The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast

AI in the Hospitality Industry: The Future of Guest Experience: Luca Zambello, Jurny

Adam Knight — Wed, 24 May 2023 01:00:00 -0700

Luca is the Co-founder and CEO of Jurny, an AI-driven hospitality platform that seamlessly automates operations and guest experiences through vertical integration and connectivity. This is a company that has taken the traditional property management system and flipped it on its head.

The hotel industry has never been accused of being tip of the spear when it comes to technology adoption, but today, things seem different.

After the pandemic trained people to do work remotely, tools that were not so commonly used 3 years ago are absolutely part of the mainstream today. Well, AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard are rapidly becoming integrated into everyday tools we all use and very soon, they will be impossible to ignore.

So this episode is a little different than others... We discuss Jurny’s product and how it’s different from other PMS providers, but ultimately we start to scratch the surface on AI and how it’s starting to affect the hospitality industry.

It may be too soon to see the true implications on hospitality, but company’s like Jurny are at the forefront of its integration and one thing is certain, it’s here, so now we need to figure out how to make it work for us, our guests and our operations.

About Luca

Luca Zambello is the co-founder and CEO of Jurny, an AI-driven hospitality platform that seamlessly automates operations and guest experiences through vertical integration and connectivity.

As a former host and operator with more than 12 years of experience, Luca brings a wealth of hospitality knowledge. He is a renowned Forbes contributor for his expertise and industry acumen and has been featured in Entrepreneur, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and other publications.

Luca was recently chosen as an Advisory Board Member for Entertainment and Hospitality Management at California State University, Fullerton, where he also delivers lectures as a guest. Furthermore, he has received multiple awards and nominations in the hospitality field, including the Titan Award and the American Best in Business Awards. Most recently, he was listed as one of the top 10 Notable Entrepreneurs in Los Angles by LA Weekly.

Links

Website: https://www.jurny.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucazambello/

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Do you know someone looking for a vacation rental management company?

If so, Recreation Vacation Rentals has got a referral program that you might be interested in! You can earn $1,000 for every referral you make to Recreation Vacation Rentals.

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Finding Your Story: Juliana Hahn, Hospitality Copywriter

Adam Knight — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Juliana is a content creator and copywriter specializing in writing for the hospitality and tourism industry.

If you’ve ever been responsible for writing an email to a guest, promoting a new offering, or creating content for a website, this episode is for you.

Like many, I’ve been frustrated with the process of creating content only to have it miss the mark. It’s no easy task to create content that gets your message across in an engaging way, but also compels someone to want more AND spend their money at your business.

We’re talking about what effective copywriting means on this episode and it’s deeper than just putting words to paper. Juliana shares insights in to finding your target audience, what effective copy actually looks like and even touches on the rise of AI in guest communications.

And be sure to listen to the end because we cover some brands that are doing a great job who you may want to emulate in your own hotel.

About Juliana

Juliana Hahn is a content creator and copywriter specialized in writing for the hospitality and tourism industry. Before diving into the world of copywriting several years ago, she studied hotel management and worked in hotels around the globe. Today she leverages her industry experience to craft engaging content for hospitality tech companies, hotels and online publications. Recently she published her first eBook, Impactful Hotel Storytelling.

Links

Website: https://www.hospitality-copywriting.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianahahn/

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Thank you to SiteMinder for sponsoring this episode. They are the world’s leading hotel commerce platform that provides hoteliers like you with the tools you need to sell, market, manage and grow your hotel business, all from a single dashboard.

To see how SiteMinder can help you and your hotel, AND get 6 months free with a 12 month contract, visit siteminder.com/principles.

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Do you know someone looking for a vacation rental management company?

If so, Recreation Vacation Rentals has got a referral program that you might be interested in! You can earn $1,000 for every referral you make to Recreation Vacation Rentals.

---

For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

SiteMinder

--- Thank you to SiteMinder for sponsoring this episode. They are the world’s leading hotel commerce platform that provides hoteliers like you with the tools you need to sell, market, manage and grow your hotel business, all from a single dashboard. To learn more about how SiteMinder can help your business succeed, visit https://www.siteminder.com/principles

SiteMinder

How to get on the first page of an OTA: Bart-Jan Leyts, Loreca

Adam Knight — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Bart-Jan is the Founder of Loreca, a company specializing in online revenue strategies for the hospitality industry. They’ve developed an algorithm that enables hotels to have better control of their rates over multiple booking channels.

Getting on the first page of an OTA seems like a never ending challenge for hotels. And now, as ever more marketing dollars flow into the equation, it may seem like an impossible task.

This is why I wanted to have Bart-Jan on the show. His company is doing something truly innovative that could be a useful tool to help your hotel gain an edge on its competition, plus with the added benefit of making your operation more efficient.

We dive into how OTA rankings work, the algorithm Loreca has developed, how you can make use of the data provided and much more.

About Bart-Jan

Bart-Jan is a 23-year old entrepreneur. He founded Loreca in June 2021. Loreca is a Belgian-based-company specialised in online revenue strategies for actors in the hospitality industry. Next to this they founded their own algorithm which embodies visibility on the right channel for the right guest, meaning their client have a top-noted positions on the given OTA's. Due to this their clients are able to play a role in the guessing-process of the willingness to pay from customers, and this is accelerated by the algorithm (which enables pricing segmentation based on the specific customers).

Links

Website: https://www.loreca.be

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-jan-leyts-b427151b1/

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To see how SiteMinder can help you and your hotel, AND get 6 months free with a 12 month contract, visit siteminder.com/principles.

---

Do you know someone looking for a vacation rental management company?

If so, Recreation Vacation Rentals has got a referral program that you might be interested in! You can earn $1,000 for every referral you make to Recreation Vacation Rentals.

---

For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

SiteMinder

SiteMinder

Starting your hospitality investment journey: Alex Jarbo, Sargon Investments

Adam Knight — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Alex is a short-term rental developer and manager in Ashville, NC. A former Marine who found his way to real estate investing, he now runs Sargon Investments, a short term rental development company that is working on 650 cabins over the next 3 years. He also writes for Bigger Pockets, runs a YouTube channel and recently launched a short term rental educational course to help people get into the industry.

This is a topic near and dear to me. The idea of taking years of hospitality experience and using it to create your own hospitality brand has grabbed me and I know it’s done the same to many other hospitality professionals. The trouble is taking real estate development from idea to reality is filled with hurdles and land mines. The analysis paralysis and anxiety are real, so where do go to take you one step closer to making your dream a reality? I hope this episode is it.

Alex has been there. He started small and is working to build an empire. He shares more about what he did and how did it, what to look out for and the people you should have on your team to help.

If you’re at all interested in getting into short term rentals, this episode is for you.

About Alex

Alex Jarbo is a short-term rental developer and manager. He was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. He served in the Marine Corps for 4 ½ years where he was stationed in Washington DC apart of the Marine Corps Honor Guard. He left the Marine Corps at 22 years old to pursue his career as a real estate professional. He is the founder and CEO of Sargon Investments and he has a goal of developing 650 cabins in the next 3 years. Alex holds a MBA with a concentration in Real Estate Development and is currently finishing a Doctorate in Business with a concentration in Leadership. He is the host of the YouTube Channel Alex Builds where he teaches the ins and out of short-term development and management.

Links

Website: https://www.bdbstrmasterclass.com/enter

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN0sdWw5T6zP7-NG4p8Ry6g

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-jarbo-28a940139/

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To see how SiteMinder can help you and your hotel, AND get 6 months free with a 12 month contract, visit siteminder.com/principles.

---

Do you know someone looking for a vacation rental management company?

If so, Recreation Vacation Rentals has got a referral program that you might be interested in! You can earn $1,000 for every referral you make to Recreation Vacation Rentals.

---

For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

SiteMinder

SiteMinder

Digitizing Hospitality: Dr. Josef Vollmayr, limehome

Adam Knight — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Josef is the Founder and Managing Director of limehome, a European hospitality company with over 3,000 managed units, and is built on digitizing the guest experience and day to day operations.

The discussion about automation and tech advances in hospitality have been coming up a lot lately. If you’ve listened to previous episodes of the podcast, we often try to find answers to questions around high-touch service vs. automated & remote guest journeys. This is a subject that limehome has been working on since its inception and one that they may have solved.

Josef shares great insight into how the company came to be, how they’re looking at the industry, their business model and how commercial real estate professionals are approaching the next 6-12 months.

If you’re at all connected to tech, automation and guest service, this episode is for you.

About Josef

As Managing Director, Dr. Josef Vollmayr is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, the further development of the product, national and international expansion, and the areas of marketing and finance. In 2018, he co-founded limehome with Lars Stäbe, a radical technology- based hotel concept that can offer fully equipped suites at the price of a standard hotel room by fully automating all processes.

Having spent more than 500 nights in various hotels around the world during his time as a management consultant at McKinsey, Vollmayr could not shake the idea of developing a concept that eliminates waiting times, combines modern design with a home-from-home feel, while promising the standards of an established hotel brand.

Josef Vollmayr is the author of scientific articles in marketing, was a lecturer for statistics, CRM, and empirical methods at several universities and as a management consultant has supported companies from consumer industries and private equity worldwide in the development and implementation of their growth strategies.

Privately, he invests in real estate and acts as an angel investor for tech start- ups and likes to spend his free time by the sea - to test other hotel concepts, but also to keep fit by surfing. The former competitive athlete (decathlon) is considered an expert in prop and travel tech industries, organizational development, and growth strategies.

Links

Josef's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-josef-vollmayr-21743090

limehome LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/limehome/

Website: https://www.limehome.com/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/Limehome

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/limehomeofficial

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To see how SiteMinder can help you and your hotel, AND get 6 months free with a 12 month contract, visit siteminder.com/principles.

---

Do you know someone looking for a vacation rental management company?

If so, Recreation Vacation Rentals has got a referral program that you might be interested in! You can earn $1,000 for every referral you make to Recreation Vacation Rentals.

---

For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

SiteMinder

SiteMinder

How Human Resources is Evolving: Sue Sanders, HVMG

Adam Knight — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Sue is the EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer at HVMG, a hospitality management company based in Atlanta.

You could make a strong argument that the common thread through which many of today’s challenges in hospitality are connected are through Human Resources. That’s definitely not saying that HR is the cause, but rather HR being the bridge to many of the solutions.

We’ve done some episodes in the past about how hotels are dealing with challenges around retention, recruiting, culture, benefits or development, but I wanted to have Sue on the show to share how a large hotel company is thinking about these at a more global level.

It’s relatively easy to innovate on a one-off hotel basis, but it’s another thing entirely to find and implement non-traditional solutions at scale, and that’s what we’re discussing on this episode. I really enjoyed hearing about some of the ideas that HVMG is bringing to life and my hope, as it is with every episode, is that you find something here that can help you and your business.

About Sue

As EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, Sue oversees all Human Resources functions, including talent acquisition, talent development, associate retention and engagement strategies, human resources services, associate relations and benefits. Prior to joining HVMG, Sue worked as a management consultant supporting leading organizations to improve their enterprise performance management processes for clients including the The Coca-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Marriott International and the American Red Cross.

Prior to working as a management consultant, Sue worked in the hospitality industry for 18 years. She worked for Starwood Hotels and Resorts as Global Director, Six Sigma Training and Deployment and prior to that as Director of Organizational Development for St. Regis Hotels. From 1996 - 2000 Sue worked for Lodgian, Inc. (formerly Impac Hotel Group) as Director of Training and Development; from 1991 - 1996 she worked for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company as Corporate Quality Advisor and The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead in hotel operations and human resources. Her hospitality industry experience also includes a five-year adjunct faculty appointment at New York University's Robert Preston Tisch Center for Hospitality Travel and Tourism.

Sue serves on the Metro Atlanta Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, the Hospitality Board of Directors for Georgia State University and is a special advisor to the Castell Project, promoting diversity in the hospitality industry. She holds MBAs from Columbia Business School and London Business School. Sue has a BS in Marketing from The Florida State University.

Links

Website: https://www.hvmg.com

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To see how SiteMinder can help you and your hotel, AND get 6 months free with a 12 month contract, visit siteminder.com/principles.

---

Do you know someone looking for a vacation rental management company?

If so, Recreation Vacation Rentals has got a referral program that you might be interested in! You can earn $1,000 for every referral you make to Recreation Vacation Rentals.

---

For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Insights from SiteMinder’s 2022 Changing Traveller Report: Jason Lugo, SiteMinder

Adam Knight — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Jason is the Market Vice President for the Americas at SiteMinder, the world’s leading open hotel commerce platform.

The company recently released its 2022 Changing Traveler Report. Featuring insights from 8000 traveler interviews, it’s the largest accommodation-specific consumer survey on a global level, providing valuable insights into the full traveler journey. In other words, how guests dream, plan, book, experience, and share their stay.

We tackle 5 key insights from the report on this episode but most of the discussion centers on technology, because so many hotels are trying to figure out what guests want, how to incorporate these tools into their operations and, perhaps most importantly, how not to dilute their brands in the process.

This was one of those recordings that went quick so it’s a fast and tactical conversation. Jason does a great job breaking down relevant and actionable data and making sense of some of the more ambiguous challenges that hoteliers are facing.

About Jason

Driven by the transformative power of digital technology, Jason Lugo has established a career fostering growth and innovation within market-leading brands where he witnessed first-hand the potential of a cloud platform that offered intelligent and simple solutions to its users.

In 2016, Jason joined the world’s leading open hotel commerce platform, SiteMinder, where he remains today, leading the company’s fast-growing footprint throughout the dynamic Americas region. His intimate understanding of the different landscapes and market trends that exist within each country has proven invaluable for local hoteliers looking to best compete for today’s traveler.

Links

Website: SiteMinder.com

2022 Changing Traveller Report: https://www.siteminder.com/news/changing-traveller-report-2022/

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Do you know someone looking for a vacation rental management company?

If so, Recreation Vacation Rentals has got a referral program that you might be interested in! You can earn $1,000 for every referral you make to Recreation Vacation Rentals.

---

For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Improve your recruiting game: Thad Price, Talroo

Adam Knight — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Thad is the CEO of Talroo, a data-driven job advertising platform that helps hiring managers reach the candidates they need to build their essential workforce.

It’s hard to get your head around the changes in the labor market over the past couple of years, and especially over the past few months. We’ve gone from mass layoffs to “the great resignation” to regret over changing companies. Pay, benefits and company culture dominate discussions on both job boards and within boardrooms; and many people have simply decided to go their own way, seeking stability in starting their own companies or diving deeper into the gig economy.

No matter how you look at it, recruiting and retention is more complicated than ever. This discussion tries to simplify some of that complexity as we dive into recruiting psychology.

Thad brings a lot of great insight into the current labor situation and I’m sure there’s something here that will help if everything you’ve tried hasn’t worked.

About Thad

Thad Price is CEO at Austin-based Talroo, the award-winning talent data-driven job advertising platform, where he provides leadership, strategy, and guidance to all departments. With more than 17 years of experience in online recruitment and the job search vertical, Thad is a recognized thought leader in the HR/TA space. He genuinely believes that there is no industry that plays a more integral role in the economy. Thad uses his cross-functional experience to turn client feedback into innovative products that help companies hire better. Under Thad’s leadership, Talroo continues its mission of disruption in the industry. Prior to joining Talroo, he was a VP of Business Development at Job.com.

Links

Website: https://www.talroo.com

LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thad-price-2368b/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Comfort, Control, And Convenience in Hotel Technology: Tanya Pratt, Oracle Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Tanya is Vice President at Oracle Hospitality and leads the OPERA Cloud Strategy and Product Management teams. Prior to joining Oracle Hospitality, Tanya spent over 20 years at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in Hotel Operations, Revenue Management, Distribution and CRM.

This is my second episode with Tanya. Way back on Episode 36, we discussed an Oracle study looking at the hotel industry’s path to recovery in light of the early days of the pandemic.

Oracle has followed this up with a new study looking at how technology is changing the hospitality industry, how customers’ expectations have shifted, and organizations are responding.

Titled, “Hospitality in 2025: AUTOMATED, INTELLIGENT... AND MORE PERSONAL”, the report dives deep into four main categories:

Guest-facing technology
Labor and operations
Automation and guest data
Ancillaries, upgrades, and non-room revenue

Tanya shares important insights into the report and how industry leaders are reacting to circumstances they may have little control over.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Tanya, and I think we do a good job digging beyond the typical talking points and bring this report to life with real examples that show meaning behind the findings.

About Tanya

A seasoned hotelier, Tanya Pratt is a Vice President at Oracle Hospitality, who leads OPERA Cloud Strategy and Product Management teams. Prior to joining Oracle Hospitality, Tanya spent over 20 years at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in Hotel Operations, Revenue Management, Distribution and CRM. Most recently as the head of Business Technologies for Accor Hotels Luxury Brands division, Tanya was responsible for digital transformation, innovation and management of global programs and solutions. Her current focus is on driving value to our industry through increased levels of engagement with customers and delivering hospitality solution that enable and enhance strategic business priorities.

Links

Hospitality in 2025: AUTOMATED, INTELLIGENT... AND MORE PERSONAL: https://www.oracle.com/industries/hospitality/hospitality-in-2025-report/?source=:so:bl:or:awr:onew:::RC_WWMK220203P00065:&SC=:so:bl:or:awr:onew:::RC_WWMK220203P00065:&pcode=WWMK220203P00065

Website: https://www.oracle.com/industries/hospitality/

Tanya’s LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/pratttanya

Oracle Hospitality’s Twitter: @OracleHosp

Oracle Hospitality’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/oracle-hospitality/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Growing a Hospitality Brand: Will Parry, ALTIDO

Adam Knight — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Will is the CEO and Director of ALTIDO, a company that manages Airbnbs, serviced apartments, hotels, and private residences across Europe.

This is a classic episode of intending to talk about one thing, and pivoting to discuss something totally different. As someone who has spent much more time in the short term rental space over the past couple of years, I’ve watched ALTIDO grow and become fascinated by their bootstrapped beginnings to become one of Europe's largest players. Having Will on the show felt like being able to talk with myself 5 years from now.

We discuss growth, vision, knowing when and where to get out of your comfort zone and discuss resisting when everyone in your space is going one direction and decidedly going the other way.

People from all over hospitality are jumping into entrepreneurship, and whether you’re in short term rentals, hotels or a hospitality service provider, I hope that we touch on a point or two that speaks to what you may be going through right now and helps you figure out your next steps.

About Will

Will Parry graduated from Oxford University in 2010. He started his career in financial services at Matrix Group working on the renewable energy desk. Will left financial services to work in strategy consulting at McGrigor Group, a healthcare and insurance specialist based in London and Paris. After three years work in the corporate world, Will became a full time entrepreneur and successfully enrolled on to the New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF).

Whilst at the NEF, Will set up The London Residents Club (LRC) with an old friend, Tom Archer. They scaled the business via a key acquisition of a competitor, Somewhere Like Home and in 2019 LRC merged with three European entities to form ALTIDO where Will is currently CEO. In January 2022, DoveVivo acquired ALTIDO - Will remains as CEO and director of ALTIDO Ltd.

Links

https://www.stayaltido.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/wnaparry/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Episode 100: THANK YOU!

Adam Knight — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Thank you for listening and supporting the show for 100 episodes! Here's to 100 more!

Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-proven-principles-podcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theprovenprinciplespodcast

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theprovenprinciplespodcast

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

The Next Steps for the Hotel Business: Mitch Patel, Vision Hospitality Group

Adam Knight — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Mitch is the President and CEO of Vision Hospitality Group. The company holds a growing portfolio of hotels affiliated with brands such as Hilton and Marriott, including the company's first boutique hotel, The Edwin in Chattanooga, TN.

We used to do ‘after action reports’ after big events. They were meetings and reports to discuss what happened, what went wrong and what went right. We’d include several departments and managers to make sure we covered as many bases as possible, then made sure to share learnings with everyone, and have the report available to reference for the next big event.

As the summer travel season of 2022 comes to a close, and the hospitality industry (perhaps) takes a moment to breathe after record occupancies and tight staffing, there is now news of another economic storm that could derail its fragile recovery.

This episode could be looked at as an after action report of sorts. Mitch takes us through his company’s experience not just over the past couple of years but over several previous crises, what they’ve learned that made them stronger and how they’re approaching the litany of challenges that continue to emerge. We touch on finances, consumer behavior, staffing and most crucially, how company culture is the linchpin to it all.

About Mitch

Mitch Patel founded Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. in 1997 with a mere $3,000 in his savings account. Under his leadership as President and CEO, Vision holds a growing portfolio of hotels affiliated with premium brands such as Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International, including the company's first boutique hotel, The Edwin in Chattanooga, TN.

Mitch has led Vision to be the recipient of many awards, as well as industry media recognition in the fields of development, community service, design, and achievement. Most recently, Vision received the Marriott International Development Partner of the Year Award- Full Service, Marriott International Partnership Circle Award, the Marriott International Serve 360 Award, the Developer of the Year Award for the Hampton Brand by Hilton Worldwide, and the Multi-Brand Developer of the Year Award by Hilton Worldwide.

Mitch serves on the Marriott International Franchise Advisory Council and the Hilton Worldwide Owner's Advisory Council. Mitch maintains his presence on boards of local organizations that support education and economic development in Vision's hometown of Chattanooga, TN. He also serves as the Vice Chair of the Convention and Visitor's Bureau and is an advocate for ending human trafficking in the hospitality industry. His efforts have earned him nationwide recognition, which includes his most recent honor of receiving the NSDAR Americanism Award.

Mitch holds a Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Links

https://www.vhghotels.com

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

The 21st Century Hotel General Manager: Keith Cestare, Ambassador Chicago

Adam Knight — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Keith is the General Manager at the Ambassador Chicago.

How has the job of a hotel GM changed over the past couple of years? This is a question that only something like the pandemic could cause us to ask because in spite of pre-pandemic musings about culture, employee development and company growth, the job was quickly moving into “managing by spreadsheet” territory.

Today, we’re having discussions about flexibility, development and attracting new entrants into the industry; things that almost feel a little foreign but they’re topics that are forcing GM’s to find new ways of addressing old problems.

What struck me in this conversation was that much of what Keith and I discussed isn’t anything new. What’s different however is that leaders must bring authenticity to their positions now more than ever. You can no longer say one thing and do another. Your team is watching and evaluating what and how you do what you say, and if you don’t have enough people on your team because they keep leaving, this might be a you problem, not a them problem.

About Keith

Hailing from the east coast, Cestare worked his way up in the hospitality industry, having started as a bellman followed by a stint as a front desk agent and houseman at his first hotel because he could not attain full-time hours from one sole department. According to Cestare, he quickly realized his passion and enthusiasm for the hotel business and the immense impact he could make on the lives of others.

Cestare is a proud east coast native who is a self-described people lover. When he’s not working, he enjoys delving into his many hobbies including calisthenics, reading, and traveling to different countries and experiencing a multitude of cuisines to gain a greater understanding of the various and wonderfully unique palates of his expected guests. Fun fact about Keith: he reads about 4 books a month and specifically enjoys reading about technology trends in the hospitality industry.

Links

https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/illinois/ambassador-chicago/chija

https://www.facebook.com/AmbassadorChicago/

https://www.instagram.com/ambassadorchicago/?hl=en

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The demographic effects on hospitality technology: Sebastien Leitner, Cloudbeds

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Sebastien is the Vice President of Partnerships at Cloudbeds, an all-in-one hospitality management software platform.

A question I’ve been wrestling with lately is “can you provide luxury level service if hotels are moving to more self-directed experiences?”. We try to uncover the answer on this episode.

The pandemic has brought many challenges to the industry but something no one saw coming was how making everything contactless in the name of health and safety actually trained people to become more self-sufficient at almost any service interaction through the use of their phones.

On-demand and personalized service delivery has been both the mantra and challenge for hotel companies for years now but, as guests expect more online and mobile services to be made available, we may now be seeing one of the biggest shifts in technology adoption that the hospitality industry has seen in decades.

Not to mention how the evolution of job functions and staffing affect recruitment and retention of a younger workforce who demand best-in-class and ease-of-use for any tool they’re charged with using on a daily basis.

This is a fascinating space that deserves attention.

About Sebastien

Sébastien Leitner, Vice President of Partnerships at Cloudbeds, leads global partnerships and industry relations for the company.

Prior to Cloudbeds, Sébastien worked at Expedia in various roles managing lodging connectivity for independent and chain hotels as well as vacation rentals. After studying Hotel Management and Business Administration in Germany, Sébastien started his career in hospitality working for Le Meridien Hotels and Swissotel in various European capitals.

Sébastien has been a board member of HEDNA since January 2014 and is currently serving as President. Sébastien speaks English, German and French.

Links

http://www.cloudbeds.com

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Whole Hotel Revenue Management: Shawn Tarter, RealTime Reservation

Adam Knight — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Shawn is the CEO of RealTime Reservation, an organization that provides real-time inventory management software to the hospitality industry.

I can tell you from personal experience, the process for driving ancillary revenue in a hotel is a difficult and frustrating exercise. You’re either trying to come up with new ideas to get guests to pay for, wondering why no one is using something you’ve put a lot of time and energy into or in the weeds because there was little visibility on how busy you’d actually be.

The idea of revenue managing all revenue centers in a hotel has interested me for a long time but there’s never been a good way to do it, and you could make a great case that optimizing revenue while deploying your limited resources is the name of the game as we get into a busy summer travel season. Well, that’s where today’s conversation comes in.

Shawn and I talk about the how and why of whole hotel revenue management and some of the best practices that you can get behind right now to make an impact.

About Shawn

Shawn Tarter is CEO & Founder of RealTime Reservation, an organization that provides real-time inventory management reservation software to the hospitality/travel industry based in Uniondale, Long Island. Following his personal experience as a hotel guest, Shawn was eager to provide hotels with ways to improve the customer experience while providing services that support client satisfaction and loyalty. In 2015, Shawn founded Ipalapa Corporation which was rebranded in 2018 to RealTime Reservation. In the three short years since its rebrand, the company has experienced significant sales and revenue growth, despite operating during a global pandemic. Today, the company employs forty professionals across development, R&D, client services, administration, sales, and marketing and boasts more than 500 clients.

Links

Website: https://realtimereservation.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-tarter-221b52b2

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Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

What hotels and vacation rentals can learn from one another: Matthew Loney and Brian Hamaoui, The GuestX Podcast

Adam Knight — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Matthew and Brian are the hosts of the GuestX Podcast. Matthew is also the President and CEO of Xplorie, and Brian is the Founder & CEO at Allevo Homes.

I initially titled this episode Hotels vs. Short Term Rentals, but after we wrapped this episode, that us vs them sentiment didn’t seem to fit anymore.

Both hotels and short term rentals are going through difficult times, and if both want to come out stronger on the other side, they should be looking to one another for learnings and support which ultimately helps our industry as a whole.

More food for thought than actionable tactics, we try to uncover some of those challenges and look around the corners of the next few years to lend some space for what you may want to be thinking about to put your hotel or vacation rental business in the best position.

About Matthew

About Brian

Links

https://guestxpodcast.com

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Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

What it takes to build world-class teams: Matt Rolfe, Results Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 25 May 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Matt is the founder of Results Hospitality and Westshore Hospitality Group, and the author of You Can’t Do It Alone, a new book about achieving more through building better teams.

There has been a lot of news about labor shortages in the hotel and restaurant industries as of late - and frankly a lot of blame as well. “Candidates don’t show up for interviews” or “HR ghosted me” or “They’re just chasing another dollar at the restaurant down the street” or “We don’t have a budget to do it” are common talking points today.

We try to address and get around these barriers in this episode, and the common theme that we keep coming back to is coaching and people development - but the conversation goes beyond the typical talking points you hear about taking care of your people. We try to come at it based on the current employment and business environment, what’s driving the unionization efforts today, and what some of the more innovative companies in hospitality are doing right now.

Matt shares great stories that drive the points home and he does a great job in outlining some of the steps that you can take today to make a difference in your organization.

About Matt

Matt Rolfe is a coach, speaker, bestselling author, and entrepreneur who mentors the top 10 percent of the hospitality industry in unlocking their true potential. With a primary focus on personal development, Matt enables high-performing leaders to build unified teams and effectively delegate responsibilities for maximum growth. He is the founder of Results Hospitality and Westshore Hospitality Group, where he has worked with hundreds of leadership teams throughout North America. Beginning his career with companies like Bacardi and Labatt/Anheuser-Busch, Matt is an industry expert dedicated to helping leaders examine the human element of their business and execute effective team-building strategies unique to their needs. Matt lives in Toronto with his wife Lindsay, their two children, and their golden retriever.

Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-rolfe/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt_rolfe_ws/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ndFBo6DJomSo80xc2_WtA

Website: https://mattrolfe.com/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

What’s next for the hotel industry: Sheenal Patel, Arbor Lodging

Adam Knight — Wed, 18 May 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Sheenal is the Co-founder of Arbor Lodging and Chief Executive Officer of Arbor Lodging Management.

I find the stories of senior leaders in hospitality who don’t come up through the industry interesting, mostly because it’s fairly rare and there’s usually a shared camaraderie with others who know deep down what it’s like to work on the front lines of a busy hotel or restaurant. That’s often the precursor to earning respect in the industry. Well, Sheenal’s story is different and that’s why I wanted to have him on the show.

As a CEO, you have many stakeholders to manage and complicated problems to solve, all while motivating your team to achieve. If the past couple of years has taught us anything, it’s that the soft skills of leadership are the difference maker. And as discussions about culture dominate the industry right now, Sheenal is leading his team with a humble, ‘seek first to understand’ style, which comes in part from not coming up through the ranks of a hotel company.

We touch on the current climate, what we’ve learned over the past couple of years, and what is yet to come. If you’d like to know what keeps a hotel CEO up at night, this episode might help.

About Sheenal

Sheenal Patel is a co-founder of Arbor Lodging and Chief Executive Officer of Arbor Lodging Management, the management arm of Arbor Lodging. In this role, Sheenal leads general corporate strategy and all efforts related to property management. Prior to co-founding Arbor Lodging, Sheenal was a Vice President with Related Capital Company, a New York based investment firm, where he was responsible for the origination of approximately $800 million of tax-exempt bond transactions for LIHTC multifamily projects located throughout the United States. Sheenal started his career in the Leveraged Finance Group within the Investment Banking division of CIBC World Markets.

Sheenal earned his BA in Economics from the University of Michigan and at the London School of Economics completed a year-long General Course program in mathematics. He is a member of the IHG Owners Association Industry Advocacy Committee, a member of the Franchise Advisory Committee for Curio by Hilton, a Senior Executive Board member of Street Samaritans, a Chicago based non-profit organization, and is active in alumni affairs for Phillips Exeter Academy.

Links

Website: https://arborlodging.com

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

The next wave of F&B technology: Ben Pryor, SpotOn

Adam Knight — Wed, 11 May 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Ben is the Head of Innovation at SpotOn. He’s a long time restaurant industry vet, he has moved to the other side of the table to lead the development of SpotOn's restaurant and hospitality product innovation strategy with a focus on democratizing technology for hospitality businesses of all sizes.

The tech discussion for restaurants has traditionally largely landed in two places; either online reservations or drones and robots. Well, today’s climate is demanding much more robust solutions to help restaurants that miraculously still have their doors open post-pandemic but knowing where to start isn’t clear.

The tech solutions we’re talking about today center on doing the jobs that no one likes to do, like inventory and administrative work, as well as removing unnecessary steps in day to day job functions so that restaurants can lean into staffing challenges and build better work cultures rather than being a victim of circumstance.

This is a really interesting discussion that has applications across more than just restaurants, so if you’re struggling to figure out your new operation, this episode might help.

About Ben

With 25+ years of culture-based hospitality leadership, Ben Pryor leads the development of SpotOn's restaurant and hospitality product innovation strategy with a focus on democratizing technology for hospitality businesses of all sizes. As the Head of Innovation, Ben drives the continuous evolution of SpotOn’s hospitality technology platform to address the rapidly changing needs of the industry. Ben maintains an active role in the hospitality community, collaborating with business leaders and SpotOn clients to consistently deliver forward-thinking solutions.

Ben is recognized for his unique perspective and the ability to blend technology and people to deliver exceptional team member and customer experiences. Prior to his current role, Ben held multiple leadership positions in technology, operations, culinary, and training and development in casual dining, QSR, fine dining, and hotels.

Links

Website: https://www.spoton.com

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Does the short term rental industry affect affordable housing?: Pam Knudsen, Avalara

Adam Knight — Wed, 04 May 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Pam is the Senior Director of Compliance Services at Avalara, a transactional tax compliance company that operates across multiple industries, including lodging.

I want to let you know up front, this isn’t an episode about tax compliance, but rather a discussion to understand the impact that short term rentals have on a community. We so often read headlines and see news stories about the negative impacts that vacation rentals have on housing prices, but rarely do we hear about the broader impact they have on the local economy.

A recent HBR study outlined exactly that, and that was the impetus for this episode. Now, tie in the regulation landscape, and how it can benefit guests, owners and locals, and you’ve got a more complete picture.

Pam brings incredible knowledge and insight to this conversation and I hope this episode illuminates a few points to consider if you want to jump in to owning your own Airbnb.

About Pam

Pam Knudsen is an executive at Avalara, leading multi-tax teams including Lodging, Beverage Alcohol, Telecommunications and Sales & Use Tax. She serves as a leading voice in vacation rental tax compliance and regulation, in addition to bringing in-depth experience across software/SaaS technology as well as ERP systems. Pam joined Avalara in 2012.

Links

Website: https://www.avalara.com/

HBR Study: https://hbr.org/2021/11/research-restricting-airbnb-rentals-reduces-development

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Can hotel operations be managed remotely?: Jason Lopez, Jurny

Adam Knight — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Jason is the Director of Sales at Junry, a hospitality tech company offering SaaS-based management solutions designed to accommodate the evolving needs and expectations of the modern traveler.

What that means is they provide both tech solutions and staffing solutions covering operations, accounting and revenue management that allow you to focus on growing and refining your accommodations business.

Discussions about outsourcing entire departments like Valet or Housekeeping have been happening for years but until recently, there wasn’t a strong case to be made for moving your front of house staff offsite; but with the changing dynamics in the market, those old objections may now be standing in the way of success.

On this episode, I had several instances where you can hear me considering the options and objections to making your Front Desk and Concierge team remote, but other than “this is the way we’ve always done it” thinking, I had a hard time finding an insurmountable reason why not to at least consider remote work for traditionally on-site positions at a hotel. And that’s exactly why I wanted to have Jason on the show; to explain the how and why and provide more context than simply hearing the discussion in your boardroom.

Whether you outsource to a third party or develop an in-house solution, this is a space that is undoubtedly going to get more attention. My hope is that you find this conversation, at the very least, thought provoking and even gives you some clarity around a traditionally off-limits discussion.

About Jason

Jason is an avid traveler and adventurer, and as such also has a tremendous passion for tourism and hospitality. At the top of his bucket list currently is Antarctica, partly to see the penguins and partly for the bragging rights of having visited every continent.

Professionally, Jason is no stranger to tourism and hospitality. In 2013, Jason co-founded JCH Travel, a successful boutique travel agency in South Florida primarily focused on corporate travel both internationally and domestically. JCH still operates today with Jason serving as a chief advisor.

In January of 2020, Jason began his journey into the vacation rental & short-term rental space with a European-based software company leading the expansion in the North American market where he helped grow the company footprint across the US, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

In 2021, Jason accepted the role of Director of Sales at Jurny, the industry's first truly all-in-one hospitality management system enabling property managers and operators to focus on what matters most - guest experience and growing the business.

Links

Website: https://www.jurny.com

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Transforming Hotel Loyalty: Kristi Gole, Global Hotel Alliance

Adam Knight — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Kristi is the Vice President and Head of Product at Global Hotel Alliance, the world's largest alliance of independent luxury hotel brands.

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes to develop a hotel loyalty program then this episode is for you.

Global Hotel Alliance recently went through a rebranding and repositioning to change their program and meet customers where they’re at today in terms of expectations of a loyalty program.

What they found is that even though some may like lofty rewards, redemption on some of their most exclusive experiences wasn’t what they had hoped so making the program more simple and attainable has driven higher usage and better satisfaction from guests and hotels.

Whether you are a GHA hotel, part of one of the big loyalty programs or have none at all, this conversation is a masterclass on talking to your customers to find out what they want, then figuring out how to deliver on those expectations - and that can help in all sorts of situations.

About Kristi

Kristi is a passionate commercial leader responsible for the core product (a loyalty program), its roadmap, and marketing at Global Hotel Alliance (GHA).

Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) is the world's largest alliance of independent luxury hotel brands (40 brands with 800 hotels in 100 countries). Kristi was part of the original team in this start-up and helped build the brand, the global marketing team, and the first-of-its-kind experiential loyalty program – GHA DISCOVERY – from the ground-up. GHADISCOVERY has won over 80 industry awards for its program and marketing innovations and will soon have over 20million members driving $2 billion in topline revenue.

Kristi has 20 years of experience in consumer-centric roles, starting in retail at Neiman Marcus where she held merchandising and marketing roles. She joined GHA in 2009 and helped launch and grow the loyalty program, largely focused on CRM, direct marketing and digital experience to increase engagement. In recent years she has been dedicated to product development based on customer insights and project management and delivery of the strategic roadmap.

Kristi serves on the Hospitality Innovation Advisory Council at Vation Ventures and Brand Innovators Innovation Advisory Council, is on the judging panel for the Communicator Awards, w3 Awards, and Davey Awards, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. She has a BS from Cornell University with a concentration in Consumer Economics and has an EMBA from NEOMA Business School.

Links

Website: globalhotelalliance.com

Loyalty Program Website: ghadiscovery.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-gole-7687893/

Email: kristi.gole@gha.com

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

How to Create Operational Integrity: Tommy Yionoulis, OpsAnalitica

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Tommy is the Founder of OpsAnalitica, a company helping hospitality businesses become more efficient and profitable through process, accountability, and data. He also happens to be a former stand up comedian and a great storyteller.

Checklists and standards audits are ubiquitous in our industry and it’s no secret that a lot of time and money goes into making sure that things get done in the way they’re intended. So why is there often a disconnect between daily practices which are designed to produce a certain result and outcome itself? That’s what we’re exploring in this episode.

Tommy started a company that does away with standards audits that give their own standards to hotels or restaurants (think LQA, Forbes or AAA), but also does more than just move an existing checklist from an excel sheet to a shared online document. They’re able to take the checklists and operational practices that you already have in place (the one that are ingrained into your operation) and give you actionable data based on those checklists daily completion.

That’s a lot to explain in one short paragraph, but the value I see is in removing the auto-pilot nature of most checklists, comparing them to desired business outcomes, finding the gap then giving you the steps to take to fix them.

About Tommy

Tommy Yionoulis is the Founder of OpsAnalitica, a company helping hospitality businesses become more efficient and profitable through process, accountability, and data. In addition to working in the restaurant and hospitality industry his entire adult life, Tommy spent 11 years as a touring stand-up comedian opening for comics like Dave Chappelle and Brian Regan.

Links

Website: https://www.opsanalitica.co

Can the gig-economy help hotel housekeeping?: Assaf Karmon, TurnoverBNB

Adam Knight — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Assaf is the Co-Founder and CEO of TurnoverBNB, a platform for short-term rental hosts and cleaners to connect and automatically manage their vacation rental cleaning schedules.

Back before the pandemic, I had several conversations with various providers about outsourcing my entire Housekeeping department. Since those days, gig-work has become more mainstream and outsourcing entire departments may simply be trading one set of issues for another - namely the ability to find and retain staff.

That’s why this conversation is so interesting to me. The short term rental space has been using gig-workers who set their own rates and availability for years but short of hiring temp-workers in hotels, this hasn’t been a source of employees that has been explored at any great depth.

And while I can hear all the reasons why hiring a gig-worker in housekeeping won’t work, if you’re struggling with recruiting or retention, this option deserves a look even if it means that your operation would have to bend a little to accommodate.

I continue to be amazed by the overlap between short-term rentals and hotels, and this conversation has the wheels turning about where the former can help the later and raise the bar for everyone.

About Assaf

Born in Israel, Assaf went on to study computer science at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Following college, he moved to the U.S. and worked for

a few startups in New York City before relocating to Boston to work as an engineer at Nokia. Ultimately, his academic pursuits led him to the University of Hawaii where he earned his MBA through the Shidler College of Business. While in business school, he met his soon-to-be business partner, Tim Roy.

Building a software business had always enticed Assaf. In their final semester of business school, he and Tim developed a business plan that would eventually become TurnoverBnB. In June 2017, they launched TurnoverBnB as the premier tool for short-term rental hosts and cleaners to connect and automatically manage their vacation rental cleaning schedules.

Assaf is married and has two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time outdoors and watching Manchester City play.

Links

Website: https://www.turnoverbnb.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/assafkarmon/

The Hospitality Leadership Revolution: Chris Adams, Ellis Adams Group

Adam Knight — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0700

He’s the founder of the Ellis Adams Group. An international hospitality consulting firm focusing on building brands, concept and design development, training and revenue generation. Their current project list includes over 100 active ventures around the globe and the continued development of Marriott International’s beverage program.

Chris’ start in the hospitality industry is one many of us have experienced; an entry level job turns into a career and life-long passion. What is uncommon however, is the ability to take early influences and combine them with lived experience within the industry and a desire to evolve how business gets done to actually raise the bar in what employees and guests can expect.

That’s what we’re exploring in this episode. Chris is a great storyteller and shares several examples about how leadership, continuity and congruence can be your best friend or stealthy enemy when trying to reimagine and evolve your company.

It’s no secret that we’re never going back to the way things were pre-pandemic. Embracing and accepting that the hospitality industry needs to change is happening at varying degrees across countless companies. What I appreciate about this conversation is the realization that it’s likely not to be one of the big guys to show us how it’s done, but may very well be a small, upstart company that is the one to revolutionize what we do and how we do it.

About Chris

Chris spent his formative years in the hospitality industry working his way up The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. After growing up in the entertainment industry, Adams founded Ellis Adams Group (EAG) as an international hospitality consulting firm. The group focuses on all aspects of businesses, including building brands, concept and design development, training, management, revenue generation, and profit margin increases. The hospitality firm’s current project list is dynamic and constantly growing, with over 100 active ventures underway around the globe, including the continued development of Marriott International’s beverage program.

Links

Website: https://www.ellisadamsinc.com

Instagram: @ellisadamsofficial

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

A New Approach to Hospitality Data: Maurizio Tripi, Bidroom

Adam Knight — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Maurizio is the CTO of Bidroom, the first membership-based travel marketplace that aims to make the hotel industry fair for both travelers and hotels.

It’s not controversial to say that the hospitality technology landscape is fragmented, confusing and likely responsible for stifling adoption of modern tools and systems at hotels today. Chief among these is the world of channel managers, revenue management and data - or at least how data is used.

This is why I was interested to talk with Maurizio. Not only is he a “hospitality outsider”, he’s responsible for bringing true change and value to hoteliers at a company working hard to upset the status quo.

Data obviously influences strategy but we don’t often discuss data ownership, whether the data points that you have are relevant, and how to parse mountains of it into one coherent strategy. That’s what we’re trying to unpack in this episode.

Full disclosure - for an operator this can be a lot to get your arms around, and it gets a little in the weeds at times, but in the end I think we bring it around in a way that adds some dimension and nuance which is helpful for the thought process in how to approach a hotels’ technology and strategy roadmap.

About Maurizio

Maurizio Tripi is the CTO of Bidroom, the first membership-based travel marketplace that aims to make the hotel industry fair for both travelers and hotels.

Maurizio has been a technology leader, entrepreneur, founder and mentor for over 30 years . He has previously served as executive director and VP in tech companies in Europe and the Silicon Valley and is one of the first European experts in the field of Agile Methodologies.

Links

Website: bidroom.com

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Working with Celebrity Guests: Rob DelliBovi, RDB Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Rob is the founder and CEO of RDB Hospitality, a hospitality consulting firm with a particular focus on Travel Management & Concierge services for high net worth, dignitary and celebrity travelers.

After years working in luxury hotels, the number one question I get asked is “Who’s the most famous person you’ve met?”, and honestly that’s a tough question to answer. If you stay in the industry long enough, interacting with government officials, celebrities and other VVIP guests becomes commonplace.

What’s not common however, is how a hotel can repeatedly deliver an experience to this sought after group of travelers that ensures they keep getting the business. It takes awareness, communication, discretion and the ability to move quickly when the situation calls for it.

Everyone wants to have the big name stay with them but getting your hotel ready to service these guests requires the ability to make them the most important people in the hotel while at the same time not getting caught up in the hype and treating them like anyone else.

Rob shares some great insight into misconceptions about these types of guests, how hotels are selected, how they can best prepare, and why those riders can be so crazy.

About Rob

Since 2003, Rob DelliBovi has overseen hospitality sales, marketing, and revenue management strategy for many of the industry’s biggest names. In recent years with his company, RDB Hospitality, DelliBovi and team have served as full-service advisers or asset managers on properties in domestic & international markets. RDB Hospitality has worked with over 140 properties and brands worldwide.

Prior to his advisory portfolio at RDB Hospitality, DelliBovi was Vice President of Sales for Dream Hotel Group, overseeing the group's portfolio of five brands. DelliBovi has also held various management positions with leading boutique and lifestyle hotel brands.

Since 2009, DelliBovi has also owned an IATAN accredited travel agency (working independently w/ Travel Experts, a Virtuoso Agency) and concierge company, where his team handles day-to-day needs for more than 500 celebrities and touring recording artists, as well as various corporations, executives, productions, festivals, and high-net-worth individuals.

Since 2017, DelliBovi has served as an executive recruiter & trainer for hotel, nightlife & restaurant companies, where his team is already one of the leading groups in these industries.

Links

Website: https://www.rdbvip.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robdellibovi/

Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/robdellibovi/

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Thank you to Breezeway for sponsoring this episode. If you’re looking for an operations software platform that will make an immediate impact on your business, visit breezeway.io/provenprinciples to learn more.

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Game changing tools for exceptional results: Jordan Ekers, Nudge

Adam Knight — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Jordan is the Co-Founder and COO of Nudge, a communications platform for frontline employees.

Look at virtually any employee opinion survey or turnover report taken over the past two decades and undoubtedly communication will not only be listed at (or near) the top, but there will be a lot of frustration up and down the chain about how information should be disseminated to change the results of those surveys.

Pre-shift meetings, emails and posting notices have been the go to methods for getting information out to front line workers but in the hustle of a busy shift, pre-shifts are quick, emails ignored and posted notices become part of the background, so it’s no wonder why employees feel they don’t get what they need to do their jobs effectively.

Real time communication has been the missing link and that’s what we’re covering today.

Jordan shares insights into how some of the best brands in the world continue to drive high levels of work engagement and why tech solutions may just be the key to solving a staffing crisis that many hotels and restaurants are facing.

About Jordan

Jordan Ekers is Co-founder and COO of Nudge, the top-rated communications platform for frontline employees. He’s worked with many of North America’s leading retail, foodservice, and hospitality brands to design transformative approaches for executing the brand promise and empowering frontline teams. Jordan is a Forbes Council Member and has been a speaker and conference chair at major industry events, such as NRF’s Big Show and the Future Stores series, as well as a guest on BNN Bloomberg.

Links

Website: https://nudge.co

The Deskless Report: https://bit.ly/3IYSFe7

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

How hospitality and fashion are more connected than ever before: Jim Snediker, Stock Manufacturing Group

Adam Knight — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Jim is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stock Manufacturing Group, a Chicago-based custom uniform company for the hospitality industry.

Is there any more of a hot-button topic in a hotel or restaurant than uniforms? Whether it’s personal style or budgets, if you’ve ever worn or been responsible for purchasing uniforms you’ll know that few topics bring out such strong opinions.

What’s interesting is that the landscape for uniforms has been changing over time. The days of heavy, uninteresting, one size fits all clothing is making way for more contemporary design that can live between both work and social life - and it’s the understanding that uniforms play such a huge role in telling the story of an establishment and in many cases be a recruiting or retention factor that is driving this.

This episode tries to highlight some of the trends and hurdles to be aware of with a uniform program, and what you should have an eye on if you intend to dive into this deep end of the pool.

Jim also has a 20% off your first order offer for listeners at the end of the show, so be sure to listen for that.

About Jim

Jim Snediker is the co-founder and CEO of Stock Mfg Co, a top workwear creator for premium hospitality brands.

Founded in 2012 as a heritage fashion brand, Stock quickly built a cult following among Chicago’s hospitality industry. Soon after, Alinea, one of the world’s top-ranked restaurants, approached Stock to create custom uniforms for their staff.

Under Jim’s leadership, Stock leaned into the opportunity. Prominent establishments like Soho House, Goose Island, and RPM Steak became some of the earliest clients. Today, Stock is the go-to outfitter for many of the best bars, restaurants, hotels and brands in the country.

Links

Website: https://stockmfgco.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stockmfgco

Facebook: https://facebook.com/stockmfgco

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stockmfgco

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimsnediker/

Offer

Use code TPP20 for 20% off your first order at https://stockmfgco.com/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

The balancing act of today’s hotel General Manager: Christy Loy, General Manager, W Minneapolis

Adam Knight — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Christy is the General Manager of the W Minneapolis.

Rarely do introspective conversations about the evolution of senior level positions in hotels get to be had, so when I had the opportunity to talk with Christy about the state of play for a hotel GM, I jumped at it.

The job of a hotel GM is demanding, in many cases all-consuming and constantly changing. But never before has there been a time where those demands feel like they compete, yet sometimes align and at the same time stretch your boundaries to new places.

This conversation tries to shed some light on how the role of a GM is evolving while having to balance the priorities of different stakeholders. Christy shares great insight into leadership, providing purpose and how the hospitality industry is looking to the future.

About Christy

Christy held a wide spectrum of leadership roles from Front Desk Manager to Director of Operations across 7 hotels, 4 cities & 2 countries. She has a deep knowledge of various markets incorporating convention, airport, urban & suburban operations including new openings & transitions. Christy assumed her current role as General Manager, W Minneapolis – The Foshay in March of 2020 after moving from Boston where she was Dual General Manager of the Aloft & Element Hotels Boston Seaport District. Christy is knows for “Best in Class” Talent Engagement and, in 2017, Christy was awarded Element General Manager of the Year.

Christy has a passion for building culture and creating opportunity. She has been certified as a master service culture trainer and believes that development is an every day opportunity. She is passionate about investing in the next generation with close community connections. She believes in doing good with what she has in her hands and previously served as Associate Board Chair for Junior Achievement of Northern New England and fundraiser / team coach for Girls on the Run. She currently serves as Vice President of the Greater Minneapolis Hospitality Association.

Christy holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Christy made her mark in operations early in her career and has vowed since then to never get too far away from the guests she serves.

Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-loy-19a75b50/

W Minneapolis: www.wminneapolis.com

Meet Minneapolis: https://www.minneapolis.org/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

How to become the employer of choice: Jill Raff, EX2CX™ Expert

Adam Knight — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Jill is a globally recognized EX2CX™ expert who helps organizations create new systems and procedures to develop the strong cultures that drive higher retention and greater productivity.

The EX is Employee Experience and CX is Customer Experience. This conversation centers much more on the employee experience and how focusing efforts here will almost certainly take care of the CX part of your business.

Jill shares her perspective on company culture, why it can be so hard to make the reality on the ground look like what is written in countless company documents, how to find gaps in reality vs. expectation and much much more.

This episode tries to give some insight into where leadership efforts should be placed as virtually everyone in hospitality is dealing with some level of staffing challenge. As they say, the best recruiting strategy is a retention strategy, and improving retention is to make sure there is alignment of expectations up and down the chain.

About Jill

Jill Raff is the globally recognized EX2CX™ Expert, amongst the Top 150 Global Customer Experience Thought Leaders and Influencers, who works with executive leadership who recognize the paradigm shift due to the pandemic; the non-negotiable creation of a more humanized culture prioritizing their people.

She helps organizations that now acknowledge their people are their greatest asset but need help creating new systems and procedures to develop the culture which exhibits this core value resulting in higher retention and greater productivity for a true collaborative team. Jill works with organizations to achieve the reward of employee and customer lifetime value through her methodology connecting the employee experience (EX) to the customer experience (CX)- EX2CX™.

While many professionals talk about the customer experience – Jill Raff has lived it from day one. Jill grew up working with her parents, owner/operators of one of the first McDonald’s franchises in the world, store #150. Her customer service philosophy originated from observing her mother and father’s work and their interactions with legendary founder, Ray Kroc. EX and CX are in Jill’s DNA.

She helps owners and executive leadership Turn Employees Into Advocates and Customer Magnets.

Links

www.jillraff.com And CLICK on “Hi Jill! How can you help me?” to tell me about your business!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/EX2CX-Expert

https://www.instagram.com/ex2cx_expert

Offer: How to Double Your Hotel’s 5-Star Trip Advisor Ratings in 10 Days: https://www.jillraff.com/5star-tripadvisor/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Sales & Marketing Series: Branding & Storytelling in Hospitality: Jay Schwartz, Once Upon a Time Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0700

This is the fourth episode of our Sales and Marketing Series.

Jay is the Executive Director of Once Upon a Time, a full-service creative agency that specializes in branding, advertising, graphic design, and website development for prominent clients in luxury hospitality.

The connection between branding and operations is not often discussed but it’s a link that is fundamental to the success of virtually any business. If you make the effort of defining a brand and creating a story that entices customers to spend money with you but once on site that experience falls short of their expectations, over time you can do irreparable harm to the brand’s identity.

That’s why I wanted to end our Sales and Marketing series with a discussion about branding and storytelling. This brings the four episodes full circle and demonstrates how every position is connected and everyone is working towards the same goal. That’s how the best hotels in the world do it, and that’s how you can be successful in your own property.

Jay shares some incredible insight on what goes into creating a brand, how brand identity and consistency are connected, how to stand out from the other properties in your comp set and much more.

About Jay

Jay Schwartz has over 25 years’ of design experience in brand development, user interface, and creative direction in the hospitality and luxury industries. Jay was the founder of IdeaWork Studios, now Once Upon a Time Hospitality.

Hotels benefiting from Jay’s expertise include: 11 Howard, The Darcy, Gansevoort Hotel Group, Gramercy Park Hotel, Gurney’s Resorts, Hersha Hospitality Group, Hard Rock Hotels, Ian Schrager Company (EDITION and PUBLIC), The Jaffa, and The NoMad Hotel. He also plans and designs creative for Jean-Georges, Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud, Daniel Humm, Charlie Palmer, Andrew Carmelini, and many other renowned chefs.

Links

Website: https://www.onceuponatime.agency/hospitality

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayschwartz/

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For past episodes, show notes or if you’ve got a story that might make a great episode, head over to theprovenprinciplespodcast.com. We’d love to hear from you.

You can subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, even on YouTube... and if you haven’t already, don’t forget to leave us a rating and a review.

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Sales & Marketing Series: OTA’s and the booking ecosystem in the hospitality industry: Mike Weimann, eviivo

Adam Knight — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0700

This is the third episode in our Sales and Marketing Series.

Mike Weimann is the VP of Sales and Operation at eviivo, an all-in-one booking suite that helps property managers improve occupancy, increase automation, and improve their customers' experience.

The booking landscape has been in flux for several years. Whether it’s new entrants inserting themselves between you and your guests, changing consumer buying habits or the complete upheaval of traditional demand and booking patterns, hotels and short term rental providers have had to keep up with a lot in a sometimes “hard to grasp” “theory vs. practice” environment.

Well, we’re trying to create some clarity on this episode. Mike shares some great insight into the current booking ecosystem, a new entrant to be aware of, how to drive more direct bookings, using OTAs to your advantage, the lifetime value of a guest and much more.

In short, it’s about having the right tools and understanding the playing field to determine the right strategy that makes the difference.

About Mike

Mike Weimann is a 30-year technology sales veteran with more than 1/3 of that time spent providing SaaS benefits for SMBs to enterprises. Currently, he is VP Sales and Operations for eviivo USA and is based in Austin, Texas. His team works with hoteliers and other property managers to improve occupancy, increase automation, and help their customers to focus on the guest experience over all else.

Links

eviivo website - https://eviivo.com/us/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/eviivo

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/eviivo/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7vzaReYS0jWBFnMmHBhjhQ

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This episode is brought to you by Breezeway. The best-in-class operations software platform for the accommodations industry. Visit breezeway.io/provenprinciples to learn more.

Sales & Marketing Series: Search, Online Presence and Knowing Your Target Audience: Steve Wiideman, Wiideman Consulting Group

Adam Knight — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0700

This is the second episode in our Sales and Marketing Series.

Steve Wiideman is a scientist, the author of a college textbook called SEO Strategy & Skills, an adjunct professor at UCSD and CSUF, and a practitioner of search optimization; working with companies like Disney, Honda, Skechers, Applebee's, IHOP and many more. The bottom line is if you want to learn about SEO, Steve is THE guy to talk to.

When we were putting together this Sales and Marketing series, digital marketing and SEO was at the top of the list, and admittedly it was initially for selfish reasons. It’s an area that I’ve struggled with, especially when building my own company, but I’ve also been in countless executive meetings and have seen very smart people get lost in a maze of metrics, money and goals. It really seems like it can be a difficult maze to navigate.

That’s exactly what we’re trying to solve for on this episode. Steve breaks down so many important elements and tactics from website building and target audiences to understanding paid vs. organic search.

This episode is heavy on strategy and action. On several occasions throughout our conversation he takes difficult to understand concepts and makes them not just easy to understand, but shares what to do and how to do it.

He even has an offer at the end of the episode for listeners to get free access to his SEO Strategies course.

About Steve

Writer, scientist, professor, and practitioner of search optimization, Steve Wiideman lives, breathes, and eats SEO, SEM, and inbound marketing. He is the author of SEO Strategy & Skills, a college textbook through Stukent. When he's not leading his team of SEO consultants for franchise, multi-location, and e-commerce brands, he's a cheeseball romantic, entertaining dad, and world traveler with a passion for life; embracing culture and diversity.

While serving as an adjunct professor at UCSD and CSUF, Steve’s also building the Academy of Search, while volunteering time to help improve transparency and industry standards as an agency trainer.

Links

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiideman/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seosteve/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/seosteve

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wiideman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seoexpert/

Website URL: https://www.wiideman.com/

Offer

Business of Business Podcast Offer: https://courses.wiideman.com/

CODE: SEOSTEVE (complimentary access)

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This episode is brought to you by Breezeway. The best-in-class operations software platform for the accommodations industry. Visit breezeway.io/provenprinciples to learn more.

Sales & Marketing Series: Hotel Contracts and Negotiations: Robin Moncrieffe & Niki Wade, Don't Look Under the Bed Podcast

Adam Knight — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0700

This is the first episode in our Sales and Marketing Series.

We haven't spent much time on hotel Sales and Marketing on this show so we decided to dedicate a 4 part series to all of the intricate phases of these critical disciplines. We’re talking with experts on how to get found by potential clients, prospecting and signing contracts, the changes to the booking landscape and getting your story out there.

Join us for the whole month of January as we drop weekly episodes providing clarity and new tactics that you can implement right now to make a difference in your hotel and your career.

This is the first episode of our Sales and Marketing Series.

Both Robin and Niki bring 25+ years of hotel sales experience across multiple brands and management companies. They also host the “Don’t Look Under the Bed” Hospitality podcast where they speak with industry leaders about the future of hospitality and promote the industry to the next generation of professionals.

This episode is all about contracts and negotiations. We discuss the prospecting and qualifying process, getting to the contract phase, negotiation, myths about hotel sales and much much more.

About Robin

20+ year Hospitality Sales Leader passionate about customer service and associate engagement. Co-host of Don’t Look Under The Bed - A Hospitality Podcast, where our mission is to amplify the voices of industry leaders and colleagues, discuss the future of hospitality and promote the hospitality industry to the next generation of hospitality professionals. I enjoy traveling, listening to podcasts and vinyl albums on my record player.

About Niki

20+ years of hospitality experience across multiple brands and management companies. Strong interpersonal, oral and written communication, and presentation skills. Proven record of establishing goals and achieving results.

Links

Email: robin@dontlookunderthebed.org & niki@dontlookunderthebed.org

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/robinmoncrieffe & www.linkedin.com/in/nikiwade

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/dontlookunderthebedpod

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/dlutbpod

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This episode is brought to you by Breezeway. The best-in-class operations software platform for the accommodations industry. Visit breezeway.io/provenprinciples to learn more.

Customer Service Evangelism: Josh Liebman, Roller Software

Adam Knight — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 01:00:00 -0700

Josh is the Guest Experience Evangelist at Roller Software and brings more than 16 years of experience working for some of the top tourism destinations in the world, including Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, and has consulted for organizations such as Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, Montage, and Rosewood.

Discussions about customer service have always interested me - not so much because of the practical application of removing friction points in the operation, but because of turning theory into practice. It’s one thing to say we need to improve service. It’s a whole other thing to recognize the soft skills at play in many levels of the organization that will either help or hurt your efforts.

That’s what this episode tries to uncover - how do you improve customer service with an eye on empowerment, training and meaningful data collection.

Josh brings a tremendous amount of insight and knowledge to this episode that will certainly light a path in your own efforts.

About Josh

Josh Liebman is the Guest Experience Evangelist for ROLLER Software. With more than 16 years of experience in hospitality and tourism, Josh specializes in guest experience, including service standards, complaint resolution, and guest feedback. Josh’s background includes operations, guest service communications, quality assurance consulting, consumer analytics, and guest experience training. Josh has worked for some of the top tourism destinations in the world, including Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, and has consulted for organizations such as Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Waldorf Astoria, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, Montage, and Rosewood.

Links

Website: https://www.roller.software

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshualiebman/

The Best of 2021: Tactics and Habits of Hospitality Insiders and World-Class Performers

Adam Knight — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0700

Year 2 of the show is officially in the books and what a year it’s been!

Going into 2021, I’m sure everyone hoped that the pandemic would not be the big story, but that turned out not to be the case. That said, what turned out to be more interesting to me are the societal and cultural shifts in approaches to work and what people value. Time will tell if this will continue to hold true but I’m fascinated by the monumental change and it’s hard to see how things can go back to how they once were.

The show has also grown tremendously this year and thanks to your support, we’re closing in on 100 episodes. This should happen sometime mid-2022 and it’s a milestone I never thought we’d hit. I’m working on something special for this - you’ll know all about it once plans come together.

A few fun 2021 facts about the show - we’ve released over 40 episodes this year with nearly 35 hours of content. The top listenership in order is the US, Canada, India, UK and the Netherlands… with several other countries very close behind the top 5.

As for this past year, there were far too many great moments on the show to count but I’ve tried to pull together some clips that resonated with me and that received great feedback from listeners. From Marketing to Diversity and Inclusion, we had some incredible thought leaders whose insights and persp

Highlights from the "best of" show include:

Marketing

Anthony Lazzara - Ep 60 (spending against OTAs)

Staffing and Recruiting

Heather Myers - Ep 49 (Attracting new entrants to hospitality / COVID changes to the workforce)

Leadership

Ken Merkel - Ep 59 (What was learned during the pandemic that no longer works)
Stephanie Coradin - Ep 42 (How to engage an intergenerational workforce)

Service

Andreas King-Geovanis - Ep 69 (Values and defining a service philosophy)

Diversity and Inclusivity in Hospitality

Daniel Poulin - Ep 43 (Unconscious bias and how to measure diversity efforts)
Kirs Jay - Ep 51 (The power of language)
Dave Bahr - Ep 70 (Getting over fear and asking questions about peoples needs)

Thank you for your support over the past year. Thank you for continuing to listen each week, and thank you for sticking with me as we bring the show into the new year.

On that note - Happy new year to you and all the best in 2022.

Challenging the Hospitality Status Quo: Kris Intress, Rock Springs Retreat Center

Adam Knight — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0700

Kris’ entrepreneurial background started with her first business at 17, she eventually joined the Army, moved overseas opening several restaurants and bars along the way, bought and turned around a hospitality technology company and became the CEO of WorldHotels.

She’s now the Founder & CEO Rock Springs Retreat Center in Tennessee, an exclusive 24-room retreat that helps people refocus on the benefits of good habits, a positive outlook, fitness, food and connections with others.

The retreat was inspired by her own struggles with balancing work demands and her own wellbeing - something that those working in the hospitality industry know all too well - and through it all, she’s bucked traditional views on leadership in our industry, doing more than simply talking about it, but practicing it everyday.

What I appreciate about her message is that whether it’s due to a lack of self awareness, ego or myopic behavior, we’re the ones who place ourselves in unsustainable situations, and we have the power to change our circumstances by cultivating the right support system.

About Kris

Rock Springs Retreat Center was founded by Kris Intress, a mother, entrepreneur, Army Reservist, and former CEO of a global luxury hotel company.

As a corporate executive that struggled to find time for her own health, she realized her career was taking over the need to prioritize her wellbeing. She watched her parents struggle with obesity their entire lives. After Kris lost her mother, she decided to help people take control of and transform their lives.

When creating Fit Farm at Rock Springs, Kris was inspired by her husband’s family, generations of farmers. Farm life provided natural opportunities to eat fresh foods and be active. She created a place where everyone could experience eating well, being active and experiencing the natural beauty of eliminating the noise around us.

On top of her already impressive career, Kris is a certified personal trainer and a former athlete. She has an MBA from the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.

Links

Website: www.rockspringsrc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockspringsretreatcenter/

The New Age of Leadership Agility: Vik Khokhar, Renaissance Milwaukee West Hotel

Adam Knight — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0700

Vik is the General Manager of the Renaissance Milwaukee West Hotel. The property opened in the relative early days of the pandemic, in Aug 2020.

Opening a hotel is never easy. Between operational, administrative and project management needs, it requires organization, focus, a great team and a clear set of guiding principles so that people have a leader they can trust.

Values and culture are at the forefront of many discussions in hospitality today and Vik has very clear ideas on what it takes to turn theory into practice.

In this is a tactical episode about leadership, Vik shares insight into bringing a new hotel to life, building the right team and the new ways of thinking about how work gets done.

About Vik

With more than two decades of industry experience in luxury and lifestyle hotels, Vik Khokhar has been appointed the General Manager to open Renaissance Milwaukee West. Born in New Delhi, Khokhar spent his early days in India before he relocated to the Netherlands to pursue a career in the hospitality business. He studied hospitality administration at the International School of Hospitality Management in Friesland and began his career with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in St. Louis, Mo., where he was recognized as "Leader of the Year" for his uncompromising commitment to quality and results. Most recently, Khokhar served as the Director of Hotel Operations of the Renaissance Chicago Downtown. Under his leadership, the hotel was recognized as "Hotel of the Year" in the Americas two years in a row due to stellar performance on all business priorities, including record-setting financial and guest satisfaction results. A resident of Wauwatosa since 2007, Khokhar looks forward to establishing the hotel as a revitalizing retreat within the community.

Links

Website: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mkemr-renaissance-milwaukee-west-hotel/

Resetting Housekeeping Operations: Jeremy Gall, Breezeway

Adam Knight — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 01:00:00 -0700

Jeremy is the founder and CEO of Breezeway, a property care and operations platform that helps hospitality operators verify the cleanliness, safety and quality of their properties, allowing them to deliver a better experience to guests, employees and owners.

Change is happening at a blindingly fast pace in the hotel industry - with most of it being forced operators, who find themselves balancing day to day needs with traditional tools and processes that are increasingly falling short.

Anyone who’s listened to a few episodes of this show knows that the grey space between hotels and vacation rentals is fascinating to me because there’s so much that hotel operations can learn from innovations in the vacation rental space.

That’s why I wanted to have Jeremy on the show - to give some insight into new tools and ways of thinking about housekeeping operations that can solve some of the friction points that many are dealing with - and all with an eye on ROI.

About Jeremy

Jeremy is the founder and CEO of Breezeway, a property care and operations platform for hospitality providers. Breezeway’s software and mobile apps help vacation rental operators coordinate and verify the cleanliness, safety and quality of their properties, and deliver a better experience to guests and owners. Jeremy previously founded FlipKey, which TripAdvisor acquired in 2013.

Links

Website: https://www.breezeway.io

A Humanist View of Hospitality: David Martin, Humanist Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 07:15:00 -0700

David is the COO of Humanist Hospitality, a hotel management company born during the pandemic that has been working hard to infuse new thinking into the human connections at the heart of the hotel industry.

Their goal from the start was to flip the status quo on the employee lifecycle, bringing in meaningful benefits, training and development opportunities to aid those workers who helped the company survive the pandemic and to entice those who either left or are thinking about a career in the industry.

This is a discussion happening all over but I wanted to dive deeper than just talking about higher pay and signing bonuses. We’re all trying to figure out what the next version of a hospitality career looks like but in spite of all the unknown, you can bet that putting more emphasis on employee relations is what the winning companies will be doing.

About David

As COO of Humanist Hospitality, David Martin provides leadership and strategic vision through operational, managerial and administrative procedures.

Martin has enjoyed a versatile career of thirty years in hospitality, in which the past eleven years were spent in a President or COO role. His portfolio comprises several types of hospitality organizations from four star boutique hotels with Kimpton Hotels to receiverships/lender owned assets with Prism Hotels & Resorts. With a record of strategic leadership, he has been the driving force behind innovative processes to optimize productivity and create sustained growth.

Links

Website: www.humanisthospitality.com

Facebook: @humanisthospitality

Instagram: @humanisthospitality

Diversity and Inclusivity in Hospitality Vol. 3: Dave Bahr, Author & Disability Advocate

Adam Knight — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Dave is an author, speaker and founder of In-Sightful Living, an accessibility consultancy that helps organizations enhance their systems, environments, events, and cultures to be supportive of people with disabilities.

Dave has been blind from birth and much of his work focuses on teaching people that having a disability is not a hindrance, but an asset.

This isn’t a typical episode of the show, instead, this week I’m talking with someone with different needs who travels a lot, in the hopes of doing more than simply shedding light on what we can to better prepare our teams.

This conversation centers more on getting inside the mind of someone who is on the receiving end of all the training and preparation that goes into making sure hotels are as accessible and comfortable as possible for guests and employees with needs different from what you may encounter on a regular basis.

About Dave

Dave Bahr is an author, speaker, and comedian focused on demystifying the public's perception of how to interact with people with disabilities. As founder of In-Sightful Living, Dave works as an accessibility consultant, aiding organizations to enhance their systems, environments, events, and cultures to be supportive of people with disabilities. Blind from birth, he teaches that having a disability is not a hindrance, but an asset. When not doing disability advocacy work, Dave enjoys listening to baseball games on the radio and jazz and classical music.

Links

Website: https://www.in-sightfulliving.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davebahr

Book: Prave, The Adventures of the Blind and the Brittle

Email: dave@in-sightfulliving.com

The Rise of Hybrid Hotels: Andreas King-Geovanis, Sextant Stays

Adam Knight — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Andreas is the founder of Sextant, a Miami based Short Term Rental management company that is changing what not only guests can expect from a serviced apartment, but what hotel professionals can expect from the rapid evolution and iteration going on in the hospitality industry.

Sextant isn’t a one off manager of Airbnb homes, they take over entire buildings, permitting them as hotels, staffing them with Valets and Housekeepers, acquiring liquor licenses and use telepresence front desk agents. If you wanted to get a look at what many hotels of the future will look like, this is very likely it.

Andreas gives us look at how the company came to be, their service philosophy, staffing and retention approach, their target market and what’s next for this innovative company.

About Andreas

Andreas King-Geovanis graduated from the University of Miami with a President's Scholarship and degrees in Economics and Environmental Science. He saw an opportunity in a historically weak job market and depressed housing values, and went into business for himself, purchasing his first property months after graduation. He founded Sextant in 2015 and has been at the forefront of the Miami vacation rental industry. Andreas has traveled to 40+ countries, was previously a nationally ranked fencer, and hopes to run his first marathon next year in Antarctica.

Recent Press

Bloomberg - Miami’s Hottest New Address Is a House Floating Out on the Water

Forbes - Lessons From COVID: How Three Travel Start-Ups Survived And Thrived During A Pandemic

Links

Andreas King-Geovanis LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaskg/

Sextant Stays LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sextantstays/

Sextant Stays Website - https://www.sextantstays.com/

Sextant Stays Instagram - @sextantstays

Hospitality Entrepreneurship and Developing a Hotel: Glenn Malone, Wellengood Partners

Adam Knight — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Glenn is the President and CEO of Wellengood Partners, a hotel management and development firm based in Memphis, TN.

Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a hotel ownership company? I have - and as a senior leader for several hotels and hotel management companies I was close to it for a long time but I always felt I had a knowledge gap in the air quote “business of hotels” side of the industry.

This episode tries to fill in the blanks as Glenn, who started as a busboy at a Holiday Inn, talks about his journey up the ladder to eventually developing and managing a hotel.

He shares great insight into the mechanics of how his company came to be, the pivot they made when they saw an opportunity to grow, how they went about financing their hotel and the lay of the land today as we emerge from this last downturn.

About Glenn

Wellengood President & CEO Glenn Malone co-founded the hotel management and development firm in 2002. As Executive, Malone plays an integral role in expanding the company’s long term hotel development, operations and ownership portfolio. He is one of the founding partners in AAA 4-Diamond hotel The Westin Memphis, which is one of Wellengood’s clients.

Raised on a farm in Mississippi, Malone’s career in the hotel industry started at age 16, having worked his way up from ground level positions to executive leader and ownership roles. His breadth of experience in the industry paved the way for him to successfully develop, brand, launch and operate an expansive and diverse hotel portfolio at Senate, ranging from properties of 80 to nearly 3,000 rooms, both franchised and non-franchised. Malone’s portfolio includes John Q. Hammons Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, Holiday Inn Worldwide, Gaylord Palms, Gaylord Texan Resort, Gaylord Opryland, Marriott, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn Hotels.

Outside of the office, Malone is found traveling with family, enjoying outdoor sports or wrangling cattle back at the farm. His favorite vacation destination is Vail, CO, where you can find him snowboarding.

Links

Website: https://www.wellengood.com

The Pandemic Era Evolution of Wellness Travel & Spas: Tammy Pahel, Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Tammy is the Vice President of Spa and Wellness at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort.

Much like hotels and restaurants, Spas and wellness facilities were disproportionately impacted over the past 18 months and even though things are slowly returning to normal, the highly interactive nature of the spa experience is still subject to the customers comfort level in that type of environment.

The serendipitous way that the Carillon Miami has managed this, is by investing heavily in new technology and touchless solutions that have not only kept their guests coming to the spa, but created new sources of revenue.

More than just enhanced cleaning protocols, Tammy discusses new treatments and ways to package them that have engaged their guests more than ever before, and how they’re leading the industry by making technology more personal.

About Tammy

Tammy Pahel is a transformative and strategic Spa, Wellness, Fitness and Retail Executive with 30 years of leadership experience. Ms. Pahel has a demonstrated history of shaping high performing cultures for several luxury and global wellness brands. She has been successful in deploying creative social media and marketing strategies resulting in a sustainable increase in revenue. She is known for designing, developing, and implementing an executable strategy to support the overall business vision of the organization while motivating both teams and individuals and financially exceeding corporate objectives through innovative, purposeful data-driven work. Since 2018, Ms. Pahel has acted as Vice President of Spa & Wellness Operations at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort and has had an active involvement in the resort's strategic planning process. She has full responsibility of all spa, health & wellness center, and fitness operations, including membership budgeting, forecasting, cost analysis, fitness, salon, talent acquisition, learning and development, organizational design, and employee engagement.

Links

Website: https://www.carillonhotel.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarillonHotel

Twitter: @CarillonHotel

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CarillonHotel/

Email: Tammy.Pahel@carillion.com

SilvaClean: http://www.appliedsilver.com/product/

ActivePure HVAC: https://www.activepure.com

ShareCare: https://www.sharecare.com

Infinity Saltair Machine: https://infinitysaltair.com

Bryte: https://www.bryte.com

Bringing Restaurants Forward: Chad Mackay, CEO, Fire and Vine Hospitality & Simon de Montfort Walker, Oracle Food & Beverage

Adam Knight — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Chad is the CEO at Fire and Vine Hospitality, a Seattle based company that owns and operates some of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic properties, including El Gaucho, AQUA by El Gaucho, Aerlume, Yellowhawk Resort, Walla Walla Steak Co., Crossbuck Brewing and their industry leading Revelers Club loyalty program.

Simon is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Oracle Food and Beverage Global Business Unit.

In times of crisis, having the presence of mind to think about the future feels like a luxury that many business owners can’t afford. Keeping the lights on and the doors open becomes job one - but one day the crisis will end and what might be worse is finding your business firmly planted behind where everyone else moved.

That’s the theme of today’s episode. How Fire and Vine used their time during the pandemic to invest in and deploy technology that will help them engage their customers in a more meaningful way, removing friction from their operation and lead the restaurant industry in this recovery - and why having the right technology partner is critical to bring it all together.

About Chad

Since joining El Gaucho and his father and founder, Paul Mackay in 2003, the two worked together to build a special place for people to celebrate their lives. Chad took the helm as CEO in 2013 and over the years, developed strategic direction to promote continual growth. In 2017, the company announced the evolution to Fire & Vine Hospitality which provides operational leadership, marketing and technology support for some of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic properties, and the Revelers Club program which includes El Gaucho Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Portland and Vancouver (opening in 2021), AQUA by El Gaucho, Aerlume, Yellowhawk Resort, Walla Walla Steak Co., and Crossbuck Brewing. Chad is the outgoing Board Chair of the Washington State Hospitality Association and is the Finance Chair for Visit Seattle. In 2018, he became one of the founding members of Third Door Coalition working to solve chronic homelessness in Seattle and King County through the proven solutions of Housing First and Permanent Supportive Housing.

About Simon

Simon de Montfort Walker is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Oracle Food and Beverage Global Business Unit. Tapped for his deep experience in hospitality technology, Walker leads the business unit’s efforts to deliver innovative hardware and cloud solutions, enabling restaurants of all sizes to personalize the guest experience, streamline operations and grow their businesses.

During the past 15 years, de Montfort Walker has built a track record of success in software sales, strategy and execution for both public and private companies. Most recently, he served as the Chief Technology Officer and President of eGate solutions at Gategroup with a focus on hospitality, supply chain and end-customer servicing solutions. He also has served as EVP Operations at Blue Cod Technologies and General Manager for Octavian Inc.

Throughout his career, de Montfort Walker has held leadership roles in multiple technology firms as well as led the operational turnaround efforts for technology companies in travel, banking, insurance and hospitality as an operator and, previously, as a management consultant with Sapient Corp. de Montfort Walker holds a bachelor's degree in economics from The University of Kings College and an master’s degree with honors from The University of Texas at Austin.

Links

Website: https://www.fireandvinehospitality.com

Oracle Food & Beverage: https://www.oracle.com/industries/food-beverage

What it’s like running the worst hotel in the company: Kyle Allison, Hospitality MD

Adam Knight — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:30:35 -0700

You may know Kyle Allison as the creator and host of the Hospitality MD podcast. I was actually on his show not long ago. What you may not know is about 4 months ago (at the time of this episode being released), he was offered his first GM role at the worst hotel in the Embassy Suites brand.

Forget about just taking on your first GM posting, taking on this type of hotel during the pandemic is something that would stretch the most seasoned of GM’s.

Kyle shares valuable insights into his motivation for taking the job, his experience from Day 1 through week 9 and even reflects on some lessons that I believe can help just about anyone taking on a new role - of which I know there are a lot of people doing right now.

I truly appreciate Kyle’s openness and honesty about his experience and I hope you find something in our conversation that resonates with you as well.

About Kyle

Son of a career flight attendant who exposed me to hospitality, travel, and hotels from a young age. I found myself obsessed and enamored with hotels for as long as I can remember, resulting in scanning the landscape around me in every car ride admiring hotels as we drove by. I specifically remember the red glow of the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport that would pull me in as I rode to the Airport with my mom.
When I was around 6 or 7 years old, I turned my childhood home into a "hotel" and provided daily "housekeeping services" to my parent's room and even had my own "in room dining" program!

When I was 17 years old, I landed a hotel job with no more experience than a newspaper delivery boy from a new department head who came from, you guessed it, the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to hold 13 roles at 9 different hotels in 4 different states in task-force and full-time capacities.

Links

https://solo.to/hospitalitymd

The most effective way to approach upselling: Erik Tengen, Oaky

Adam Knight — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Erik is the Co-Founder at Oaky, a hyper-personalised and automated upsell engine that helps hotels drive additional revenue through perfectly timed guest communication.

Front Desk upsell programs have existed in varying forms and effectiveness for years. Typically revolving around upselling room categories, many have relied on a front desk agents ability to quickly engage in providing an offer while at the same time going through a litany of brand standards while worrying about ringing phones and the ever growing line of guests forming in the lobby.

Oaky is a company on a mission to change this paradigm by using information you already have about your guest to engage them in a personalized and ultimately more effective way.

On this episode, Erik shares how the company came about, insights on consumer buying psychology and how some of the most successful hotels are approaching upsells today, along with several other topics.

If you’re looking for a more effective solution to drive additional revenue, focusing on a new way of approaching upsells may be the solution.

About Erik

Meet Erik: Co-founder at Oaky, a passionate public speaker, who is crazy about music and hotel technology. Erik’s speciality is to make other people enthusiastic and to dare. What makes him genuinely happy is inspiring others to break free of old habits and give their own visions a try. Talk to Erik about Hotel technology, Entrepreneurship, Presentations/Pitching, Golf, Skiing, and DJing.

Links

Website: https://www.oaky.com

Oaky Courses: https://courses.oaky.com

Giving Customers What They Didn’t Know They Wanted: Colin Cowie, Thrive Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Even if you don’t work in hospitality, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Colin Cowie. He’s been at the forefront of event and wedding planning for the past 25 years, creating trends and raising the bar for providing the ultimate guest experience for celebrity and corporate clients around the world.

He’s also just released his 11th book called The Gold Standard, Giving Your Customers What They Didn’t Know They Wanted, and on this episode we’re diving in to some of Colin’s best practices and principles that have not only filled the pages of his new book, but truly actionable, and fundamentally simple but effective actions that can foster personalized proactive customer service.

I took away two key points from this conversation. The first is that in times of crisis and change like hotels and restaurants have been dealing with, coming back to the basics and executing on them exceptionally well will never steer you in the wrong direction. The second is that creating emotional connections with your guests isn’t about expensive gifts or over the top gestures, it just takes care and a bit of imagination.

It was truly a pleasure having Colin on the show - and I hope there’s something here that resonates with you as well.

About Colin

Colin Cowie arrived in the United States from South Africa in 1985. His intelligence, personality, and stylish sensibility led him into the fast-paced, glamorous world of planning over-the-top parties for royalty, celebrities, and business luminaries. Respected around the world as an arbiter of style, Cowie has been at the forefront of event and wedding planning for the past 25 years, creating trends and raising the bar for providing the ultimate guest experience. In addition to Oprah Winfrey, his celebrity clients include Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, Lil Wayne, Nicole Kidman, and Demi Moore, to name a few. Cowie’s corporate clients include Dom Perignon, Warner Bros., CBS, The Whitney Museum, Architectural Digest, Cosmopolitan and Style. His previous books include Dinner After Dark, Colin Cowie Chic: The Guide to Life As It Should Be, and Colin Cowie Wedding Chic. Cowie's latest book, The Gold Standard: Giving Your Customers What They Didn't Know They Wanted, will be released by HarperCollins Leadership on September 7, 2021.

Links

Book: The Gold Standard: Giving Your Customers What They Didn't Know They Wanted

Website: https://www.colincowie.com

Instagram: @colincoweylifestyle

Rethinking Hotel Food & Beverage: Joseph Szala, Vigor Branding

Adam Knight — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Joseph Szala is the Managing Director at Vigor, a restaurant branding and marketing agency based in Atlanta.

Hotel F&B can be a puzzle. Declining capture rates, downward pressure on menu prices and lack of investment in the interior design have ensured that most hotel restaurants remain uncompetitive guest amenities rather than inspired destinations that draw in guests and surrounding locals.

The last 18 months has demanded re-thinking and re-evaluation of every aspect of the hospitality industry - and your hotel restaurant is certainly in that bucket.

But with limited resources and in many cases, lack of desire, knowing where to start can be so difficult that it actually limits any forward progress.

On this episode, Joseph brings some best practices and philosophies from the independent restaurant world that will undoubtedly help you prioritize your long list of tasks when trying to reinvent your hotel restaurant.

About Joseph

Joseph Szala founded Vigor, a restaurant branding strategy and design agency in 2003. Since then, he’s led the charge for over 200 restaurant brands across the country. He founded Grits & Grids, the number one website dedicated to sharing design and branding for restaurant, beverage, and hospitality brands. Joseph also serves as host to the restaurant branding podcast, Forktales, where he converses with industry leaders on current hot button topics facing the restaurant world.

Links

Website: https://vigorbranding.com

Brooklyn Dumpling Shop: https://www.brooklyndumplingshop.com

Borne Restaurant Market Reporting: https://bornereport.com

How to create a hospitality comeback strategy: Anne Gannon, The Largo Group

Adam Knight — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Anne is the Principal at The Largo Group, an Accounting firm that specializes in the hospitality industry providing monthly bookkeeping, tax services, and business consulting.

She’s also the Author of Never Again - a book that was written in response to the tremendous challenges faced by the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Without giving much away ahead of the episode, I was surprised to hear that one of the biggest lessons many hotels have learned the hard way over the past 18 month is the importance of cash flow. And not just how much cash is coming in now, but how much is expected to come in throughout the year.

Those forecasts have become the lifeblood for ailing hotels, and given that it’s everyone’s favorite time of year, aka Budget Season, I wanted to have Anne on to share more insights from the past 18 months, discuss her new book and to give some guidance on how hotel managers should be approaching their 2022 financials.

About Anne

Anne Gannon is the Principal at The Largo Group. The Largo Group offers innovative accounting and bookkeeping solutions to businesses and individuals. In 2016 The Largo Group’s revenue has grown 75% year-over-year for the last 5 years. The Largo Group has over 500+ customers from Alaska to Maine and a team size of 8.

Anne is often tapped by press as an expert in PPP loans for business.

The Largo Group is perfect for those looking for specialized monthly bookkeeping, tax services, and business consulting focused on improving efficiencies and the bottom line. The uniqueness of our firm is that Anne is the sole owner as most accounting firms are partnerships. We are set up as a corporate model. If we win, the team wins.

Anne’s audience on social media is greater than 1,500+ and she is happy to share your episode with her fans!

Links

Website: https://www.thelargogroup.com

How to drive more direct bookings in your hotel: Anthony Lazzara, Little Hotelier

Adam Knight — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals.

Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Anthony is the Senior Market Manager for Little Hotelier, a hotel property management system, channel manager, booking engine and website builder all in one - aimed at making it easier for independent hoteliers to run their properties and drive more direct bookings.

And that’s been one of the most difficult puzzles that hotels have been facing for years now. In the past it’s felt like no matter what you did the OTA share of bookings kept growing.

Well times are changing and with the right strategy, your hotel can take advantage.

On this episode Anthony shares a ton of great information about the state of travel and some of the best practices that you can put in place today to not only compete but to use OTAs to your advantage.

This was a great episode that I personally found to be very helpful. I hope you take more than a few ideas away as well.

About Anthony

Based in Texas, Anthony Lazzara is a Senior Market Manager at Little Hotelier, the world’s most trusted hotel management software. With a deep understanding of the needs of small accommodation providers, Anthony has developed specialized knowledge in the North American and the Carribean markets that he manages. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems and Marketing from the University of Arkansas.

About Little Hotelier

We don’t come with a scary price tag. With us, you get a neat little package that helps you do all the things the big properties do, but in your own, uniquely-small way.

Our all-in-one reservation and hotel management system, designed specially for small accommodation providers, gives you:

An easy-to-use front desk system, to keep your property in order
A booking engine for your hotel website, to clinch direct bookings
A great channel manager, to get your property on to OTAs
A website builder, so you can jazz yours up or start from scratch
Reporting and insights, to help you make the best choices
Built-in payments, so you can save up to four minutes per booking
The ability to list on metasearch sites, like Google Hotel Ads

Plus, our system is available as a mobile app. This means you can manage your property from anywhere, and never miss a beat when it comes to delighting your guests with extraordinary experiences and memorable stays.

Little Hotelier. From boutique hotels to vacation rentals, we’re the one solution that’s been perfectly designed and fitted out to meet the needs of small property owners and operators.

Links

Little Hotelier: https://www.littlehotelier.com/

Anthony's email: anthony.lazzara@littlehotelier.com

Post-Pandemic Hotel Operations: Ken Merkel, Avocet Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Ken is the SVP of Operations at Avocet Hospitality Group, a hotel management company based in Charleston, South Carolina, and he’s been leading the charge to bring the company’s hotels back.

And coming back for their hotels has meant a literal hockey stick if you were to graph out rate and occupancy performance since Spring Break. They’re setting records and looking to close out 2021 as one of their best ever.

But in operations, high rates and occupancy have to be supported by engaged staff, a full suite of amenities and services, and the ability to get the flywheel turning again.

Ken shares how they have been dealing with these challenges and some of the thinking that is going on behind the scenes with respect to balancing “getting back to normal” and what the new normal will actually look like.

As an industry we’re all in the same body of water, just in different boats. We’re all dealing with similar challenges and my hope is that in this conversation you’ll find commonality, camaraderie and perhaps some ideas on where you can take your own property.

About Ken

Ken Merkel is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Avocet Hospitality Group. Since joining the team in January 2009, Merkel has overseen all aspects of operations for Avocet Hospitality Group including employee training and overall guest experience.

In his role, Merkel works with team members to ensure that they create strong relationships with guests and the community to deliver memorable experiences and lasting memories. Everyday has the possibility of being unique, different and challenging, but Merkel focuses on working with a group of talented and diverse team members with the ultimate goal of making them happy as his top priority.

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Merkel moved to Charleston in 1997 and has more than 30 years experience in the hospitality industry. His previous experience includes working at Kiawah Island Golf Resort where he was involved in the successful openings of both the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island and the Ocean Course clubhouse as well as was part of the team that hosted the 2007 Senior PGA Championship. Additionally, he worked with high-end, luxury hotels such as The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia and The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

In his spare time, Merkel enjoys playing tennis and getting out on the water to fish.

Links

Website: https://www.avocethospitality.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/avocet-hospitality-group/

The Hospitality Culture Crisis: Tejal Patel, Neem Tree Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Tejal is a third-generation hotelier and Founding CEO of Neem Tree Hospitality based in the greater Houston area.

I first got to talking with Tejal on Clubhouse where we would discuss the culture in hospitality and how we can move the needle as the industry reopens.

Now that that is happening, I wanted to have her on the show to expand on some of those earlier discussions, but perhaps more importantly, since she’s on the cusp of opening her own hotel, dive in to bridge the theory discussions of the past several months with the realities of a working asset.

We’re both very cognisant that discussions about work culture can come across as nothing more that complaining so we try to keep this discussion constructive with concrete examples that hopefully inspire new thinking and actions.

About Tejal

Tejal Patel CHO, CHIA is a third-generation hotelier based in Texas' greater Houston area. She has held multiple positions in different areas of the industry, such as hotel operations, restaurants, events, and consulting prior to becoming Founding CEO of Neem Tree Hospitality in 2019.

She serves as an Ambassador for the Southeast Texas region of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) for 8 years. Since her early involvement with AAHOA, Tejal has developed a passion for advocating on behalf of the hotel industry. She is committed to creating a more inclusive industry for all hospitality professionals.

Additionally, she serves her local community as a Board Member of the League City Convention & Visitors Bureau Advisory Board, and a Board Member for the League City Regional Chamber of Commerce. Beyond her community, she serves the industry as a member of organizations such as the Small and Independent Motel Association, the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association, and the International Hospitality Institute as a Board Member/Global Partner.

Tejal holds a Bachelor of Science from the Conrad N. Hilton School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston and is completing an MBA with a concentration in Finance and Investment Management.

Links

Website: https://tejalpatel.co

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tejalpatelhotelier/

Improving Service Culture: Robert Reitknecht, Hospitality Advisor

Adam Knight — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Robert Reitknecht is a hospitality and luxury brand advisor with 30 years in the industry.

During pre-pandemic times, hotels across the country spent a great deal of time trying to improve service culture but now that travel is returning but staffing remains tight, how does a hotel ensure there is alignment with guest, employee and brand expectations?

We’re diving into this today with an eye on Service Culture, authenticity, influence and communication.

About Robert

Robert Reitknecht is a veteran customer loyalty professional and guest experience expert for over two decades. A Certified Rooms Division Manager (CRDM), Robert has provided service-focused insights to a number of Fortune 100/500 companies. He has worked primarily in the hospitality and guest relations verticals, crafting cultures of excellence by spearheading quality standard initiatives, process improvements and hands-on training and development programs.

Links

Website: www.robertreitknecht.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rreitknecht/

The New World of Revenue Management: Kate Burda, Kate Burda & Co

Adam Knight — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Kate is the CEO and Founder of Kate Burda & Co, a consulting firm that leads revenue performance and growth strategies for hotels, hospitality brands, owners, investors and management companies.

At the time of this recording, we can safely say that travel is back! At least leisure travel is back. Right now, hotels across the country are experiencing record setting rate and occupancy growth with many beating actual results from 2019.

But booms like this are always temporary and the most effective organizations are already thinking about how they will change their tactics to be most effective when these great results start to level out.

As they say, revenue cures all problems, so the trifecta of Revenue Management, Sales and Marketing have never been more critical - but approaching them with the same thinking as we did pre-pandemic is not going to do you any favors.

On this episode we’re exploring what that means so you can sustain these peaks long in to the future.

About Kate

Kate Burda is the CEO and founder of consulting firm Kate Burda & Co, which leads revenue performance and growth strategies for organizations, hotels, hospitality brands, owners, investors and management companies. Through her “revenue trifecta” of sales, traditional & digital marketing and revenue management, many of Kate’s clients have enjoyed 25 percent growth in revenue gains through her work.

Amid disposition, bankruptcy, financial downturns and shifts within the marketplace over her nearly 30 years of experience, Kate has advised some of the world’s leading companies, such as Goldman Sachs, REIT, Abbott, Medtronic, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ricoh, Marriott International, Hilton, Loews Hotels, Intercontinental Hotel Group and more.

Kate is passionate about challenging the status quo and rethinking systems to drive revenue acceleration. Her subscription training platform Ignite launched in May 2021 to help businesses connect the dots between finance and sales & marketing. Ignite leads companies to identify their most profitable and most valuable customers. Most companies or leaders would say they know their top customers but Ignite helps them go beyond. By learning to recognize these areas of opportunity, businesses using Ignite are able to generate revenue impact.

As an industry leader, Kate is a Think Tank member of the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses for Fairleigh Dickinson University and Purdue University System. Her memberships include Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA), International Society of Hotel Consultants (ISHC), Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA), Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). Kate has spoken at Chesapeake Hospitality Summit, Hunter Conference, Hotel Asset Manager Association 2020 Summit, and more. She earned her MBA at University of Colorado and currently lives in Dallas.

Links

Website: https://kateburda.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateburda/

The Past, Present and Future of the Concierge, Tom Wolfe, America's First Concierge

Adam Knight — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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If you’re deep into the history of hotels in North America, you may have heard of Tom. If not, here’s a question for you. When was the last time you thought about “who is the first person to to be a Name your position?”.

There was a time when the Concierge didn’t exist in US hotels, and the person who created it is Tom Wolfe.

A mainstay as the Chef Concierge at the Fairmont San Francisco, Tom has been around the world and back again, bringing an early passion for the profession when working in Europe, to creating the modern concierge blending the allure of the old world with American ingenuity. Today, he’s a global ambassador and mentor for hospitality professionals everywhere.

Tom shares stories about the beginning of his hotel career, how the role of the concierge has changed and where he sees it going in the future.

This episode was a true pleasure to put together. Having worked together in San Francisco, I’ve known and admired Tom for years. His charm, engaging stories and motivational style are on point and I hope you feel it through our conversation.

About Tom

Although the profession of the modern concierge dates back to the 1800s, in the 1900s concierges were only present in Europe due to their French origins. It was not until the 1970s that the concierge profession found its way to the United States. Thomas Wolfe is widely recognized as the first concierges in The United States. Having worked in Europe for many years, he eventually took up a position with the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco in 1974 and also went on to found the American Chapter of Les Clefs d'Or in The United States. Having studied at the hands of some of Europe's best concierges, Wolfe introduced his traditional European training and combined with a ''can do'' attitude, was able to offer the best of both continents to the hotel guests he served.

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomwolfeman

The Experience is The Answer: Dominique Pibia-de Groot, DG Hospitality

Adam Knight — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Dominique Pibia-de Groot is the owner of DG Hospitality, a Dutch company that trains hospitality teams to create memorable experiences and advises organizations within the hospitality industry how they can improve their customer journey.

When we were discussing doing this episode, our conversation turned to the state of hotel and restaurant openings as pandemic restrictions are lifted and whether or not businesses should in fact reopen at 100% when they’re allowed to do so.

A robust discussion became a full show about customer service, creating emotional and practical experiences and working with limited resources.

At the end of the day, we find that focusing on the fundamentals will see us through the next year or more as we get back to normal life.

On this episode we discuss:

How to measure ROI with employee training (5:33)
Using the senses to create emotional engagement (6:49)
Low barrier actions that business should be focused on right now (11:38)
The benefits of defining your customer personas (15:12)
How customer service and customer expectations have changed through the pandemic (17:44)
Is an emotional experience or practical experience more important? (25:18)

About Dominique

I am a very passionate guest experience educator and it’s my mission to make hospitality more beautiful for guests and employees. I have worked in several management positions within the industry. From a five star boutique hotel to a prestigious golf course, restaurants and events. With my own company, DG Hospitality, I train hospitality teams creating a memorable experience and I advise organizations within the hospitality industry how they can improve their customer journey with maximum ROI.

My motto: making guest experience work!

Links

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominiquedegroot/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dg_hospitality/

Website: www.dghospitality.nl

The Surprise Restaurant Manager: Ken McGarrie, Korgen Hospitality

Adam Knight — Thu, 27 May 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Ken is the author of The Surprise Restaurant Manager, a book about the tools needed to master the unexpected challenges managers face every day.

And those challenges are mounting. Whether it’s the inability to fill open positions, a lack of internal resources, finding new customers, or expanding initiatives, this new business climate is stretching business owners, managers and teams in more ways than ever before.

We expand on discussions from the book and discuss a wide range of topics from how to avoid burnt out, working with strong personalities, delivering and handling criticism and the idea that self promotion is self preservation. We really try to give insight on leadership and personal responsibility by teasing out actionable and tactical points that could help with your current situation.

On this episode we discuss:

How to establish more balance in life (6:00)
Busy people vs. head down workers and their promotion opportunities (10:47)
Self promotion is self preservation (14:25)
Why face time with the boss starts with the boss making themselves available (20:50)
Alpha vs Beta workers: aka, loud vs. contemplative leadership (24:52)
Handing blunt criticism (35:08)
The value of using consultants and freelancers (45:05)

About Ken

Surprise –you’re in charge now! Steady money and new opportunities awaited as you moved up from server or bartender to front-of-house manager. But too often, restaurant management find themselves leading with minimal training, aton of responsibilities, and no clue how to improve. You’ve run the Friday night rush, you’ve juggled expectations of staff and guests -- but have you figured out how to improve while keeping the restaurant profitable?

In The Surprise Restaurant Manager, learn from Ken McGarrie, a restaurant operator who has helped launch dozens of successful restaurants, as he gives you the tools to master the unexpected challenges managers face every day.

Get help on the fly with real-life examples, straightforward strategies, and expert insight to better leadership. This is your guide to restaurant industry success beyond basic food knowledge and inventory counts.

You’ll learn: How to locate quality candidates and interview effectively, including eight signs you shouldn’t extend an offer — from subtle clues to outright red flags.Tips on ways to support your staff during challenging situations and how to use genuine suggestions to develop more effective hospitality skills. Common communication mistakes that guarantee FOH turnover and increase work stress -- and how to avoid them. Proven steps to upgrade your table touch and salvage every negative guest experience, including guaranteed methods to improve your restaurant’s online reviews. How to embrace blunt criticism, work effectively with strong personalities, and avoid professional burnout.Success as a restaurant manager is a constant quest to level up your game and your team – without sacrificing your sanity along the way.

Links

Website: www.korgenhospitality.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/102380811875432

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/korgen-hospitality

Book: The Surprise Restaurant Manager Book

180° Episode: The Cost of a Career in Hotel Management: Adam Knight, Knowing Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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This is a different episode than normal. This week the mic is on the other side of the desk and I’m the one being interviewed.

I was recently a guest on Kyle Allison’s show, HospitalityMD. The interview originally appeared on his podcast a few weeks ago and our discussion resonated so well that I felt there was value in sharing it with you here.

Kyle wanted to dive into the cost of a career in hospitality, what it’s like rising through the ranks, how appearances can be deceiving and the cost of throwing 100% of yourself at your hotel, guests and brand.

Anyone who knows me will know that I’m way outside my comfort zone on this one. It’s a highly personal episode where we talk about working in luxury hospitality and lessons learned along the way that have shaped how I approach work, downtime and the things that truly matter in life today.

If you’ve spent any time working in the hospitality industry, are highly driven, or simply given yourself to your career, I hope there is something in our conversation that resonates with you and, maybe even helps you look at things a little differently.

Links

HospitalityMD: https://hospitality-md.com

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant? If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Diversity and Inclusivity in Hospitality - Vol. 2: Kirs Jay, Hotel Experience Coordinator

Adam Knight — Wed, 12 May 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This episode is brought to you by Wheelhouse - the best revenue management platform for vacation and short term rentals. Learn more about Wheelhouse here ➡️ https://usewheelhouse.com

Use code KNOWINGHOSPITALITY for 50% off your first month with Wheelhouse.

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Kírs is an Experience Coordinator at a luxury spa and hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. Using their expertise and lived experience as a transgender and non-binary individual, they engage industry professionals in conversations regarding gender inclusivity with a focus in hospitality.

After recording episode 43 with Daniel Poulin on Diversity and Inclusion, we got to talking about what D&I efforts were looking like on the ground, within hotels, not just at the corporate level.

He introduced me to Kirs, who’s been heavily involved on the D&I committee at their hotel, and our initial conversations about doing a follow up episode led to a fantastic show about what it’s like for the employees tasked with delivering service day to day, how company efforts affect their ability to do their jobs, having sense of pride and belonging to one’s workplace and the actions companies should be taking if they’ve made no movement yet.

We’re continuing the discussion about Diversity and Inclusion on this episode. As hotels start to rehire after the pandemic, there is no better time to be talking about how we want things to look going forward.

On this episode we discuss:

Kirs’ involvement with the D&I committee at their hotel (5:38)
Coming out to their workplace (7:31)
How long it took for the D&I committee to form after coming out to their workplace (10:32)
Company interaction standards (13:52)
Companies may not know how to move forward, resulting in no action (15:22)
One year in… where is the D&I committee today? (19:47)
The pace of change from a committee member’s perspective (24:58)
Guest-centric vs. Employee-centric perspectives (29:14)
Removing bias from everyday language (31:18)
Bridging personal guest experiences and internal diversity efforts (32:59)
The fear of having uncomfortable conversations (38:33)

About Kirs

Links

Pulse iSpa Magazine: https://pulse.experienceispa.com/

Instagram (Kirs): https://instagram.com/kirsarthur

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The Intersection of Hotels and Vacation Rentals: Sean Breuner, AvantStay

Adam Knight — Wed, 05 May 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Sean is the Founder and CEO of the Short Term Rental brand, Avant Stay.

The company is reimagining what it means to be a short term vacation rental by innovating new ways to leverage technology to deliver a truly unique lifestyle hospitality brand for the future traveler.

Since their start in 2017, AvantStay has acquired more than 400 assets in over 60 cities.

What strikes me about the company is their relentless focus on the guest experience - and I hope this comes across in the episode.

Taking a page from the playbook of the best hotels in the world, they’re pushing the boundaries of what people can expect from a vacation rental - whether it’s the location, design, amenities or the personalized elements that customize each stay.

We’re talking about experience, differentiation, operationalizing a complex business and blending the worlds of hotels and short term rentals.

On this episode we discuss:

How technology is helping the company grow (5:10)
AvantStay’s business model (8:06)
The current state of vacation rentals (10:30)
Vacation rentals as a part of a larger hotel company ecosystem (15:11)
Designing homes for social media (19:28)
Customer segments in STR (22:55)
Operationalizing a horizontal business model (26:58)
Using partners to enhance an experience (31:25)

About Sean

With over 15 years of experience in real estate and technology, Sean is currently the CEO and founder of short-term rental brand AvantStay. Since its inception in 2017, AvantStay has acquired more than 400 assets in over 60 cities, including its first-ever international properties in Cabo San Lucas, launched in Q1 2021. Having gone through the launch and sale of a number of early-stage companies, his newest endeavor at AvantStay has allowed him to reimagine group travel, innovating new ways to leverage technology to deliver a truly unique lifestyle hospitality brand for the future traveler.

Links

AvantStay: https://avantstay.com

LinkedIn (Sean): https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanbreuner/

How to Find & Hire the Right Hotel Staff: Heather Myers, Traitify

Adam Knight — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0700

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about those personality tests that recruiters often have you go through, this episode is for you.

Heather is a Stanford trained personality psychologist and Chief Psychology Officer at Traitify, a company working to improve the assessment interview in the recruiting process.

Traitify bills itself as the world’s fastest talent assessment, using images to determine an array of personality traits as opposed to long form questions you may be used to seeing.

With hotels starting to hire again, but so many people having moved on to other jobs (and even other industries), I wanted to get insight on the state of recruiting and how it’s changing based on the effects of the pandemic.

Personality assessments are nothing new to the hotel industry but as difficulties in hiring and recruiting from a smaller pool dominate the news today, organizations who evolve their thinking around the employee lifecycle will be the ones who come out on top.

On this episode we discuss:

Assessments for all levels at all stages of the employee lifecycle, from candidate to employee (3:08)
Picture based assessments vs. traditional text based questions (5:47)
Are pictures more open to interpretation than text based questions? (9:12)
The 5 traits being assessed - 5 factor model, OCEAN acronym (11:04)
Are the results of the assessment predictive of someone’s ability to get promoted? (19:01)
Predictive validity studies and interview profiles (21:26)
The state of recruiting (23:20)
Attracting new entrants to the hospitality industry (25:30)
Should assessments be used as a hiring decision? A pass/fail? (27:36)

About Heather

Heather is a Stanford trained personality psychologist and statistician and the Chief Psychology Officer at Traitify. Here she manages a team that develops personality assessments using Traitify's visual technology and design. This includes designing validation studies and conducting statistical analyses. Additionally, Heather has 15 years of experience in consulting in the areas of survey design, experimental design, and data analysis. She is a member of the APA (American Psychological Association) and SIOP (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists).

Links

Website: https://www.traitify.com/

LinkedIn (Traitify): https://www.linkedin.com/company/traitify/

LinkedIn (Heather): https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-myers-phd/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/traitify

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7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Michael Tingsager, Hospitality Mavericks

Adam Knight — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0700

This unintended mini-series on leadership book reviews is back. The episode that we did on Good to Great by Jim Collins got such a high response that we decided to do another dive into a book that affected both of our careers.

This time we’re discussing 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. We were both introduced to this book early in our careers and it shaped our perception of not only team building but how we evolved our leadership styles.

Just like our last episode, we wanted to explore some of the concepts in the book and share a roadmap on how to take some of these principles and apply them to your personal and professional situation.

If you haven’t read 7 Habits, I hope this episode inspires you to pick it up. If you have, I hope we inspire you to dust it off and revisit some of these time-tested ideas.

Being proactive (11:03)
Begin with the end in mind (18:17)
First things first (25:20)
Think win-win (35:30)
Seek first to understand, then to be understood (39:35)
Synergize (45:47)
Sharpen the saw (54:58)

About Michael

I have been living and breathing the hospitality and restaurant industry from the day I was born, and I started working in my mum and dad’s small restaurant group in rural Denmark from an early age. I spent six years building a 20+ unit cafe chain in Denmark; +11 years working for McDonald’s Denmark and UK, and more than 8 years as a consultant working with brands across Europe. I'm also the Co-founder of The Bear Kitchen in London, which is a catering business delivering planet-friendly food into offices across London. Once a week I produce and host The Hospitality Maverick Podcast, which all about inspiring leaders to build businesses from the inside out - businesses that makes positive impact on their people, their community and the planet.

Links

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Hospitality Mavericks: www.hospitalitymavericks.com
Email: michael@hospitalitymavericks.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltingsager/

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Yes is the Answer: Christine Trippi, The Wise Pineapple

Adam Knight — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Christine is an award-winning hotelier with over 30 years in the industry, founder of The Wise Pineapple, a company that helps leaders and organizations have Sweet Operations, Sweet Cultures, and Sweet Results and author of “Yes Is the Answer”, a book about the simple steps of responding positively while developing strong relationships.

Yes is the answer can transform your hotel’s service culture and operation but it’s more than blindly agreeing to any request. It takes a strong training mindset, high levels of empowerment and the ability to set and maintain boundaries to be successful.

On this episode we discuss:

Onboarding and career development: Entry level positions up to senior leadership (4:45)
How Christine came to writing ‘Yes is the Answer’: the career connection (7:20)
How empowerment allows employees to say yes (10:57)
Setting boundaries will enable you to say yes more frequently (18:12)
How to re-enforce of good practices (25:41)
Reacting vs. Proactivity (31:31)

About Christine

Christine Trippi is an award-winning hotelier who has been in a romance with hospitality for over 30 years, serving resort, full, and select-service hotels. She is the founder of The Wise Pineapple and uses her experience and passion for helping leaders and organizations have Sweet Operations, Sweet Cultures, and Sweet Results.

Yes Is the Answer, Christine's book became an instant bestseller on Amazon and was endorsed by the inspiring Anthony Melchiorri of Hotel Impossible, calling it "A must-read for any leader, especially anyone in the business of hospitality."

Links

Website: www.thewisepineapple.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-trippi-56105311/

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Health Verification and the Return of the Hotel Industry: Hermann Elger, Sharecare

Adam Knight — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Hermann is an industry veteran bringing over 25 years with companies like Baccarat Hotels and Resorts, St. Regis, Montage and Ritz-Carlton. He’s now executive vice president of travel, entertainment, and health security at Sharecare, a digital health services company, and has been helping hotels come back from the pandemic.

Sharecare Health Security Verification is one of the tools that has emerged as a way for hotels to demonstrate to their guests that health and safety protocols surrounding COVID are not only in place, but continually re-verified to ensure booking confidence and peace of mind.

Whether it’s Health and hygiene protocols, Cleaning products and procedures, Masks and PPE usage, Ventilation, Management accountability or Health safety communication with guests and employees, I believe this is a space that hotels should be seriously looking not only to instill confidence in travellers, but so that they can get back to talking about their own stories.

On this episode we discuss:

What does Sharecare do? (3:15)
How has Sharecare been helping hotels over the past year? (4:14)
Hotels need to get away from marketing their cleaning protocols and back to their “story” (9:17)
The process Sharecare went through to come up with cleanliness standards for hotels (13:00)
The onsite process for getting Sharecare verified (15:54)
Does getting verified drive more business to the hotel? (18:17)
Educating guests about the value of being Sharecare verified (20:41)

About Hermann

Hermann Elger is executive vice president of travel, entertainment, and health security at Sharecare, the leading digital health company that helps people – no matter where they are in their health journey – build a longer, better life by enabling health transformation at the individual, organizational and community level.

In this role, Elger is responsible for leveraging the company’s digital capabilities and health expertise to help employers and businesses across service industries ensure public health safety as part of overall consumer well-being. With channel partners such as Forbes Travel Guide, Elger oversees the delivery and global expansion of Sharecare’s Health Security VERIFIED™ solution, a platform and verification system designed to help hospitality organizations comply with proactive and reactive measures to minimize the risk and impact of acute public health events.

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharecare/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharecareinc/
LinkedIn (Sharecare): https://www.linkedin.com/company/sharecare-inc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharecareInc
Email: VERIFIED@sharecare.com

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Unhustle: Milena Regos

Adam Knight — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Milena is the founder of the Unhustle Movement, a certified human potential coach and podcast host on a mission to inspire 100 million people from all over the world to ditch the hustle culture mentality and begin a new way of living and working.

Hustling, grinding and being “on” are synonymous with working in hospitality. Someone always needs something from you and fear of letting them down or negative repercussions from not being available 24/7 are pervasive in our industry.

But that’s the whole point of today’s show. To recognize that this way of working isn’t sustainable and that we’ve got an opportunity to address it now, before everyone gets back to being too busy to care.

Rest, play, being present and focusing on our well-being helps us deal with stress, overwhelm and burnout, and can actually push our creativity and productivity towards optimal performance.

On this episode we discuss:

Why it’s hard to take action on slowing down (7:15)
Why it’s so hard to unplug and get away from distraction (12:23)
Getting over objection and resistance to changing behavior (15:07)
What you can do for yourself to change behavior and how you can support your team for the same (21:56)
Don’t assume that everything on your team is OK (25:39)

About Milena

Milena Regos, founder of the Unhustle Movement is a rebel entrepreneur, ex award-winning marketer, certified human potential coach and podcast host on a mission to inspire 100 million people from all over the world to ditch the hustle culture mentality and begin a new way of living and working. Unhustle has been called “Amazing” by Arianna Huffington (Founder and CEO of Thrive Global) and “Legendary” by Christopher Lochhead (#1 Apple Business Podcaster).

Milena’s has spoken on global stages like World Economic Forum and Wisdom2.0. Her work has been featured in CNN Business, Thrive Global, Authority Magazine and multiple podcasts. She believes that when you focus on well-being, resilience, and purpose you can tap into higher creativity, productivity, and optimal performance.

She lives the Unhustle values between Lake Tahoe and Baja with her Australian husband and Mexican rescue dog. Download her free ebook to start your journey to Unhustle at unhustle.com/ebook.

Links

Website: https://unhustle.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unhustle/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unhustle
Free Community FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/unhustle
Unhustle Podcast: https://anchor.fm/unhustle

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Entrepreneurship and institutional money in the vacation rental industry: Andrew Kitchell, Wheelhouse

Adam Knight — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 08:00:00 -0700

Andrew founded Lyric, a network of tech-enabled rentals designed for the modern business traveler that developed properties in 14 US markets.

He is now CEO and Founder at Wheelhouse, a dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals.

Collectively, Andrew has raised millions from investors such as Airbnb, NEA, FifthWall, Barry Sternlicht, and other property/technology investors - and this is why I wanted to talk with him on the show.

There are people out there right now trying incredibly hard to evolve their business or who are working on the next innovation in the hospitality sector. As many will quickly learn, it can be lonely at the top, cash is king to a growing business and work culture must be a priority.

We’re talking about leadership, entrepreneurship, the benefits and pitfalls of bootstrapping vs seeking outside investment and how as a founder, you’ve got to have your sights squarely placed on creating an environment that will allow the business to be successful.

On this episode we discuss:

How Airbnb made renting vacation rentals mainstream (3:50)
The iterative nature of Airbnb hosting (5:40)
How the pandemic affected Lyric (14:08)
What it was like targeting large residential management companies (21:21)
Shutting down a company (30:36)
Forecasting in the vacation rental space (38:20)
The pros and cons bootstrapping vs. finding investors for your business (43:35)

About Andrew

Andrew Kitchell is CEO and Founder at Wheelhouse, a dynamic pricing tool for vacation rentals. Having previously founded another dynamic pricing company, Beyond Pricing, Andrew is an advocate for data-driven revenue management and aims to empower property managers to make better pricing decisions based on intelligent insights.

Andrew also founded Lyric, a network of tech-enabled rentals designed for the modern business traveler that developed properties in 14 US markets. Collectively, Andrew has raised $100mm from investors such as Airbnb, NEA, FifthWall, Barry Sternlicht, and other property/technology investors.

Links

Website: www.usewheelhouse.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/usewheelhouse

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usewheelhouse

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/usewheelhouse

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Diversity, Inclusivity and Wellbeing in Hospitality: Daniel Poulin

Adam Knight — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Daniel is the former Director of Wellbeing for Accor Hotels and led the company’s diversity and inclusion planning. Unfortunately, like so many in hospitality, the pandemic caused him to be laid off but he’s still deeply entrenched in the space.

We’re diving into Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing on this episode. These are topics that are getting much more discussion in the hospitality space and as we look to re-open the industry after the pandemic, there is no better time to be talking about how we want it to look going forward.

When initially talking with Daniel about being on the show, I learned that Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing are all related topics that each need to be a part of any organizations’ efforts in their overall D&I goals.

Daniel shares insight on his efforts within Accor on their D&I actions, where individuals can start in on their own efforts about education and actions, and where he sees the office of the future taking shape.

It was a fascinating discussion that could have gone of for hours but I think in this first episode, we touch on several important points and have established a good foundation for future episodes.

On this episode we discuss:

Starting the discussion about diversity, inclusivity & wellbeing (4:11)
Why is can this topic be uncomfortable to talk about? (9:04)
The genesis of Accor’s efforts about D&I planning (11:12)
How to start the internal conversation and create buy-in about diversity & inclusivity efforts (15:51)
How to start on inclusivity efforts (28:07)
Where does wellbeing fit in? (34:22)

About Daniel

Leading Wellbeing for the Accor’s portfolio in the North & Central America’s region from 2014 to 2020, Daniel is no stranger to hospitality with a career in the fitness and spa industry that spans over 30 years taking him from Canada to Asia and the Middle East.

Daniel also played an instrumental role is developing Diversity and Inclusion at Accor where he co-championed the LGBTQ+ pillar along with being a member of the broader D&I Committee for the region.

Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and a Master of Science degree in Nutrition with a specialization on exercise and breast cancer.

His extensive academic background and years of experience in the wellbeing space provide a level of expertise to the benefit of employees and guests that go beyond the trends. As such, Daniel is often recognized as an innovator and “trends detangler” in the wellness industry. His hands-on experimental approach allows for real life skills that go beyond theories and concepts.

Links

LinkedIn: Daniel Poulin (He/Him) | LinkedIn

Book discussed on the episode: Time Off: https://amzn.to/37rroQY

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Emotional Leadership: Stephanie Coradin, Dembo, Inc.

Adam Knight — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Stephanie a Florida-based Executive Coach with Dembo, Inc. who has an extensive background in hospitality and holds both an MBA and Masters in Mental Health Counselling.

As we shift focus to coming out of the pandemic stronger than ever, emotional leadership and cultivating a great internal culture must be a leading topic of discussion. Organizations that not only help people get back into the hospitality workforce but those that help people grow their careers and become better versions of themselves will be the bigger winners going forward.

Stephanie shares fantastic insight on the psychology of leadership, what’s been missing in many organizations training and execution plans and what you can do today to start making a difference with your team and your own engagement in your work.

This was a great discussion and I hope that you find something in it that makes you look at your own management and leadership style in a different way.

On this episode we discuss:

Marrying business management and emotional leadership, especially during the pandemic (3:59)
What is emotional leadership? (4:49)
How to build your leadership intuition (5:30)
How someone can develop their own self-awareness? (8:15)
The importance of consistency and follow up when training new skills (11:17)
How to get beyond the “this won’t work” mentality (12:40)
The multi-generational workforce (14:44)
How to help people overcome their insecurities with leadership training (18:29)
What is the ROI on leadership training? (21:09)

About Stephanie

I am a Corporate Trainer and Executive Coach. I have over 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I also hold an MBA and a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling (I focus on anxiety/stress management). This unique combination of knowledge has enabled me to help leaders and individuals create work environments that are attractive and emotionally stable for all involved. I am able to go into companies and draw out the causes of their issues as opposed to just treating the symptoms of bad service. I believe that with a solid company culture, the motivation that shows team members that the executives really care about employees, and some solid training, guests will receive luxurious service every single time.

Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luxymindset/

Facebook: http://facebook.com/stephaniezcoradin

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/luxy_mindset

Stephanie’s complimentary Coffee Chats for both coaching and training.

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The Past, Present and Future of Hotel Design: Lisa Haude, PDG Studios

Adam Knight — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Lisa is the founder of PDG Studios (formerly Paradigm Design Group) an interior design studio based in Houston that works primarily in the hospitality space.

We’re still in the early days feeling the long term impact of the pandemic. Sure, travel has fallen off and many hotels are wrestling with their future, but as we move through the next 12-18 months, there will undoubtedly be ownership changes, brand changes and many properties will embark on varying types of renovations.

I wanted to have Lisa on the show to talk about the design and renovation process from a designers perspective and the involvement that owners and operations managers need to have to successfully bring a project across the finish line.

I believe many of us will be in the weeds with construction before we know it and I hope this episode covers the high level points of the process so it goes as smoothly as possible in your property.

On this episode we discuss:

How to get started with a hotel renovation (4:30)
How to make the renovation process easier (13:44)
Why operations involvement in renovation planning is critical (19:13)
Will COVID change hotel design? (24:30)
Where is the “residential feel” moniker going? What is the next evolution? (29:37)

About Lisa

Lisa A. Haude founded PDG Studios (formerly Paradigm Design Group) in 2001 and continues to prove that she is one of the top industry leaders in her field. A storyteller in her own right, Lisa creates truly one-of-a-kind spaces that speak authentically to the lifestyles and cultures of the clients PDG Studios designs for, celebrating unique histories all around the US. Known for her creative and unique approach to design, as well as her admirable ability to lead her team with grace, she and her team create memorable spaces that evoke beauty, luxury and comfort and a sense of familiarity, seamlessly bridging the gap between hospitality and home life.

Lisa’s award-winning work can be seen throughout the country and is featured in a variety of notable hospitality, lifestyle and shelter publications. She has also been interviewed for well-known podcasts, including The Chaise Lounge and A Well-Designed Business and has taken the stage at important industry tradeshows and conferences, including NeoCon, where she has shared her knowledge about design and hospitality with audience members from all around the country. Recognized as an influential leader in hospitality and design, Lisa has been honored with a variety of noteworthy business and industry awards over the past 19 years, including several International Business Awards.

Links

Website: https://pdg-studios.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pdgstudios_ig/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pdgstudios/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pdgstudios/_created/

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Digital Nomads and Evolving Work Culture: David Abraham, Outpost

Adam Knight — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0700

David is the Co-Founder of Outpost and leads the team’s co-living and co-working growth strategy. Outpost is occupying an interesting space, at the intersection of work and life. Initially focused on digital nomads, the changes that the pandemic has forced on businesses and work culture around the world has put them in a unique position to foster long term leisure stays with everything one might need to continue working, grow their network or embark on a new venture. This is a space that is certain to see rapid growth and it was fascinating to hear David talk about where he sees the industry going in the next couple of years. On this episode we discuss: How Outpost started and people’s changing attitude to getting work done in the office (4:30) Overcoming the biggest barriers to traditional office culture (6:48) The challenges with the blending of work time and down time (10:25) Growth in urban vs. typical vacation destinations (12:09) The Outpost booking experience and onsite services (14:43) The unintended positive outcome of the network effect (18:26) Selling the benefits of a destination to drive business (24:15) About David David is Outpost’s Co-Founder, and leads the team’scoliving and coworking growth strategy. His career has spanned from Wall Street andthe White Housetoremote African villages. He has overseen billion-dollar budgets, managed teams globallyand held fellowships atnumerous institutions, includingTokyo University and Japan's economyministry. His interests center on creating places that allow people to form community and build meaningful lives. David’s work hasbeen published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as in an award-winning book The Elements of Power. He is a Senior Fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington DC, a lifemember of the Council on Foreign Relations, and has testified in front of Congress Links Outpost's website: https://destinationoutpost.co/ David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-abraham-73960a1/ --- We want to hear from you! Send in a voice message or review to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/provenprinciples/message --- Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant? If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Project Management Fundamentals: Cristiana Crin, Perpetuum Designs

Adam Knight — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Cristiana Crin is the founder of Perpetuum Designs, an interior design studio based in Chicago that works primarily in the hospitality and restaurant industries.

There was something that struck me when we initially spoke about doing an episode. When I asked Cristiana what Perpetuum Designs does, she responded with “We convert spaces into memorable experiences.” It’s this focus on the customer that creates alignment with the vision for a renovation and the outcome, and you can tell when it’s done right.

I wanted to dive into Cristiana’s design philosophy but the conversation turned to talk more about the project management process that she goes through. We all manage projects on a daily basis but there are methods and best practices that professionally trained project managers use that keep their work on the right track, delivered on time and all stakeholders happy through the process.

What was to be an interior design episode turned into a gold mine of ideas that you can use today to make a difference in your project management process.

One this episode we discuss:

What does Perpetuum Designs do? (6:08)
Example of mural inside Jibarito Stop restaurant that Cristiana is working on (7:35)
Explaining visual ideas to others (8:46)
Using imagery to present your vision (11:15)
Spending money wisely (15:05)
Lessons from project management certification vs self-learned project management skills (18:47)
How to get better organized (23:14)
How to get better at planning smaller projects that pop up every day (28:57)

About Cristiana

What we do? We convert spaces into memorable experiences.

We built a reputation for turning heads. When people walk into a space that we designed, they stop; they look around; they acknowledge that they are experiencing something different.

The first thing we need to understand is the importance of budget and time. It is equally as important as the design itself. For years we tested theories and possibilities to make sure we understand best what the combination of the two means, so we can educate our clients and give realistic expectations.

Now, we are convinced, that our design deliverables meet realistic accomplishments.

We work closely with architects and general contractors to ensure a successful execution of our design and our client is always informed of the progress.

Most importantly, we take pride in everything that we do!

Links

Website: https://perpetuumdesigns.com

Instagram: @perpetuumdesigns

Jibarito Stop Restaurant: https://thejibaritostop.com

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Good to Great: Michael Tingsager, Hospitality Mavericks

Adam Knight — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Michael Tingsager is a good friend who I connected with a couple of years ago on his podcast, Hospitality Mavericks, and I continue to work with him through the Hospitality Game Changers group on Facebook.

This episode is a little different than typical shows because we’re talking about a book that we’re both passionate about.

Good to Great by Jim Collins has impacted both of our careers in more ways than we can count. We wanted to dive in to some of the concepts in the book and share a roadmap on how to take some of these principles and apply them to your personal and professional situation.

We try to connect much of what we talk about back to our own experiences so I hope you find this not only makes it more relatable but also actionable.

On this episode we discuss:

Why you should read this book (5:43)
What makes a good company great? (7:40)
Why we should be shifting focus from growth to impact (9:40)
It starts with discipline (19:00)
Level 5 leadership experience (20:12)
It’s about execution - first who then what (26:05)
You don’t have to be high up the career ladder to apply the principles in this book (42:20)
Pret-a-Manger’s hiring process and sustaining internal culture (47:18)
The hedgehog principle (52:18)

About Michael

Links

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Hospitality Mavericks: www.hospitalitymavericks.com

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Resiliency in the face of the hospitality industry’s collapse: Theresa Ito, Blue Mountain Solutions

Adam Knight — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Theresa was a guest in the early days of the show, and she’s back today to share insights into how she pivoted her company to find new opportunities during the pandemic.

A little background on Theresa - She’s successfully led teams for iconic brands including Fairmont Hotels, Le Meridien, Sandals Resorts and Hilton International. She’s now founder and principal at Blue Mountain Solutions, a hospitality consulting and leadership training company based in Victoria, BC.

I asked Theresa on the show to talk about how the pandemic has affected her business, what she’s learned by talking with different teams and business owners in industries outside of hospitality and her message for 2021.

Ultimately, our goal with this episode is to inspire and show people at every level within an organization how to take action.

On this episode we discuss:

How the last year has been for a hospitality industry focus business (4:45)
We need to pull together and lean on each other as an industry (8:18)
Looking for skills help needed in other industries as an opportunity for hotel professionals (12:40)
Using hospitality accounting principles to maximize other businesses (18:24)
Self-care and dealing with burnout (23:41)
Leading with authenticity (27:18)
How to help people feel hopeful that they can make a change (34:16)

About Theresa

Theresa Ito is passionate about people, having worked in hospitality internationally for over 30 years, she loves nothing better than being part of people’s growth.

And that is why she has been successful with her company Blue Mountain Solutions Inc., developing leaders and teams. During her illustrious career, Theresa has successfully led teams in iconic brands including Fairmont Hotels, Le Meridien, Sandals Resorts and Hilton International.

Theresa is a qualified certified facilitator for "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and is a member of the “John Maxwell Team”. She also instructed at Royal Roads University .

Theresa was raised in Jamaica and then spent 20 years in England. She now lives with her family in beautiful Vancouver Island where she services a host of local and international clientele, assisting them to thrive in leadership.

Theresa is energetic and her presentations are always filled with leadership best practices, useful anecdotes and a healthy dose of humour.

Links

Website: www.bluemountain.solutions.com

Testimonials: www.bluemountain.solutions/testimonials/

Instagram: bluemountainsolutions

Facebook: @Theresa.Blue.Mountain.Solutions

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Oracle's Report on a Data Driven Hospitality Recovery: Tanya Pratt, Oracle Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Tanya is Vice President at Oracle Hospitality, who leads OPERA Cloud Strategy and Product Management teams. Prior to joining Oracle Hospitality, Tanya spent over 20 years at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in Hotel Operations, Revenue Management, Distribution and CRM.

In 2020, with a more than 50% decline in hotel revenues and 70%+ of the hospitality workforce furloughed or laid off, Oracle released a study looking at the path to recovery of the hotel industry.

With industry experts providing their outlooks and best practices, the report became a much needed roadmap for the path forward.

Tanya shares more information about the report and gives us a look into how Oracle Hospitality is approaching 2021.

On this episode we discuss:

How Oracle Hospitality is organized (8:26)
How Oracle is helping hotels integrate with other services (10:28)
What is the Data-Driven Hospitality Recovery report (12:00)
How Oracle is helping hotels better adopt and implement technology (19:17)
What should hotels be expecting in 2021 (28:58)
What surprised Tanya through the pandemic (34:16)

About Tanya

Links

Oracle Hospitality’s 2020 Global Hospitality Study Synopsis and links:

The global study, A Data-Driven Look at Hospitality’s Recovery, explored 4,600 consumers and 1,800 hotel executives’ attitudes and outlook on travel, including changes to the guest and employee experience, booking policies and distribution, and the industry’s recovery outlook.
Tanya’s LinkedIn
Oracle Hospitality’s LinkedIn
Oracle Hospitality’s Twitter: @OracleHosp
Oracle Hospitality’s Facebook

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How Personalization Can Drive More Hotel Revenue: Yaniv Grinblat, Bridgify

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Yaniv is Head of Business Development at Bridgify, a hospitality tech company that’s making it easier for hotels to provide and book more personalized travel experiences for their guests.

Today's hotel guests are not just a "head in the bed". It’s simply not that easy anymore. You’ve got to win over every guest, every day… and seamlessly driving additional revenue in a meaningful way is how the best hotels will emerge going forward.

Yaniv shares great information about how Bridgify works and how hotels can improve the experiences of their guests by connecting them with attractions that most don’t even know exist.

I know this may sound like a sponsored episode - It’s not! But the opportunity to engage your customers in a more personalized way is a huge opportunity worth exploring.

On this episode we discussed:

The space Bridgify is trying to occupy within hospitality / personalization (3:45)
How guests and hotels benefit from using Bridgify (5:23)
The aim is personalizing the guests’ experience at the destination, not just the hotel (7:28)
How Bridgify connects what is relevant to the traveller (8:58)
How hotels earn additional revenue through the platform (15:30)

About Yaniv

One of his sports is convincing old school hoteliers that we are in 2021, and that they can’t ignore it. Today's hotel guests are not just a "head in the bed".Yaniv Grinblat is an entrepreneur, family man and a hospitality expert. Today, he’s got his ‘tech’ hat on in order to help hotels step up and adjust to their guests' changing needs and be ready for the new travel industry of post COVID-19.

Links

Bridgify website: Bridgify - Travel Smarter

Bridgify LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridgifytravel/

Yaniv's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanivgrinblat/

Bridgify Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bridgify.Travel/

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Short Term Rental Secrets for the Hotel Industry: Emanuele Pani, STR Secrets Podcast

Adam Knight — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 09:00:00 -0700

Emanuele Pani is a real estate investor, Co-Host of the STR Secrets Podcast and Partner at Domu Private Investments. He’s also been in the vacation rental game for 10 years and has been helping new hosts transition into this emerging market. In light of the pandemic’s effect on the travel industry, vacation rentals have been one of the more resilient segments compared to hotels.

What’s important to note in this episode is that many people in the hotel industry already have the skills needed to be incredibly successful as vacation rental hosts but simply don’t know where to start. Emanuele shares great information about the industry and how to get started. He’s also got an offer at the end of the show for listeners who want to get started as an Airbnb host.

By the end of the episode, I think you’ll see that there are directly transferable skills that you as a hotel professional already have that you can leverage right away.

On this episode we discuss:

How do you get started in the short term rental space? (9:24)
Types of vacation rental properties that you can manage (13:20)
How have vacation rentals changed in the last couple of years? (17:26)
What are some of the best hosts doing to stand out? (28:55)
Being smart and selective about services and offerings in your short term rental (33:47)

About Emanuele

Emanuele Pani was born and raised in Sardinia Italy and came to America at 15 to fulfill his American dream. He is a real estate expert and entrepreneur with experience in investments, real estate sales and acquisitions, and professional Airbnb hosting and management. He’s the Co-host of STR Secrets a podcast that focuses exclusively on the Short-term rental industry as well as being one of the partners in Domu Private Investments, a rapidly growing investment group that focuses on investing in middle America. In his free time, Emanuele enjoys traveling, reading/learning, cooking, working out and spending time with his wife and pets.

Links

Instagram: @epani.realestate

Email: emanuele@domuproperties.com

Free Strategy Session Link: STRsecrets.com/survey

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The Best of 2020: Tactics and Habits of Hospitality Insiders and World-Class Performers

Adam Knight — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 08:00:00 -0700

What a year this has been!

COVID has obviously been the big story, but personally, I took the leap and started my own company at the start of the pandemic, launched the podcast and have connected with more people in the industry than in many previous years combined.

A big part of that has been because of this podcast. What started as a hobby has turned into a passion project that I look forward to doing every week.

There have been too many great moments on the show this year to count but I’ve tried to pull a few of them and do a “best of episode” to at least highlight some of the conversations that resonated with me.

Thank you all for your support throughout the year and for coming on this journey with me. I hope some of the things we’ve talked about over the year have resonated with you or inspired you to take action.

Highlights from the "best of" show include:

Marketing

Ep. 15 w/ Josh Hogan on spending money against OTAs

Revenue Management

Ep. 16 w/ Parul Suri on revenue management practices that worked in the past that help with visibility in the future
Ep. 27 w/ Fabian Bartnick on RevPar index and vanity metrics

F&B

Ep. 24 w/ Josh Kopel on pivoting, change in the industry, evolving your Career, closing Preux & Proper and why he did it

Service

Ep. 13 w/ Clarence McLeod on proactive communication, non-negotiable basics are more important than ever and cocktail currency

The Future Hospitality

Ep. 31 w/ Ron Swidler on being nimble, using experts, and that we may not be qualified to answer the questions being asked right now
Ep. 33 w/ Jeremiah Tower on what needs to change in the hospitality industry, training and the effort needed to be the best

Thank you for your support over the past year. Thank you for continuing to listen each week, and thank you for sticking with me as we bring the show into the new year.

On that note - Happy new year to you and all the best in 2021.

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We want to hear from you! Send in a voice message or review to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/provenprinciples/message

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Leadership and Building High Performing Teams: Jeremiah Tower, The Father of American Cuisine

Adam Knight — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 08:00:00 -0700

Widely considered the father of American cuisine, Jeremiah Tower began his culinary career in 1972 as co-owner and executive chef of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. He then continued as executive chef and sole owner of Stars in San Francisco, one of the highest grossing, most innovative, and profitable restaurants in the United States. After Stars, Tower opened restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Manila.

He’s an award winning chef, author, keynote speaker, architecture aficionado and a fantastic podcast guest.

He’s also the subject of The Last Magnificent, a CNN feature-length documentary film produced by Anthony Bourdain, now on Netflix.

I asked Jeremiah on the show to give us a look behind the curtain on how he became so successful in a notoriously difficult industry and to get his thoughts on where the young hoteliers of the world should be focused on pushing our industry forward.

On this episode we discuss:

How Jeremiah got his start (2:13)
How to establish yourself as a leader (4:53)
The secret to great hospitality (7:56)
Leading by example and instilling integrity (9:45)
Servant Leadership (16:04)
What we need to fix in the industry (18:10)

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Tower began his culinary career in 1972 as co-owner and executive chef of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. Then continued as executive chef and sole owner of Stars in San Francisco, one of the highest grossing, most innovative, and profitable restaurants in the United States. After Stars, Tower opened restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Manila. Tower sold the Stars group in 1998.

Awards include the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Chef of the Year” in America (1996), “Regional Best Chef” California (1993), and the Beard Foundation “Best American Regional Cookbook” for Jeremiah Tower's New American Classics (1986), Nation’s Restaurant News “Fine Dining Hall of Fame,” and an honorary degree from the C.I.A.. Tower has written eight books including Jeremiah Tower Cooks (2002), California Dish (2004), Escoffier, A Dash of Genius (2013), Table Manners: How to Behave in the Modern World and Why (2016), Start the Fire (2017), and an e-book Flavors of Taste (2018).

Keynote speaker and TV guest, including Good Morning America, The Late Show with David Letterman, and host of the PBS13-series show “America’s Great Chefs.” Food & Wine Festivals include Pebble Beach, several Meals on Wheels, the Oxford University and Blenheim Palace Festivals, and the Hawaiian Wine and Food at the Kahala, Jeremiah is the subject of The Last Magnificent, a CNN feature-length documentary film produced by Anthony Bourdain, now on Netflix, and is working on cooking videos, combined with real estate, and a new book.

Books

Ritz & Escoffier, The Hotelier, The Chef and The Rise of the Leisure Class

Start the Fire: How I Began A Food Revolution In America

Jeremiah Tower Cooks: 250 Recipes from an American Master

Jeremiah Tower's New American Classics

Links

Instagram: @tower.jeremiah

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If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Where the Hotel Industry Goes From Here: Marshall Jones, Prestige Global Meetings

Adam Knight — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0700

If you’re not following Marshall on LinkedIn, you’re missing out on his insightful and motivational CEO mindset posts. It was actually these posts that reconnected us to do the show.

Marshall is an industry veteran who’s had long tenures with both Fairmont and Marriot. He’s currently Vice President of Regional Sales for Prestige Global Meetings and an adjunct professor at San Jose State University’s Hospitality School.

He has a wealth of knowledge and experience that comes through in his message of personal development, drive and determination. In short, he inspires action - and his message is one that many in our industry need to hear right now.

My hope is that if you’ve been trying to figure out what your future in the industry looks like - this episode inspires you to take action and move forward.

On this episode we discuss:

Positive news and traveling abroad today (3:44)
The economics of hospitality (6:33)
How do we come out of the pandemic in a way that makes sense for hospitality? (9:59)
Leadership vs. Inspiration - the pandemic has given us the gift of time (11:28)
The CEO Mindset (13:44)
What is broken in our industry and how do we make it better? (15:17)
Will technology eliminate hotel jobs? (18:08)
Rebuilding and rehiring - the rush to find talent (22:40)
From a student’s perspective - is this still a good industry to build a career? (26:10)

About Marshall

"Marshall is an accomplished hospitality leader who brings nearly 25 years of experience to his role at Prestige.

Prior to joining Prestige, Marshall worked for Accor hotels as a Director of Sales & Marketing. There, he oversaw all aspects of sales, catering, advertising, public relations, revenue management and marketing for some Landmark hotels. His tenure with Accor/Fairmont Hotels and Resorts includes numerous accomplishments, including overseeing a multi-million-dollar restoration and rebranding at the Claremont Club & Spa in Berkeley!

He is very involved in several community and non-profit organizations. He is also an adjunct professor at San Jose State University for the Hospitality School.

Marshall holds a Bachelor of Science in public and urban administration from Georgia State University, as well as certificates from the Cecil B. Day School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. He lives in Santa Clara County with his wife and three children. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors, running and music.

Links

Prestige Global Meetings: www.meetprestige.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshalljones/

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We want to hear from you! Send in a voice message or review to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/provenprinciples/message

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

The Hotel of Tomorrow: Ron Swidler, The Gettys Group

Adam Knight — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0700

While many people pontificate on what’s to come in the hotel industry, Ron Swidler, CIO at The Gettys Group, has pulled dozens of industry leaders together (several times) to ideate and innovate on the design and operational challenges for today's and tomorrow's guests and quite literally, create the future of hospitality.

He’s the Chief Innovation Officer at The Gettys Group, a hotel design and development company, and his latest venture saw the relaunch of the Hotel of Tomorrow project; an industry-leading think tank re-envisioning the future of hospitality in light of the pandemic.

The result has been breakthrough ideas that were contributed and shaped by a wide range of experts from around the world, all done through digital workshops.

This is a highly visual episode. Ron shares a presentation that outlines how the hotel of tomorrow project was put together and the concepts that rose to the top as part of this major collaborative effort.

I think we do a good job of describing whats on the screen, but if want to see everything we discuss, head over to the show’s YouTube channel (The Proven Principles Podcast).

On this episode we discuss:

Are we qualified to answer the questions that are being asked to being back the hospitality industry? (4:32)
The Hotel of Tomorrow project - what it is and how it came together (7:00)
Using Batterii.com for large scale database management and project work (15:48)
The new deconstructed food & beverage solution (26:57)
Where is the innovation going to come from? (32:18)
The evolution of the hotel sleep experience - Bed XYZ (34:48)
Inside out, outside in - what is biophilia? (39:16)
The Journey Pebble - owning and controlling our own data (41:47)
The roving hotel (44:08)

About Ron

Since joining The Gettys Group as its first hire in 1988 - an Interior Designer, Brand Strategist and intrepreneur - Ron has pioneered new approaches to experience design and collaboration. His latest venture was relaunching Hotel of TomorrowTM Project, an industry-leading think tank reenvisioning the future of hospitality in light of the pandemic. The result has been breakthrough ideas, contributed and shaped from around the world, all through digital workshops.

Links

The Gettys Group: www.gettys.com

Hotel of Tomorrow: www.hotel-of-tomorrow.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-swidler-521a848/

Batterii collaboration software: https://batterii.com

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We want to hear from you! Send in a voice message or review to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/provenprinciples/message

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

What Hotels Can Learn From Airbnb’s Response to the COVID-19 Crisis: Matthieu Mauguin, PrivateDeal

Adam Knight — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -0700

In the early days of the pandemic, Airbnb made headlines when an internal email to their employees regarding layoffs and restructuring was released. It was widely seen as a positive example of empathetic leadership and used as an example of how senior leaders in hospitality should conduct themselves in light of the turmoil in the industry. Shortly after, the company rapidly made changes to their customer offerings, website, booking policy and a host of other updates in order to hold back the tide of cancellations and anemic future bookings.

On this episode, Matthieu Mauguin, Digital Marketing Manager at PrivateDeal, a Swiss company providing an innovative negotiation solution for hotels to drive more direct bookings, dives in to the actions that Airbnb took in the early days of the pandemic and what hotels can learn as the industry continues to battle the current environment.

Effective communication, marketing, innovation, quick reaction… these are all principles that are more important than ever.

On this episode we discuss:

The services that PrivateDeal provides hotels (2:45)
How Airbnb approached the COVID-19 crisis (7:50)
Reservation cancellation policies: Airbnb vs OTAs (10:44)
Does “Brand” get in the way of authentic communication? (13:40)
What hotels should be doing to increase their length of stay? (17:40)
Competing against OTAs to improve direct bookings (20:24)

About Matthieu

Matthieu Mauguin is the digital marketing manager for PrivateDeal, a Swiss company providing an innovative negotiation solution for hotels. After graduating in Marketing & Management, Matthieu decided to enter the travel industry and now helps hoteliers drive more direct bookings with PrivateDeal.

Links

Website: www.privatedeal.com

PrivateDeal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/privatedeal-sa/

Matthieu Mauguin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthieu-mauguin-4077a8136/

What Hotels Can Learn from Airbnb: https://insights.ehotelier.com/insights/2020/09/24/what-hotels-can-learn-from-airbnbs-response-to-the-covid-19-crisis/

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Making the Right Decisions About Hotel Technology: Denis Severyuk, HotelFriend

Adam Knight — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -0700

With all the renewed interest in hotel technology, especially with contactless solutions, having Denis on the show to discuss the process of choosing and implementing new tech into your hotel as well as some of the hurdles and pitfalls to be aware of is very timely.

This is a huge subject and we could probably do two or three episodes on it but Denis does a great job of outlining the issues that his platform and others are trying to solve, and what decision makers should be looking at before making a final call on which platforms to bring in to their property.

Denis speaks with hoteliers all over the world, and in spite of the issues facing our industry it was great to hear that no matter where you're located, we’re all dealing with the same set of challenges.

On this episode we discuss:

The issues that hotel technology should be trying to solve (11:33)
What are some of the technology pain points that need to be addressed in the hotel industry (17:23)
Integration of legacy tech and the new disruptors (26:17)
The barriers to brining in various technology solutions (aside from price) and how to overcome them (34:00)
Looking down the road - the future of hotel technology (45:27)

About Denis

Denis is the CEO of HotelFriend and has a PhD in Business Informatics from the University of Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany. As part of his degree, he analyzed the extreme programming software development methodology which is intended to improve software quality and responsiveness to changing customer requirements.

His travels led him to realize that there are many optimization options within the hotel industry, beginning with helping people find the right place to sleep, the right facilities to meet their needs,. and how to manage guest requests. This ultimately resulted in the creation of HotelFriend, a software company that creates solutions for hotels and guests.

Links

HotelFriend product: https://hotelfriend.com/b/products

Order Management System (contact-free digital orders): https://hotelfriend.com/b/order-management-system

Guest Concierge App: https://hotelfriend.com/b/hotel-mobile-app

Funding program for German hoteliers: https://hotelfriend.com/b/digital-jetzt

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisseveryuk/

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If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Opening a Hotel During a Pandemic: Nicole Warner, Hotel Millwright

Adam Knight — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 09:00:00 -0700

Opening a hotel during a pandemic may seem strange but that’s exactly what Nicole Warner, General Manager of the all new Hotel Millwright in the Amana Colonies of Iowa was tasked with doing. On this episode of the podcast, we’re diving into operations and talking about bringing a hotel to life.

Nicole shares insights into how the opening process was planned and executed, building a high performing team, and what it’s like being a property leader during one of the most difficult times in the hospitality industry.

She illustrates how the hotels’ principles of proper training, engaging service, a great product and thoughtful touches, have not only kept them busy, but driven business from all over the country, even while many hotels and markets struggle during the downturn.

This episode is a great reminder that no matter what hotels are dealing with today, the fundamentals of communication, transparency and empathy are more important than ever.

On this episode we discuss:

Marketing the opening of the hotel (4:50)
The guest mix at the hotel (6:00)
How the hotel has been managing COVID-19 (6:55)
What it’s been like as a GM during a time of upheaval and crisis in hospitality (8:20)
The process of opening a hotel: 90 days out to day of (10:27)
Training a entirely new team for the pandemic (13:21)
Actionable learnings through the hotel opening (16:54)
How thinking and execution of guest programming and activities has changed (19:52)
A message to other hotel GM’s (26:42)

About Nicole

Nicole Warner is the General Manager at Hotel Millwright in Iowa and a long-time Operations and Hospitality Director with industry experience in Colorado, Washington, and California. Nicole demands results: at one location, she spearheaded resort improvements that increased rental revenue by 18% and generated $1 million in revenue. At another site, she increased employee satisfaction by 21% in one year. Nicole is an Iowa City, Iowa native and so she’s excited to be back in her home state. She’s also got a wicked sense of humor.

And the songs:

Links

Hotel Millwright: https://hotelmillwright.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolebealrrp/

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Optimizing Revenue Management Through AI: Fabian Bartnick, Infinito, IVI

Adam Knight — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 08:00:00 -0700

Fabian Bartnick is the Founder of Infinito, a technology company dedicated to improving the work-life balance of hotel managers through IVI, a personal revenue management assistant.

Rates, occupancy and market share are at the heart of many hotel business conversations right now but because everything is so uncertain at the moment, I asked Fabian on the show to talk about new ways of looking at and interpreting data. He gives us visibility on where the practice of revenue management is going, shows us how to make better decisions about hotel performance and why we shouldn’t leave this critical function to chance.

This was a really interesting discussion - We’re looking in to the future on this episode!

On this episode we discuss:

IVI, revenue optimization, data visualization and behavior change (6:37)
Habits exist in business too - why it’s beneficial to break out of them (10:30)
Why revenue management has become so difficult (14:40)
Rate recommendations vs. behavioral change (16:58)
Does RevPAR Index mean anything? Is it just a vanity metric? (21:48)
How do you price when there’s no demand? (24:27)
Fighting confirmation bias in decision making (26:07)
Looking ahead: the evolution of revenue management (31:14)

About Fabian

Fabian is the Founder of Infinito, a technology company with the vision of becoming the google assistant of revenue management through IVI – a virtual Revenue Management Assistant. He previously was the Vice President of Asia Pacific & International business at LodgIQ overlooking all commercial aspects internationally as well as operations across APAC. Prior he was the Director of Global Revenue Generation at Tune Hotels Group encompassing Sales, Distribution, Business Analytics, Revenue Management and the Central Reservations Office.

Having lived and worked across 4 continents, Fabian has a rich history in hospitality and a thorough understanding of the global revenue optimization landscape as a user, builder and seller of technology.

Fabian has successfully turned around revenue performance in many companies by providing strategic consulting services in over 25 countries as well developing powerful revenue analytics solutions that empower the business to maximize its revenue potential. Fabian has been on the Board of Directors for HSMAI South East Asia and currently sits on the HSMAI Revenue Advisory Board.

Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fabianbartnick/

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Episode transcript here.

Love Hate Hotels and Career Development: Tony Matthews, Love Hate Hotels

Adam Knight — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 16:27:09 -0700

Tony has had quite a ride in the hospitality industry, and he outlines it all in his book series, Love Hate Hotels. His lighthearted, yet detailed and illustrative writing about his career in hospitality gives a behind the scenes look at what it’s like in the trenches of a hotel and why so many of us both love and hate the industry.

He discusses how he got his start and climbed the ladder, moving from position to position, hotel to hotel; lessons learned through his journey and his message to those just getting started in their career. This was a fun episode that sparked discussion about education vs. experience and brought back many memories from my own career in hotels.

On this episode we discuss:

Why working in hospitality is so unique (11:58)
The career-long lessons and leanings from working at the Front Desk (15:00)
Moving/Bouncing from job to job (20:09)
Career progression decisions - going from Operations to Sales (23:35)
Hospitality management degrees and other education opportunities (36:09)
Cultural changes needed in hospitality (46:00)
The ultimate message of “Love Hate Hotels” (1:00:10)

About Tony

Tony Matthews II is the Author of the Love Hate Hotels book series, Creator of @LoveHateHotels across social media platforms, and Founder of Love Hate Hotels, Inc. (hotel headhunting, consulting, & influencing).

Links

Instagram: @LoveHateHotels

Twitter: @LoveHateHotels

Link to purchase the first Love Hate Hotels book: https://amzn.to/2Z5h5Of

Shop: https://lovehatehotels.spreadshirt.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tonymatthewsii

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymatthewsii

Inquiries: Tony@LoveHateHotels.com

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Become a Hospitality Game Changer - Join Our Community

Adam Knight — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 11:52:43 -0700

Staring down the barrel of a 60% permanent closure rate...It's time to fix what's broken. It’s time to change the game.

The hospitality industry is at a pivotal point and it has become painfully obvious that business acumen and strategic planning will matter just as much as resilience.

There's no shortage of resources ranging from how to apply for loans to how to negotiate with your landlord. At some point, we will turn our sights towards the future and, when that time comes, we’ll need the tools and strategies to thrive, not just survive.

In the hospitality industry, we fix our own problems. This is no different. We’ve created a group called The Hospitality Game Changers It’s on Facebook, a platform you already use daily.

It’s a space just for us where we’re tackling the most difficult issues facing our industry and creating solutions. It’s updated daily with the most compelling audio, written and video content to make sure you’re plugged in to what’s going on today and what can help us tomorrow.

It’s quick, easy and free to join. Just click here or login to Facebook and search Hospitality Game Changers in the search bar. Click join and you’re all set.

We can’t change the cards that we are dealt, but we can change how we play the game.

We'll see you there,

Josh, Michael, Wil, Shaun and Adam

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

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The Personal Development and Evolution of an Executive Chef: Mark Timms, Take-Home-Chef.com

Adam Knight — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 15:00:00 -0700

Mark is a successful, long time Executive Chef. He, self admittedly, fully bought in to the way the culinary world worked until one day he realized he wanted more. Mark’s story of personal and professional development is something that many in the culinary world are starting to think about but have yet to take the leap.

He shares his journey to become a better leader, his drive to seek out new education opportunities and his philosophy on where the Executive Chef role needs to evolve in our new world. When you’re thinking about reinventing yourself, it’s not easy to know where to start. By highlighting Mark’s journey, we hope that it shows those who are deciding which direction to go, that whatever your decision, it can be done.

On this episode we discuss:

Moving in to new areas of the business / Why seek out new education opportunities? (5:28)
Is an empathetic management style emerging within culinary culture? (14:30)
Tasting and the artistry in culinary work (15:40)
How COVID has affected the culinary world (19:09)
Advice for cooks on how they should be looking at themselves and their skillset to remain competitive (23:57)
Is cooking still a viable career option? (29:32)
The changes needed within culinary culture (37:00)
Who has the responsibility to drive change within organizations? (44:43)
The fundamental principles to success in the industry (52:00)

About Mark

Hotel Executive Chef with more than 20 years of experience in all areas of the culinary operation and management for Four Star/Four Diamond hotels, award winning restaurants and catering of high profile social and corporate events.

After a fantastic couple of years immersing myself into the fascinatingly diverse and ever-expanding food scene in London, I am relocating to the Los Cabos area in Mexico and I am excited to take on a new and challenging opportunity in the area.

Links

Website: www.take-home-chef.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-timms-7937a212

Coursera: https://www.coursera.org

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Pivoting and The Future of Hospitality: Josh Kopel, Full Comp Podcast

Adam Knight — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 15:00:00 -0700

Josh is the owner of Preux and Proper, Founder and CEO of FLO Hospitality and Host of the Full Comp Podcast; and this episode with him didn't go down the path I had initially planned - but it turned out far better than I could have hoped. In fact, that ‘pivot’ to something new ended up being the central theme of the show.

This is something many in hospitality are grappling with right now and Josh paints a detailed picture about his experience through the pandemic and the evolution that we need to push for in the hospitality industry if we want to see meaning change going forward.

On this episode we discuss:

Where it all started for Josh (4:30)
Asking for help (8:40)
What needs the change (10:06)
Recognizing when things don’t work for you anymore (12:17)
Leveraging and engaging the community around you (18:09)
How the Industry Guide to Restructuring for Restaurants came about (20:32)
What changes need to happen in the restaurant industry (24:10)
Why you’ve got to be flexible (28:50)
Where do the restaurants in downtown locations go from here? (32:20)

About Josh

I'm an entrepreneur, restaurateur and environmental advocate. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the spawn of bootleggers and retail giants, I was bred for the hospitality industry. Throughout my 20+ year career in food and beverage I have managed venues ranging from the Alligator Bayou Bar, located on Alligator Bayou Road, seated on Alligator Bayou (it was exactly how you’re picturing it in your mind) to the hottest Hollywood nightclubs, bars, and ultra-lounges (far less glamorous than you’re picturing it in your mind). I went independent in 2010, opening my first concept Five0Four—a New Orleans-inspired bar—on the Walk of Fame in the heart of Hollywood. Ten years later, we've created a family of brands ranging from Michelin-rated fine dining to fast casual, all with a central focus on Southern hospitality and Southern cuisine.

I have a ton to be thankful for. Not only have we been able to create sustainable concepts that have lasted for years, but those concepts have thrived. These victories were hard fought and there were a ton of mistakes and lessons along the way. In 2020, I've turned my attention towards new challenges. My newest project involves servicing the service industry. I look that the failure rate in our industry and I’m working to provide tools and strategies to give restaurant owners and operators a fighting chance.

As I challenge myself to keep learning and growing, I’m committed to improving the lives of my peers and showing the world the beauty of the hospitality industry.

Links

Website: JoshKopel.com

Preux & Proper

FLO Hospitality Solutions

FULL COMP Podcast

The Industry Guide to Restructuring for Restaurants: Download here

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

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Bonus Episode: International Podcast Day w/ Micheal Tingsager and Wil Slickers

Adam Knight — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 16:46:14 -0700

Sept 30 is International Podcast Day so Micheal Tingsager, host of Hospitality Mavericks, Wil Slickers, host of Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast and I got together to talk about how we got started with podcasting, what we’ve learned, the goals of our respective shows and where we each hope to take it in 2021.

Be sure to listen and subscribe.

Hospitality Mavericks: https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com

Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast: https://www.slicktalkthepodcast.com

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

The Business of Cleaning During a Pandemic: David Grossman, Renue Systems

Adam Knight — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 15:00:00 -0700

This episode takes a look behind the scenes of a department that’s typically behind the scenes. Until the pandemic affected every aspect of life, housekeeping in hotels was a service that you would see the results of, but rarely would you see the work being done. This 24hr department has since become the “tent-pole feature” of hotel marketing initiatives, hotel repositioning, employee training and guest communication, but what you may not know is that in many cases, a certain percentage of housekeeping employees don’t actually work for the hotel.

David Grossman is the Owner and CEO of Renue Systems, Inc, a global provider of comprehensive deep cleaning services to the hospitality industry. He came on the show to talk about what goes on behind the scenes at a large scale cleaning company and what it’s like being the leader of an organization that partners with some of the world's leading hotels on a function that’s suddenly in the spotlight.

On this episode we discuss:

Renue Systems history and services (1:07)
What is happening in the market? (9:40)
Looking back to the past 5-6 months and planning for the future (12:33)
How housekeeping operations are changing (14:20)
How hotels can contend with running on smaller teams (19:35)
What it’s been like being the leader of a large company during the pandemic (26:00)
Resources that may be beneficial for others to pursue (30:05)

About David

David Grossman is the Owner and CEO of Renue Systems, Inc., a global provider of comprehensive deep cleaning services to the hospitality industry. The Chicago-based company services many leading hotels and is preferred vendor partner of Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Best Western and others. Renue Systems is a franchisor and operator with 30 offices across North America and overseas. Founded in 1991 by a 21 year-old individual to clean carpets, the company has grown substantially and expanded its capabilities so it can solve the comprehensive and rigorous needs of high-end hotels.

Prior to his involvement with Renue beginning in early 2010, he spent nearly ten years with several investment funds in New York including GSO Capital, Kohlberg Capital and TD Capital where he invested both equity and debt primarily in private companies. He also has served as an operational, strategic and financial consultant at his own firm and at A.T. Kearney where he advised businesses ranging in size from start-up to Fortune 500. Mr. Grossman has an undergraduate degree from Brown University and masters and doctorate degrees from Harvard University.

Links

Website: www.renuesystems.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgrossmanatrenuesystems/

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

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The Destinationaire Award and What Hotels Can Learn From Vacation Rentals: Wil Slickers, Slick Talk the Hospitality Podcast

Adam Knight — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 15:00:00 -0700

Crossover podcasts are becoming a thing - here’s our latest with Wil Slickers host of Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast, co-founder of Stay Lux a luxury vacation rental company specializing in the Pacific Northwest region AND he developed and launched the Destinationaire Award earlier this year.

With his background in hotel operations, Wil pivoted to vacation rentals, seeing an opportunity to employ some of the best practices he learned along the way to create memorable, destination focused experiences.

We discuss the current landscape in both the vacation rental and hotel industries, why it will take the collective efforts of everyone in the travel industry to come back from the pandemic and we share some ideas on how to cope with the difficulties many businesses are currently facing.

On this episode we discuss:

The Destinationaire Award and how it came about (2:37)
Hotel evolution and learning from vacation rentals (17:38)
Rates and Revenue Management in hotels and vacation rental (29:18)
Vanity metrics and profitability (33:40)
The next big destination marketing idea (34:20)
How to instill confidence in the cleanliness of vacation rentals (36:37)
The most important piece of PPE advice for workers (43:30)
The outlook for the next 6-9 months (44:30)

About Wil

Wil is a Hospitality Leading Expert in the realm of Hotels, Vacation Rentals, Restaurants and all things Hospitality! Wil has taken his passion and obsession of the industry and put it into a creative outlet to showcase the exciting things in our industry! Wil's mission and purpose is many things but bringing education, excitement, and value to those in the world of hospitality is his number one priority.

The Team & Guest Experience is what Wil lives for! His roots of working for a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel have led him to many amazing positions in the industry, such as managing a fine dining restaurant on the Oregon Coast, managing an all suite hotel and now co-owning a luxury vacation rental company in the PNW!

Links

Slick Talk: The Hospitality Podcast

Stay Lux

LinkedIn: Wil Slickers

EPA List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)

CDC: How to Properly Remove Gloves

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We want to hear from you! Send in a voice message or review to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/provenprinciples/message

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Creating Memorable and Profitable Customer Journeys: Antonio Pibia, GuestXInside

Adam Knight — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 15:00:00 -0700

The COVID-19 environment has been a difficult time to work in front line customer service positions. So much of service delivery is about non-verbal communication. Social distancing has upended all of the traditional rules and practices that everyone is used to. Antonio Pibia is the founder of GuestXInside, an Amsterdam based company that focuses on the psychological aspect of the customer experience in hospitality. He also happens to be a body language expert.

In these times of PPE and the stress of service interactions, understanding how to connect with guests on an emotional level can lead to profitable and long lasting customer relationships. Antonio talks about how the next version of customer journeys will bring about new values and social codes. Hotels that prioritize driving feelings and emotions of wellbeing to create memorable and authentic experiences will come out on top.

On this episode we discuss:

New awareness of what your body language is communicating (5:52)
Enhanced body language in front line positions (8:30)
Why you should understand your guests’ journey before they arrive (11:55)
What you should do to understand and improve your customer journey (13:57)
Today’s travel experience - one person’s view on getting from point A to point B during the pandemic (17:10)
Where hotels can hotels add value again (26:00)
Helping staff get in the guests head (27:40)
How to make guest journey training relevant for your staff… making it stick (33:00)
What large hotels can learn from smaller properties right now (36:34)
Examples of training exercises for managers to do with their team (42:40)
How to keep training alive (48:55)

About Antonio

I grew up in a small village in Italy and moved my way up throughout studies, travel and working experiences. As co-founder of GuestXinside I focus on the emotional/psychological aspect of the guest experience.

Currently living in the Netherlands and from there I am meeting great people all over the world to discuss, improve or develop the guest experience within their companies.
As a share holder I am also involved in the family business (Italian restaurant). A warm vibrant place, which at the beginning of my career, gave me the opportunity to test the rules of psychology within the guest service environment.

Guest experience is my passion, it is always great and challenging to work with people for people, creating that golden moment which makes a guest experience unique and memorable.

Links

Website: GuestXInside

LinkedIn: Antonio Pibia

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We want to hear from you! Send in a voice message or review to the podcast: https://anchor.fm/provenprinciples/message

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Do you need to revamp your hospitality business strategy? Do you need help with a project or someone to work with on a tough problem in your hotel or restaurant?

If I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a free call with me by going to knowinghospitality.com/contact

Operations Strategy and Running a Successful Restaurant: Shaun de Vries, Open Pantry Podcast

Adam Knight — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 15:46:20 -0700

This is a different format from previous episodes. Shaun de Vries, founder of Open Pantry Consulting and host of the Open Pantry Podcast joins to do a co-interview / podcast with us. Shaun is a long time F&B professional and entrepreneur, working his way up from a bakers assistant to starting his company several years ago.

With his focus on the food and beverage and ours on hotels, we came together to discuss the current landscape in both industries, some ideas on how to cope with the difficulties many businesses are facing and where owners and managers should be putting their time and energy.

This is our longest episode to date and it was a a lot of fun to talk with Shaun. Let us know what you think of the format in the comments.

On this episode we discuss:

The current state of the hotel industry (13:25)
How hotels have reacted to the current situation (20:48)
The realities of running a restaurant today (23:58)
The current state of the restaurant industry (24:35)
How brands can be successful after this pandemic (31:54)
Can independent hotels survive (37:50)
Will hotel owners repurpose properties to be used for other purposes? (42:23)
Will there be more consolidation in the hotel industry? (44:40)
What’s with all the different hotel brands? (46:00)
How hotels can best prepare for the unknown (49:46)
What restaurants should be focused on right now (54:25)
Making the hard call to close your doors and move on, and the transferable skills hospitality pros bring to other industries (57:45)

About Shaun

Shaun, Open Pantry Co’s founder has been an industry leader in Melbourne’s hospitality industry for over 20 years. Shaun has been a venue owner himself, he knows the commitment, effort and experience required to develop a concept into an award-winning, and profitable venture. He also knows how to develop a process to get there that’s enjoyable and rewarding for all involved.

Today, Shaun hosts the Open Pantry Co Podcast an initiative set up in 2018, to give hospitality leaders a voice on an international platform. The insights shared by Shaun’s network of hospitality pros have helped thousands of people in the industry. With over 70 episodes so far, Shaun has interviewed big names such food writer Kara Irving, Nick Stone from Bluestone Lane Coffee, Mark Wright from Wham Consulting and hospitality expert, Frank Widen.

With the support and knowledge of Shaun, his team and Open Pantry Co’s partners, Open Pantry Co can quickly apply their organisation improvement model to ensure high-quality execution and operation of any food and beverage brand.

Links

Open Pantry Consulting: https://linktr.ee/open_pantry_consulting

Open Pantry Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-open-pantry-podcast/id1361270811

STR Press Releases and Hotel Performance: https://str.com/data-insights/news/press-releases

Hotel Strategy, Performance Hacking and Growing Your Business: Michael Harper & Andreas Palmqvist, Hotel Strategy Co.

Adam Knight — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 15:18:24 -0700

The founders of Hotel Strategy Co, Michael Harper and Andreas Palmqvist, wrote a great article about Hotel Performance Hacking in the Downturn and they join the show to talk about their process for developing a predictable hotel growth system that makes sense of the fragmented, competitive and technology dominated industry we operate in.

They share great examples of performance hacking your hotel and the mindset required to successfully lead your business through the current downturn. It’s a fantastic episode that will set you and your team up to take advantage of the upswing that will eventually come our way.

Hotel Strategy Co is a hotel performance consulting company that has developed a unique and simple to follow system for achieving growth.

Some of the points we discuss include:

eHotelier article on “Performance Hacking” and how are hotels coping with the market (3:42)
Examples of basics, principles and actions that hotels need to get back to (6:10)
Hotel recovery, the business landscape in Australia, looking ahead to travel patterns and consumer confidence (10:07)
How Michael and Andreas are helping hotel clients find clarity for rest of 2020 and in to Q1-2021 (14:15)
Leaning in to budgets, forecasting and market share (15:48)
Determining what is a profitable guest (17:50)
Critical resources are in short supply that need to be addressed (18:50)
How Michael and Andreas see hotel businesses changing as we move through the next few years (22:12)
Where you should put your attention to get going in the right direction (24:45)

About Michael

Co-founder, Dynamic Educator and Hotel Super Coach, Michael has a strong background in sales, marketing and business development and now specialises in corporate sales development as well as online marketing and messaging for Hotels.

Michael prides himself on fresh ideas, practical thinking, maximising technology and focusing on real results that afford his clients the business growth they are after.

About Andreas

Co-founder, Number Cruncher and Yield Wizard, Andreas possesses over 20 years’ experience in the hotel industry, specialising in Revenue and Distribution Management. Andreas has worked with numerous hotel chains including Southern Pacific Hotels Corporation, Stamford, Outrigger and Events Hospitality and Entertainment.

He offers strategic expertise, and the technical knowledge of systems vital to successful Revenue and Distribution Management.

Links:

Hotel Strategy Co:: https://hotelstrategy.com.au/
The 9 Super Easy Ways to Stop Hotel Booking Leakage: https://hotelstrategy.com.au/9-easy-ways-to-stop-hotel-booking-leakage
Free Trial of their ‘Beat the Market’ Hotel Growth System: https://hotelstrategy.com.au/hotel-growth-system
eHotelier Article: Hotel Performance Hacking in the Downturn

COVID, the Law, PPE and Mandating Masks: Myra Creighton, Fisher Phillips

Adam Knight — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 15:38:23 -0700

On this episode we discuss the current debate and legal climate on mandating mask usage in hotels with Myra Creighton, Partner at the Atlanta office of Fisher Phillips. She also shares advice on how to deal with the conflicting information out there to ensure you, your guests and employees are safe as hotels operate in this new environment. Myra shares great stories and illustrates how the current debate over businesses mandating mask usage is at their discretion. She also discusses ADA implications, hotels denying service and how to deal with the conflicting rules among various government jurisdictions. While we focus on US laws, the information we cover will surely spark thoughts and plans if you operate a hotel in another country. Some of the points on this episode include:: How hotels approach the (sometimes contradictory) regulations by different government bodies? (6:23) Can hotels perform health inquiries on guests? (11:32) Do employees have a valid claim if they get COVID at work? (18:10) Can guests sue you if they get sick at your hotel? (18:59) Are those “face mask exempt” cards real? (20:10) Advice to employees who get caught between enforcing company policy and guests who refuse to wear a mask? (24:33) Fisher Phillips is one of the largest U.S. law firms representing management exclusively in the areas of labor, employment, civil rights, employee benefits, and immigration law. The firm has 33 offices with more than 400 attorneys About Myra Myra Creighton is a partner in the Atlanta office of Fisher Phillips, one of the country’s preeminent labor and employment law firms representing employers. She helps clients navigate their obligations to employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), ensuring their policies and procedures are consistent with both these laws and defending clients against employee claims alleging violations of the ADA and FMLA. Currently, Myra is a member of Fisher Phillips’ COVID-19 Taskforce, a cross-disciplinary team of attorneys dedicated to advising employers on the many workplace law aspects of the global coronavirus pandemic. To learn more, visit www.fisherphillips.com. You can get in touch with Myra through Fisher Phillips or email her at mcreighton@fisherphillips.com Fisher Phillips Links Fisher Phillips website LinkedIn Twitter

Leveraging Hotel Technology to Improve Operations: Alex Shashou, ALICE

Adam Knight — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 15:56:40 -0700

On this episode we discuss using technology to improve hotel operations with Alex Shashou, Co-Founder and President of ALICE.

ALICE is a hotel technology platform that connects your entire team for task management, communication, and operational analytics. It ensures every department is working on a common platform in order to meet or exceed the expectations of guests and management. With all of the changes in the hospitality industry today, having the right tools at your disposal is more important than ever. Hotel tech services in Operations is one of those items that tends to get “VEed” away but you could be missing a huge opportunity to strengthen your team, tighten service delivery and save money while contending with lower revenue and fewer team members available to work.

Alex sheds light on the state of the hospitality industry and shares a wealth of available resources to help hospitality professionals develop new skills through the pandemic.

On this episode we discuss:

Alex's perspective on current conditions (6:00)
How hotels can contend with operating on smaller teams (10:58)
ALICE’s focus on educating industry professionals (13:14)
What we can learn from the assumptions that were made in the industry about COVID-19 (17:10)
The technology tools and services (like SMS) that can be leveraged and why hotels should embrace them (26:16)

About Alex

Alex is the Co-Founder and President of ALICE. Since founding ALICE in 2013, the startup has become one of the fastest-growing companies in hospitality technology. ALICE has raised a total of $39M, built a team of over 150 employees, and grown a global customer base of 2,500+ hotels. As President, Alex runs the company's brand, culture, and Customer Success team. In 2019, ALICE was awarded Best Place to Work by Hotel Tech Report and was named to Inc.’s Best Workplaces list - a testament to ALICE’s commitment to its people and its mission-driven culture. This year, ALICE also won Best Concierge Software, Best Preventative Maintenance Software, Best Guest App, and was named a Top Staff Task Management & Collaboration Platform in the Hotel Tech Awards.

Born and raised in London, Alex grew up in the hospitality industry, with his family operating the Malmaison and Hotel Du Vin hotel brands. He’s become a sought-after hospitality thought leader, speaking on technology and innovation in hospitality at conferences around the world. In 2016, Alex was awarded the HFTP President's Award, which recognizes a person who has made a significant contribution to the hospitality industry and in 2018, the Hotel Experience Next Generation Leader Award. Alex received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business. After graduation, he began his career with Goldman Sachs in the Equity Sales division in New York before leaving to start ALICE.

You can get in touch with Alex through LinkedIn or email him at alex.shashou@aliceplatform.com

ALICE Links

ALICE website

ALICE: Free eBook: Post COVID-19 Hotel Operations ALICE: Free Operations Checklists LinkedIn Facebook Twitter HTNG: Hotel Technology Next Generation

Modern Revenue Management: Parul Suri

Adam Knight — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 16:00:00 -0700

We’re talking revenue management on this episode. More specifically, modern revenue management. With all of the changes in the hospitality industry today, getting your revenue strategy in order is more than worth the effort. Even if you think there’s nothing else you can do, Parul sheds light on avenues you may not have thought about that will elevate your thinking and broaden your horizons.

We cover several topics including:

What modern revenue management looks like
What hotels be doing now to prepare for the next 30 - 90 days
Parsing market segments and going after business you may not have looked at in the past
Competing against lager marketing spend that you have available to you
Common weak points in revenue management that owners / operators should have eyes on now
Resources to keep your revenue management skills sharp

About Parul

Parul is a strong advocate for the power of communication, that leads to meaningful and strategic transformations within organizations. She is a strategic thinker with a flair to translate financial goals into operational plans. She firmly believes that revenue management as a skill needs to be more deeply engrained into the hospitality culture and has been promoting that for the last 15years.

Parul’s approach is to challenge the strategic processes while stimulating conversations with all stakeholders to push limits and rethink the future of revenue management, pricing and distribution within the hospitality sector. She is collaborative, sophisticated and profit-minded in her approach to revenue management and distribution. She has transformed teams throughout her 15-year career by empowering people to be self-leaders and encouraging them to spread the knowledge

She has a breadth of experience in yield management, distribution, pricing, RMS implementations, team development etc. and has worked in different regions of the world including US, Asia, Australia and Middle East with various brands.

LinkedIn: @parulsuri1207

knowinghospitality.com

theprovenprinciplespodcast.com

Getting Your Hotel Marketing Message Above the Noise: Josh Hogan

Adam Knight — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:00:00 -0700

On this episode Josh Hogan, Principal at Hey, Hogan… a hotel sales, marketing and revenue management consulting company based in Silicon Valley, joins us to talk about what hotel owners, GM’s along with Sales and Marketing professionals can do to get their message out there and above the noise.

Josh has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and he brings real world tactics and strategy to bare as he demonstrates what it will take for hotels to come out the other side of the pandemic in a position capitalize on opportunities to grow market share.

A few of the topics we cover include:

What is currently happening in the market
The right message to be pushing as hotels start to reopen
How to compete against the marketing efforts of the big brands
Weak points in Sales and Marketing efforts that may have been masked by “the good times”

About Josh

Josh has built a dynamic 20-year hospitality career in commercial discipline leadership including domestic & international experience spanning select, full service, urban & upscale destination portfolios.

As a highly-skilled, motivated & entrepreneurial leader of commercial disciplines, he specializes in creating and implementing effective and cost-efficient commercial structures with a focus on longevity and ROI; expertise includes:

- Commercial discipline structure / restructure
- Team Building
- Sales and marketing leadership across all hospitality segments
- Revenue optimization and distribution
- Digital marketing and e-commerce

He has led award-winning sales teams through multiple recessionary market environments and is uniquely equipped to deliver leadership and results as we emerge from this shared hardship in 2020.

Website: https://www.heyhogan.com

LinkedIn: @joshuadhogan

knowinghospitality.com

#14: Casey Pearce - On Commercial Cleaning in the Times of COVID-19

Adam Knight — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 17:00:00 -0700

On this episode we talk to Casey Pearce, President of Contract Services Group, a commercial janitorial services company based in Southern California about cleaning during these times of COVID-19.

With cleanliness and sanitation at the forefront of everyone’s mind as we start to reopen our economy, Casey’s company offers a service that people will expect to see out in full force as part of our new normal.

We dive deep and talk about what his company is doing to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to providing cleaning services for hotels, office buildings, apartment buildings, and other places where people gather. Some of the items we discuss include:

What's happening from a regulatory perspective that people need to be aware of.
How the commercial cleaning industry is changing.
How businesses can prepare to operate in these new times.
The innovations that are expected to emerge

Resource Recommendation

Building Service Contractors Association

About Casey

Casey’s career in the commercial cleaning industry started at the young age of 16 when he was responsible for washing the company vehicles and the weekly cleaning of a statue in front of a client’s building. Since that time, Casey has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding every aspect of the business.

After graduating from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications , Casey’s primary focus was acquiring new business and growing the organization’s portfolio as a sales associate. He quickly realized that in order to sell new services and retain current customers he would have to learn everything he could about the cleaning business- operations, marketing, sales and relationship management.

Casey believes that his 20 years of experience and learning the business from the ground up gives him a unique understanding of the challenges and intricacies of maintaining facilities in the safest, most efficient way possible.
Even after being promoted to President in 2006, he still maintains the same philosophy of business that made him a successful sales associate. Casey is passionate about customer satisfaction and building a strong working relationship at each account. His hands-on approach differentiates CSG from its competitors. Casey is proud to be part of the dynamic leadership team of Contract Services Group- a company where “Excellence is not our goal. It’s our standard”.

Website: https://www.csgcares.com

LinkedIn: @caseypearce

knowinghospitality.com

#13: Clarence McLeod - On Service Fundamentals For The New Normal

Adam Knight — Thu, 28 May 2020 17:00:00 -0700

On this episode Clarence McLeod, Director, Customer Experience at Silver Lining Marketing joins us to talk about how to navigate service delivery in this new age of social distancing and how returning to the fundamentals of anticipatory service will light the path ahead for businesses. Clarence has a wealth of knowledge and brings his real world experience to bare as he demonstrates tried and true methods of showing genuine care for people. He shows us how to adapt fundamentals like a welcoming smile for the new age of PPE covered faces and how a return to the basics will rebuild your foundation for success. A few of the topics we cover include: Anticipatory service Body language when typical visual cues are covered up by PPE Dealing with difficult situations Effective problem resolution Post experience engagement About Clarence Former Chef Concierge and Corporate Director of Fairmont Gold at Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. A leader in international hospitality operations, Clarence brings a touch of luxury to any industry he touches and helps them shine in delivering top-notch customer service. Clarence is an honorary member of Les Clefs d’Or Canada, and the only Guilded Butler in Canada. Clarence has been in service to celebrities, heads of state and royal families. In 2002 he served as Lead Aide de Campe for her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Jubilee visit to Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada. A recipient of many service-based accolades Clarence has been featured in Time Magazine, the L.A. and Washington Times, and The Globe and Mail. In addition, he has made appearances on CTV's The Social and an ITV British Service Documentary. Clarence strives to create memorable moments and is an adamant believer in Maya Angelou’s adage: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." LinkedIn: @ClarenceMcLeod A little more about Silver Lining Marketing Guided by the hallmarks of great hospitality, we take brands from relevant to remarkable by increasing their emotional connection with consumers. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TRAINING EXPERTS: Guided by the timeless principles of hospitality, our training programs enhance customer experience and create brand connections. DATA-DRIVEN: We analyze digital behaviour and industry trends to identify white space opportunities that expand market share and drive new avenues for profit. DISRUPTIVE & CLEVER: Our strategies are insights-led, clever, disruptive and profitable. PARTNERSHIP STRATEGISTS: We deliver and manage purposeful partnership strategies as a cost-effective way to extend brand reach. SALES MINDED: Our programs and strategies don’t live in an ivory tower. They are all created to increase revenue and improve the bottom line. Website: https://www.silverliningmarketing.ca knowinghospitality.com

#12: Elizabeth Baizer Raines - On Branding and Creating (or Clarifying) Your Story

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 22:48:46 -0700

On this episode we talk to Elizabeth Raines, Creative Director at EBR Graphic Design about branding.

This often misunderstood subject can be a huge challenge for businesses, with many not knowing where to start or how to clean up a poorly executed project.

We dive deep and discuss what people truly need to know when branding a business and common pitfalls that result in bad design, why it’s best to seek out the help of a dedicated designer rather than trying to do it in house and the value proposition that an outside designer brings when developing a logo or other company collateral. We also talked about what to look for when trying to find the right person to guide a company through the branding process and how organizations large and small can tell their story through well thought out branding and design.

About branding a business? (6:42)
What types of collateral should be considered (9:45)
What are you buying when you outsource branding and design? (14:53)
What makes for good/bad branding and design? (16:25)
What is the typical process for developing a brand story? (18:02)
How can companies ensure continuity of messaging, especially with multiple locations? (20:46)
What are “Brand Guidelines”? (23:00)

Book Recommendation

Designing Brand Identify by Alina Wheeler

A little more about Elizabeth

Elizabeth Baizer Raines is a graphic designer by trade and creative director for her business, EBR Graphic Design, a strategic creative design firm, with emphasis on holding true to what she considers “good design values.” With a start at Rhode Island School of Design, she has practiced for over 20 years in both her home city of San Francisco and her current home: Dallas, Texas. Throughout her career, she’s had a variety of significant and meaningful projects including those for boutique hotels, luxury retailers (such as Neiman Marcus), beauty retailers (such as Sephora and Mary Kay), and nonprofits (projects for world-class museums and highly sought-after civic projects, such as Dallas’ Trinity River brand, logo, and wayfinding). Her expertise in graphic design includes branding, corporate identity, advertising design, digital & traditional media, and environmental graphic design (including: signage and wayfinding).

Website: www.ebrgraphicdesign.com/

Instagram: @ebrgraphicdesign/

LinkedIn: @elizabethbaizerraines/

https://knowinghospitality.com

#11: Theresa Ito - On Leadership and Building a Culture of Training and Development

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 22:48:28 -0700

In this fantastic and info packed episode with Theresa Ito, Principal at Blue Mountain Solutions shares how to create a thriving internal culture of support and training, the importance of self-driven professional development, setting new leaders up for success, what successful companies do to drive an organizational culture of development and how to keep it alive when the “culture keepers” move on.

It’s filled with tactical and actionable steps you can take today to make a difference in the organizational culture of your company.

A little about Theresa Ito, Principle at Blue Mountain Solutions

Theresa Ito is passionate about people, having worked in hospitality internationally for over 30 years, she loves nothing better than being part of people’s growth.

And that is why she has been successful with her company Blue Mountain Solutions, developing leaders and teams.During her illustrious career in hospitality, Theresa has successfully led teams in iconic brands including Fairmont Hotels, Le Meridien, Sandals Resorts and Hilton International.

Theresa is a qualified certified facilitator for "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and was an instructor at Royal Roads University. Now based in beautiful Vancouver Island, she enjoys servicing a host of local and international clientele, assisting them to thrive in hospitality.

Theresa is energetic and her training is always filled with industry best practices, useful anecdotes and a dose of humor 😊

Website: www.bluemountain.solutions

Instagram: @bluemountainsolutions

Facebook: @Theresa.Blue.Mountain.Solutions

https://knowinghospitality.com

#10: David Lund - On Financial Leadership and the Career Benefits of Financial Acumen

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 22:47:15 -0700

Financial acumen and financial leadership are critical to anyone trying to advance in their career. On this episode, David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, takes us through the details of financial leadership, the importance of creating an environment that celebrates learning and growing financial skills and how financial acumen benefits all aspects of life. He also makes a generous offer to our listeners at the end of the show…

A little about David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach

David Lund is a hospitality financial leadership pioneer who has branded himself “The Hotel Financial Coach.” Just as any great hotel is true to their brand, so is David. His client commitment is about exceptional service. And his #1 focus is to help his clients be more prosperous as individuals or teams.

David’s background includes over 30 years as a Regional Controller, Corporate Financial Director, Hotel Manager and Controller throughout North America at multiple locations.

His services include Financial Leadership Workshops, Personalized 1:1 Financial Leadership Coaching, Professional Speaking, Financial Statement Design, Financial System Design, Policy Manual Creation and Hotel Financial Consulting.

David has a weekly blog that he publishes on his website https://hotelfinancialcoach.com as well as an online training course at https://www.ahla.ca/financial-leadership-david-lund/

Check out his blog and media pages for more: https://hotelfinancialcoach.com/blog/ or email him at david@hotelfinancialcoach.com

https://knowinghospitality.com

#9: How To Train Employees For Emotionally Engaging Service

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 22:03:25 -0700

Whether it’s to drive customer loyalty, increase sales or improve online reviews, connecting with customers on a more personal level is something that most businesses strive for but most don’t know how or where to start when elevating their service levels.

This show gets in to the weeds and pulls out actionable and sustainable practices you can use right away to train your staff and optimize your operation for better service.

In the show we discuss:

Understanding emotional triggers along your customer journey
Focusing employee training on being curious about your customer
Empathy
Having a higher level self awareness
How to optimize the workday for each position so nothing falls through the cracks

https://knowinghospitality.com

#8: Online Review Strategy

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 22:01:18 -0700

On this episode we discuss why you need a customer review strategy. Be it TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, Yelp, OTA reviews, or any of the other countless platforms out there, understanding how your customers interact with and experience your business and how you respond is vital to your success. This is why reviews are so useful… because they give you intel you may not normally have.

https://knowinghospitality.com

#7: How To Inspect for Cleanliness

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:59:54 -0700

Cleanliness is arguably the most important aspect of running a successful hotel or restaurant

- Beautiful properties can be hugely diminished if they’re dirty and the reverse is true… older, unrenovated properties can be enhanced if they are kept sparkling clean

- Cleanliness accounts for an overwhelmingly large portion of customer perception of your business and you’ve got to have an eye for detail to do it well

- If detail isn’t a strength for you then you’ve got to be especially present during the task and take your time when inspecting

- Well maintained properties can forgive shortcomings in service delivery or exacerbate small service missteps.

https://knowinghospitality.com

#6: Why a Common Goal is Important

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:58:54 -0700

On this episode we discuss how and why it’s important to have everyone contributing to the same goal and how to develop better communication throughout your operation. Highlights from the episode: - There is a “guest first” mentality throughout the property - High levels of teamwork between departments - Good communication between departments - All departments attend broader morning and afternoon line ups and share info with their team through their own preshift meetings members - Addressing the “it’s not my job” mentality - Staff trying to help even if the request isn’t from their immediate area of responsibility - Employees own requests and problems, ensuring full resolution all the way to the end - Staff follow up with customers after the fact to ensure satisfaction - There is rarely any semblance of employees saying “no” without offering alternative solutions.

https://knowinghospitality.com

#5: 10 Tips To Immediately Improve Service

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:57:21 -0700

On this episode we share 10 simple practices that you can use right away to improve service in your operation.

Highlights from the show:
1. 5/10 rule
2. Ending employee conversations when guests are present
3. Acknowledging guests when you pass them in the hall
4. Opening doors
5. Walking guests part way when they ask for directions
6. Using time of day greetings
7. Avoiding jargon or language that is too casual
8. Be the first to offer assistance
9. Empowerment
10. Tailor your delivery to the level that your guest wants to receive

https://knowinghospitality.com

#4: Handling Difficult Customer Requests

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:55:53 -0700

Customers will make requests that are difficult to accommodate but there is a right way and a wrong way to say no. In this episode we discuss how to respond to those requests and why never saying no without offering an alternative will set you and your team up for success.

Highlights from the show:
- Removing “well intentioned” internal roadblocks
- Overcoming the “it’s not my job” excuse
- Why communication and broader training of your staff gives them the tools they need to respond effectively
- Giving team members the confidence to make decisions without always seeking manager approval
- Steps you can take to implement this concept right away

https://knowinghospitality.com

#3: How To Have Effective Preshift Meetings

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:54:36 -0700

The first five minutes are the most important part of anyone’s shift. We discuss why you should put a lot of care and attention to this part of the day.

https://knowinghospitality.com

#2: How To Improve Consistency

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:52:32 -0700

If your operation is struggling with consistency or if things keep falling through the cracks, job checklists are the surest way to get it back on track.

https://knowinghospitality.com

#1: Service vs. Hospitality

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 21:33:08 -0700

Our first official episode covers the foundation of all well run hospitality operations. They understand the difference between service and hospitality.

http://www.knowinghospitality.com/

#0: Who We Are

Adam Knight — Wed, 13 May 2020 00:44:10 -0700

Our “origin story” episode discussing who we are and why we’re here. Proven Principles is a hospitality operations consulting company and our podcast aims to deconstruct the best practices of the luxury hotel industry to help you improve your hospitality business operation.

http://www.knowinghospitality.com/

The Proven Principles Podcast

Adam Knight — Tue, 12 May 2020 00:44:10 -0700

There’s one thing that remains true in the hospitality industry - it’s getting bigger and more complicated everyday. Well, the Proven Principles Podcast is here to help. The show aims to demystify the inner workings of the hospitality industry, and break down the tools, tips and tricks that the world's best run hotels use everyday. Each week you'll find hospitality experts from all corners of the industry sharing insights, best practices and the skills needed to help you and your business thrive; all hosted by me, Adam Knight. You can listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts For more information about the show, just visit theprovenprinciplepodcast.com Thanks for listening!