so meaningful. 👉 What’s a creative amenity like this you can offer to surprise and delight your guests? Hospitality Daily is brought to you by HotelOperations.com, which hel...

Richard Garcia is a veteran of the US Marine Corps, a star chef, and now, Senior Vice President of Food and Beverage at Remington Hotels. Today, he shares with us: * Why he will never cut corners on providing a great guest experience * The tradeoffs he will make to ensure they don’t cut corners * Guest experience expectations pre-pandemic vs today * What providing a great guest experience can look like at various types of hotels * Benefits of delighting your guests 👉 What changes might yo...

When I spoke with Remington Hotels SVP of Food & Beverage Richard Garcia earlier this summer, he had just pulled up some stats before we talked. “In the past few months, we’ve had over half a million visitors - and that’s a half a million opportunities I have.” In today’s episode you’ll learn: * What opportunities Richard sees in each of these touchpoints * How the hotel industry has stripped away services that used to be offered on the rooms side of the business - and how F&B can make up the...

Susan Barry led sales and marketing teams at Starwood Hotels before founding Hive Marketing, where today she helps hotel brands, management companies, and owners refine their message and better communicate their value. One of the ways she does this is by investing in content creation, digital media, and storytelling both for her hotel clients and for her business as the host of the (excellent and entertaining) Top Floor podcast. This show isn’t about marketing per se, but I wanted to share Susa...

“We’re tuning into the future of work and how we can provide hospitality in this new environment” - Elise Hofman Today we’ll hear from Elise Hofman, who shares how Zoku, a hospitality brand based in the Netherlands, is taking advantage of the flexible working environment many companies now provide to provide hospitality in new and creative ways. You can download the whitepaper she mentioned here. 👉 Question of the day: How could you help provide hospitality in this new era of distributed workf...

“You might be new to a city, but you’re already going to have connections with us.” - Elise Hofman Elise Hofman is a manager at Zoku, a hospitality brand based in the Netherlands. Part of their brand mission is to fight loneliness and help their guests feel a part of the community. I wanted to know specifically how they’re doing that, and Elise explains in today’s episode. 👉 Question of the day: What could you do to help your guests establish links to your community? Hospitality Daily is broug...

“A lot of people in our country are so burned out right now. I want to help them see what it’s like to have fun through providing hospitality.” - Stan Kennedy Stan Kennedy is the Chief Operating Officer of Remington Hotels, a management company with 120 hotels under management. In this episode, he shares why he’s focused on bringing the fun back to hospitality, and a fun challenge Remington introduced to help them do this. As Adele Gutman pointed out before, hospitality staff have been in pain...

Clay Bassford, the founder of Bespoke Sound, is on a mission to help hospitality brands create exceptional experiences through what he calls “music identity design.” In today’s episode, he shares how he did this for Stanly Ranch, one of California’s best new resorts. Listen to learn: * The need for distinct identities throughout large properties * Creating an overarching theme for the property * The litmus test of great music design * How they used Spotify playlists to extend the brand expe...

Music just might be one of the most underrated aspects of hospitality today. I don’t know about you, but it’s one of the first things I notice and sets the stage for my experience in a hotel or restaurant. Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Clay Bassford, founder of Bespoke Sound, who is mission to help hospitality brands create exceptional experiences through world-class music design. “It's one of our five senses, so as a hotelier being cognizant of how we can control the impact that soun...

“Guests now realize they can have a pizza at their door in 20 minutes instead of the 45-minute wait for a delivery from one of the big guys.” I love stories of people coming up with new ways of providing hospitality because they’re paying attention to guest needs. This episode is brought to you by Shiji Group who connected me with Jason Kaminski, Regional Food and Beverage Director at American Liberty Hospitality in Texas. Jason told me how he's launching his own in-house F&B brand after watch...

I asked Dylan Beaumont about a hotel that inspired him recently, and he said 11 Mirrors Design Hotel in Kyiv. “If hospitality is about showing warmth, comfort, and a home away from home, they're doing it better than anyone else.” “There is heroism in providing service when no one would expect you to do it.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.hospitalitydaily.comJoin the conversation on today's episode o...

Dylan Beaumont is a general manager at a hotel in Eugene, Oregon. I’ve followed him for a while on social media, and recently had the chance to speak with him about how he thinks about providing exceptional hospitality. In his view, great hospitality is rooted in taking the time to interact with guests, listen to them, and influence their day. Sounds great, right? But I wanted to know more and asked him what gets in the way of providing hospitality like this. “It could be anything going on in...

Yesterday, Adele Gutman shared the story about how her hotels topped guest satisfaction lists - and today she explains more about how to think about the guest review scores for your properties. Hospitality Daily is brought to you by HotelOperations.com, which shows you how to empower your teams to deliver results. Check out the recent guide to using LinkedIn to attract talent, tell your story, and create opportunities. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subs...

Adele Gutman and her team at The Library Hotel Collection achieved some pretty extraordinary results: * Their 4 hotels in NYC earned placement in the top 4 spots on TripAdvisor in a city with hundreds of exceptional hotels * Their Aria Hotel in Budapest was the #1-rated hotel in the world on TripAdvisor in 2017, out of more than a million accommodations on the platform * The Library Hotel Collection as a whole had the highest overall online review scores in the world according to a brand stud...

Remember this photo that went viral recently? Part of the reason it went viral is the experience many feel in the hospitality industry of being burned out after years of stress. Adele is on a mission to help hospitality providers get to the root of what’s causing this stress and turn the situation around. In this episode, Adele shared her perspective on what it takes to create a culture where hospitality teams can thrive - and shares a story of what she learned about this from a recent hotel ...

“Good isn’t good. Only great is good.” That’s the message from Adele Gutman, who used to run sales, marketing, and revenue for The Library Collection in New York, and worked with owner Henry Kallan and their teams to achieve the incredible result of placing all 4 of their hotels in the top 4 spots of TripAdvisor’s list of hotels in New York City with the highest guest satisfaction. In this episode, Adele shares: * Why “good isn’t good - only great is good” * The profitability of loyal guests...

I’ve wanted to do something a little different here for a while, and today I’m excited to let you know we’re turning this into a daily email + podcast combo. Each day, we’ll be sharing one new idea you can put to work immediately to delight your staff, guests, and community. Listen to the trailer above for some context on what you can expect from this moving forward. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ho...