Hospitality Daily Podcast

What does AI adoption personally mean for a hospitality technology leader? In this episode, Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains how he is using AI to manage email, meetings, calendar demands, and other work so he can get back time for his company, family, and personal well-being.Matt also shares how he keeps building AI fluency by learning from peers inside and outside hospitality, following technology companies and industry thinkers, and making continuous learning part of his routine.Listen to our series with Matt:Part 1: The Weekend Class That Changed My CareerPart 2: How We're Leading AI Adoption With a Human-First ApproachPart 3: Our 4-Layer AI Framework: Data, Reporting, Insights, ActionLearn more about the Destination AI Forum in Washington, DC (where Matt will be speaking)More resources:OpenAI AcademyOne Useful Thing — Ethan MollickTLDR technology newslettersDestination AI Forum in Washington, DC A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains how hospitality leaders can evaluate AI investment by connecting it to expense reductions, revenue, GOP, and NOI.Listen to our series with Matt:Part 1: The Weekend Class That Changed My CareerPart 2: How We're Leading AI Adoption With a Human-First ApproachPart 3: Our 4-Layer AI Framework: Data, Reporting, Insights, ActionLearn more about the Destination AI Forum in Washington, DC (where Matt will be speaking)More:Uber caps employee AI spending after blowing through budget in four months — TechCrunchWhere AI Actually Pays Off in Hospitality, and What Owners Should Demand — Ben RafterHow a Revenue Manager-Turned-CEO Drives Profit as Market Conditions Shift — Ben CampbellDestination AI Forum in Washington, DC A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Every technology partnership is a bet, especially when AI is changing what software can do and which providers may remain relevant. In this episode, Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains how he evaluates hotel technology partners -- and who he chooses to work with.Listen to the series:Part 1: The Weekend Class That Changed My CareerPart 2: How We're Leading AI Adoption With a Human-First ApproachPart 3: Our 4-Layer AI Framework: Data, Reporting, Insights, ActionLearn more:The Bitter Lesson versus The Garbage Can — Ethan MollickSage Hospitality's CTO on Infusing AI Into the Hotel Tech Stack — Hotel Tech InsiderHow To Get Better Results From Technology — Mark FancourtDestination AI Forum in Washington, DC A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz shares the four-layer framework guiding the company's AI strategy: data, reporting, insights, and action. He explains why hotel data must be brought together and normalized before AI can produce useful analysis or support operational decisions.The framework moves from a reliable data foundation toward a future in which AI agents can take action, with the ultimate goal of giving property teams more time with guests and their other associates.Listen to the series with Matt:Episode 1: The Weekend Class That Changed My CareerEpisode 2: How We're Leading AI Adoption With a Human-First ApproachLearn more:Read Ethan Mollick's essay, The Bitter Lesson versus The Garbage CanSee how Actabl approaches hotel data normalizationLearn more about the Destination AI Forum in Washington, DC where Matt is speakingMore on hotel data and AI with Actabl:Why Actabl's Approach to Hotel Data Earned a Patent and Prepares Hotels for AIHow Hotel Companies Turn AI Into Competitive AdvantageHow Innovative Hotel Companies Are Building Better AI Through Forward-Deployed Engineering A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Giving people access to AI does not guarantee that they will use it or that your organization will benefit. Sage Hospitality CTO Matt Schwartz explains why he sees AI adoption as a change-management challenge and walks through how he and his team are helping both on-property and home-office leaders build AI fluency.Matt also shares how Sage measures progress toward its adoption goals, addresses fear and resistance to AI, and focuses its AI initiatives on a human-first goal: helping their people spend less time in front of screens and more time with guests and their teams.Links:Connect with Matt Schwartz on LinkedInLearn more about Sage HospitalityBuild your AI fluency with OpenAI AcademyLearn more about ChatGPT EnterpriseLearn more about the Destination AI Forum in Washington, DC (where Matt will be speaking)Other episodes you may enjoy:AI & Hotel Tech Bets for a People-First Approach with Dina BelonWhy Hotels Buy Technology but Still Struggle to Get Results with Mark Fancourt A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Before Matt Schwartz became Chief Technology Officer at Sage Hospitality, a weekend HTML class changed the trajectory of his career. In the first episode of our six-part series with him, Matt shares how that unexpected experience led him from environmental economics into technology and ultimately hospitality technology leadership.Learn more about the Destination AI Forum in Washington, DC (where Matt will be speaking)Want more?Learn more about Sage HospitalityListen to Matt discuss bringing AI into the hotel technology stack on Hotel Tech Insider [Podcast]Podcast episodes with Sage founder Walter Isenberg: The Letter That Turned a Young Dishwasher into a Hospitality LeaderThe Dana Crawford Playbook A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Kevin Masse is the founder and owner of Small State Provisions (IG: @SmallState), a Connecticut bakery and café built around one simple idea: create a place where people want to gather. In this conversation, Kevin shares how a career in marketing, advertising, and food media shaped his approach to hospitality, why thoughtful design and local sourcing matter, and how he's navigating the transition from hands-on baker to visionary leader as the business grows. Listen to hear practical insights on building community, creating memorable guest experiences, and scaling without losing what makes a business special.  A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this sponsor bonus episode, Joseph McGroarty of Actabl shares what he learned working on site with a hotel company in the Forward Deployed Engineering model. He explains how observation and careful listening revealed the language, workflows, and operating knowledge needed to build AI around how hotel teams work and make decisions. You'll also hear how Actabl's Altitude product provides verified answers about hotel and portfolio performance, and why co-creation between hotel companies and technology providers helps move AI from a promising product to technology that defends a company's differentiators and drives real value. You may also enjoy:How Hotel Companies Turn AI Into Competitive Advantage - Steven Moore and Joseph Benjamin explain Actabl's Forward Deployed Engineering model and how hotel companies move from AI experimentation to business outcomes.Why Our Approach to Hotel Data Earned a Patent and Prepares Hotels for AI - Joseph McGroarty, Clark Brayton, and Pritesh Patel explain Actabl's normalized hotel data layer and how AI relies on a strong data foundation.AI That Works for Hotel Leaders Is Finally Here - Stephen German shares how Actabl built Altitude to let hotel leaders ask questions about business performance and receive verified answers they can trust. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Emily Johnson, the Founder and CEO of Elevate Hospitality Collective, brings together Joli Barfield, Corporate Director of Human Resources, and Kristi Ellingsworth, Director of Hospitality, both at Dartcor Enterprises, to explore why great guest experiences begin long before a guest arrives.Drawing on experience across hotels, restaurants, HR and operations, they explain why employee wellbeing is more than a benefits program. It's a leadership and operational practice that shapes everything that matters in hospitality. You'll hear why so many guest-facing wellness initiatives fall short, how Dartcor is building employee wellbeing into daily operations, and practical ideas leaders can apply through manager development, pre-shift meetings, and simple tools for handling pressure on the ground.If you're looking to build stronger teams, reduce burnout, and create better guest -- and employee -- experiences, this conversation offers a practical framework for where to start.Learn more:Why the guest experience breaks before reaching the guest, and how to fix it (Emily Johnson in HOTELS Magazine)Nervous System Regulation in Hospitality: A Commercial Playbook for HoteliersThe Yield of Calm: The ROI of Mental Health in HospitalityElevate Hospitality Collective on SubstackBLS JOLTS quits rates by industry A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Christina Poon, the General Manager at the Detroit EDITION, shares what watching AI companies can teach hospitality leaders: continuous improvement as a way to win in a business that's "always done it this way," AI as a research tool, and rethinking how you communicate with the next generation joining your team. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Christina Poon, the General Manager at the Detroit EDITION, shares the three layers of impact a hotel can make on its city: a gathering place, an economic engine, and a career catalyst that keeps talent home. You'll hear what she learned advocating for the neighborhood on the board of the Union Square Partnership, including the 14th Street mural painted by a couple hundred volunteers, and the city-first strategy behind the Detroit EDITION. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Christina Poon, the General Manager at the Detroit EDITION, shares how she's building a great hotel guest experience before the property opens. She talks about recruiting leaders in a place where she started with zero network, hiring for attitude plus operational readiness, and designing the guest experience while the building is still under construction. You'll hear why she meets every candidate one-on-one instead of relying on CVs, plus the W Hotels chef collaboration that shows what curated guest moments can deliver. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Christina Poon, the General Manager at the Detroit EDITION, shares how vision guides the moves you make as a hotel leader and throughout your career.You'll hear how Christina builds a property vision with owners and the team, why she compares each hotel chapter to making a movie, and how her yearly personal review helped lead her from New York to a construction site in Detroit.Listen to the first part of our series: The Unexpected Joy of a Career in Hospitality A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Christina Poon, General Manager of the soon-to-open Detroit EDITION, shares the story of how an unexpected career recommendation led her into hospitality and why she's never looked back. She reflects on the power of human connection, creating lasting guest experiences, and building a career aligned with your personal values. Christina also explains why she began documenting the realities of hotel leadership on LinkedIn, offering aspiring hospitality leaders a rare behind-the-scenes look at the work. If you're looking for a reminder of what makes hospitality such a meaningful profession, this conversation delivers both perspective and encouragement.Read Christina's writing on LinkedIn A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Milou Neelen, the Founder of Hôtel Magique, shares why so many beautifully designed hotels leave guests feeling nothing. You'll hear why she chases awe over polish, how imperfection makes a space feel more human, and why she believes an awe-inspired hotel moves guests from memorable to transformational. She also gets into the science of awe through the work of UC Berkeley's Dacher Keltner, author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder.Connect with Milou:LinkedInInstagramExplore her work:Hôtel Magique: website and InstagramBatik Boy, the Bali radio and store space she designed with Davey MassikkiThe Pleasure of Leisure, co-founded with photographer Anna Pihan A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Scaling a hospitality brand is about more than adding new properties. The real challenge is preserving the culture, service, and sense of connection that made the brand successful in the first place.In this episode, Lily Wecker, CEO of Aethos, shares how the company approaches growth by investing in people first, choosing locations with intention, and expanding alongside the communities they serve. She explains why culture is the foundation for scaling and why staying true to your identity matters more than growing quickly.This conversation is hosted by our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Creating a memorable hospitality experience is only part of the challenge. Communicating it in a way that feels just as human is what sets great brands apart.In this episode, Lily Wecker, CEO of Aethos, explains how the company's human-centered philosophy shapes its marketing and communication. She shares why Aethos prioritizes people over products, how its campaigns capture the spirit of the brand rather than staged perfection, and why storytelling attracts guests who will really connect with its approach to hospitality.This conversation is hosted by our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker.Also see:Human-to-Human: Rethinking Luxury Hospitality - Lily Wecker, AethosBuilding and operating Aethos Hotels: Europe's next great hotel brandLimestone Capital's value investment strategyStaying Consistently Creative and Relevant in Food & Beverage - Marc Lores Panades, Aethos Hotels A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Lily Wecker, the CEO at Aethos, shares how the brand designs guest experiences around 360-degree wellbeing rather than entertainment alone. She walks through Aethos's mix of outward-facing programming, DJ nights, live sketching, listening sessions, and inward-focused rituals like a personal-question card game played after community dinners.You'll hear why Lily believes wellbeing has to include social connection alongside sleep, food, and exercise, and why she builds both distraction and introspection into the guest experience.This conversation is hosted by our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker.Also see:Human-to-Human: Rethinking Luxury Hospitality - Lily Wecker, AethosBuilding and operating Aethos Hotels: Europe's next great hotel brandLimestone Capital's value investment strategyStaying Consistently Creative and Relevant in Food & Beverage - Marc Lores Panades, Aethos Hotels A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this special bonus episode, Josiah Mackenzie and Nazpari Aydin, Founder and Managing Director of Destination AI, introduce the State of Hotel AI survey, a study designed to reveal what's really happening with AI across the hotel industry, where it's delivering results, and where it still falls short. They discuss why an honest look at AI adoption matters, how the findings will help you benchmark your organization against your peers, and what attendees will learn from the research at this year's Destination AI Summit.Take the survey and get the full anonymized data set at StateOfHotelAI.comConnect with Nazpari on LinkedIn and get your ticket to Destination AI here.Also see: Destination AI: How I Built the #1 Hospitality AI Event From Scratch - Nazpari Aydin A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Lily Wecker, CEO of Aethos,  shares how her teams break hotel brand standards to deliver a feeling rather than a checklist. You'll hear why one property has no TVs in the rooms, why she tells front desk teams to observe guests instead of predicting what they want, and how a GM in Sardinia turned beach rocks into welcome-card holders.This conversation is hosted by our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker.Also see:Human-to-Human: Rethinking Luxury Hospitality - Lily Wecker, AethosBuilding and operating Aethos Hotels: Europe's next great hotel brandLimestone Capital's value investment strategyStaying Consistently Creative and Relevant in Food & Beverage - Marc Lores Panades, Aethos Hotels A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Lily Wecker, CEO of Aethos, explains why she believes the future of luxury hospitality is shifting away from status and product, and toward genuine human connection. In conversation with our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker, she shares how Aethos is redefining luxury through community, belonging, and a human-to-human approach to service. It's a fresh perspective on how guest expectations are evolving and what hospitality leaders should be thinking about next.Also see:Building and operating Aethos Hotels: Europe's next great hotel brandLimestone Capital's value investment strategyStaying Consistently Creative and Relevant in Food & Beverage - Marc Lores Panades, Aethos Hotels A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

This episode introduces our week-long series with Lily Wecker, CEO of Aethos, in conversation with our innovation correspondent Matthias Huettebraeuker. She reflects on her journey and a pivotal moment that changed how she thinks about success, leadership, and listening to yourself. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Ben Rafter, CEO of Hotel Equities, shares where he believes AI is already delivering measurable results in hospitality and why operational applications are advancing faster than guest-facing experiences. He explains how Hotel Equities evaluates and tests new technology through HE Labs, the questions hotel owners should ask when selecting a management company, and where he sees AI driving hotel performance in the years ahead.Learn more: HE Labs by Hotel EquitiesHotel Equities CEO: Here's Which Technologies Can Actually Lift Owner Margins [Skift]Previously on the show:What Happens When a Tech CEO Leads a Hotel Company - Ben RafterTech CEO-Turned-Hotel CEO Shares Tech Advice - Ben Rafter A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Ben Rafter, CEO of Hotel Equities, shares how his team is using AI, data, and real-time operational insights to improve labor management, often the largest controllable expense in a hotel. He explains how better scheduling and smarter decision-making create opportunities to improve efficiency while maintaining the guest experience. You'll also hear why data alone isn't enough and how intelligent recommendations help hotel leaders think more like owners.Learn more: HE Labs by Hotel EquitiesHotel Equities CEO: Here's Which Technologies Can Actually Lift Owner Margins [Skift]Previously on the show:What Happens When a Tech CEO Leads a Hotel Company - Ben RafterTech CEO-Turned-Hotel CEO Shares Tech Advice - Ben Rafter A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Ben Rafter, CEO of Hotel Equities, shares why he believes today's hotel operating model is becoming increasingly unsustainable for owners. He explains the growing pressure from labor, insurance, and other operating costs, why healthy hotel ownership is essential for the entire industry, and how Hotel Equities is responding through its problem-first innovation initiative, HE Labs. If you're looking to better understand the economic challenges facing hotel owners and how leading operators are responding, this conversation provides a thoughtful framework.Learn more: HE Labs by Hotel EquitiesHotel Equities CEO: Here's Which Technologies Can Actually Lift Owner Margins [Skift]Previously on the show:What Happens When a Tech CEO Leads a Hotel Company - Ben RafterTech CEO-Turned-Hotel CEO Shares Tech Advice - Ben Rafter A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

The use of AI is one of the biggest strategic questions in hospitality, and many hotel leaders face the same challenge: they believe in the potential, but need a clearer path from experimentation to measurable results.In this episode, Actabl CEO Steven Moore and CTO Joseph Benjamin explain Actabl's new forward-deployed engineering offering for the hotel industry. They discuss why data foundations matter, how AI might help hotel companies improve profitability, and why custom workflows matter for operators with distinct brands, ownership models, portfolio strategies, and ways of working.You'll hear how forward-deployed engineering differs from traditional technology development and consulting, why the model matters for hotel companies, and how Actabl engineers work alongside customers to solve business-specific data, analytics, and AI problems on top of the Actabl platform.For hotel executives thinking about AI strategy, margin pressure, labor challenges, above-property decision-making, forecasting, or portfolio performance, this conversation offers a practical look at where to start and how to move from interest in AI to outcomes.Learn more about Actabl's forward-deployed engineering program here, and contact Actabl here for a discovery conversation about this.  A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Martin Soler shares one of the most common challenges in hospitality: seeing the industry only through your own perspective. Drawing on his experience as a hotel operator, technology leader, and advisor, Martin explains why great ideas often fail when we don't fully understand other viewpoints. He shares practical ways to adopt different viewpoints, make better decisions, and evaluate opportunities more effectively. Hospitality leaders will come away with a simple framework to avoid blind spots and view industry challenges from a broader perspective. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Personalization is one of hospitality's most important goals, but is it really a technology problem? In this episode, hospitality advisor and former hotel general manager Martin Soler explains why guest preferences are far more contextual and dynamic than many systems assume. Drawing on examples from both hospitality and everyday consumer technology, Martin explores the limits of hyper-personalization and why the most memorable guest experiences often come from observation, empathy, and human judgment. Hospitality leaders will gain a practical perspective on balancing data, technology, and the art of service. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Martin Soler returns to explore "The PMS Wars," his ongoing series examining one of the most important shifts in hotel technology. What started as a race from legacy systems to cloud-based PMS platforms is now evolving into a conversation about AI, data infrastructure, and the future of hotel operations.In this episode, Martin explains why hospitality adopts technology differently from other industries, why changing a PMS remains one of the hardest decisions a hotel can make, and why AI will depend on strong data foundations rather than replace them. He also shares his perspective on how AI could reshape software interfaces while making the underlying PMS more important than ever.Referenced Articles:• AI and the PMS Wars, Part I• The PMS Wars and AI, Part II Key Topics:• Why cloud PMS adoption took longer than expected• The challenges of PMS migration and vendor consolidation• Why hotel technology evolves differently from other industries• The role of APIs and structured data in the AI era• How AI may change hotel software interfaces• Why PMS platforms remain the foundation of hotel operations A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Hospitality is often criticized for lagging behind on technology. Martin Soler sees it differently. In this episode, he explores the paradox of hospitality innovation, arguing that hotels have frequently been ahead of other industries while also becoming burdened by technology that adds complexity rather than removing it. This conversation examines how AI could reverse that trend, freeing hospitality professionals from administrative work and allowing them to spend more time creating meaningful guest experiences.Read Martin's newsletter on Substack A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Martin Soler shares where hoteliers should focus as technology and AI reshape the industry. Recorded ahead of HITEC 2026, Martin explains why strong data foundations matter more than the latest AI tools, how to evaluate technology vendors through the lens of integrations and APIs, and what hotel leaders should prioritize today to prepare for what's next. If you're trying to make smarter technology decisions in a rapidly changing environment, this conversation offers a practical starting point.Read Martin's newsletter on SubstackYou may also enjoy: AI Only Works for Hotels in This Order: Data, Intelligence, Action - Stephen German, ActablYour AI Tools Won't Save You. Your Data Will. - GB Sharma, Mosaic HospitalityWhy Our Approach to Hotel Data Earned a Patent and Prepares Hotels for AI - Clark Brayton, Joseph McGroarty & Pritesh Patel, ActablFinding Gold in Your 'Data Attic': How Margaritaville's Chief Data Officer Unlocks Hidden Opportunities A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

This episode is sponsored by Actabl. Learn more about its new product, Altitude, here. For years now, AI has promised hotel leaders something it hasn't delivered: the ability to ask a question and get an answer you can actually trust. Today, that changes with the launch of Actabl Altitude.In this episode, I sit down with Stephen German, Actabl's SVP of Product, to tell the story behind it. We get into why most AI answers fall apart the moment you check them, what it really takes to trust a number enough to hand it to your CFO, and why the foundation under the AI matters more than the AI itself.Stephen makes a distinction that reframes the whole conversation. Most AI is probabilistic, so ask the same question twice, and you can get two different answers. When you're dealing with forecasts and P&Ls, you need deterministic results, the same right answer every time, with logic underneath that knows the difference between your primary forecast and your locked one. That's the line between an interesting demo and a tool you can run a business on.We also talk about who this is really for. Above-property leaders, the regional VPs and COOs, have been underserved by hotel tech for a long time. Altitude lets them have a conversation with their data, follow the thread at the speed of thought, and dig into a problem without waiting days for three different teams to pull reports. It's the always-on AI analyst that hotel leaders have wanted and never had, until now.In this episode, you'll hear:Why you can't trust most AI outputs yet, and what it takes to fix thatThe CFO test: Would you hand this answer over and say, "I know all of this is right"?Why your data has to be normalized, and the apples-to-apples problemThe questions every leader should ask their technical team about AI reportingIntroducing Altitude and the problem it was built to solveA conversation with your data: following the thread without losing the plotWhy above-property leaders have been underserved, and why that ends hereThe data pyramid: spending less time finding answers and more time acting on themLearn more about Actabl Altitude here.Listen to prior episodes in this series:AI Only Works for Hotels in This Order: Data, Intelligence, Action - Stephen German, ActablWhy Our Approach to Hotel Data Earned a Patent and Prepares Hotels for AI - Clark Brayton, Joseph McGroarty & Pritesh Patel, ActablIs Your AI Saving You Time? (Jerimi Ford, Actabl) A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

What separates good leaders from great ones? According to Dina Winder, the EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), the answer is simple: great leaders create more leaders. In this conversation, Dina shares why she has dedicated so much of her time to mentoring future hospitality professionals through Highgate, HAMA, and AHLA's FORWARD initiative, and why she believes senior leaders have a responsibility to actively pull others up as they advance.You'll hear her perspective on the leadership pipeline challenges facing hospitality, why the industry loses too many talented women in the middle stages of their careers, and how mentorship, visibility, and advocacy help build stronger organizations. This episode offers practical lessons for any hospitality leader focused on developing talent, strengthening teams, and creating lasting impact. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

What's really going on in the hotel industry right now?In this episode, Dina Winder, EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), shares her perspective on the forces shaping the hotel industry today. Drawing on conversations with owners and asset managers across the industry, she explains why demand has remained the top concern in multiple HAMA surveys and why filling rooms remains the foundation of hotel performance.Dina also discusses how changing consumer behavior, AI-powered trip planning, and evolving booking habits are creating new challenges for hospitality leaders. She compares today's AI moment to the early days of the internet and explores what the industry needs to learn from previous innovation cycles to avoid repeating past mistakes.If you're looking for a clearer view of where hotels are today and what industry leaders are watching most closely, this conversation offers valuable context and practical insight.See the Hospitality Asset Managers Association Spring 2026 Industry Outlook Survey ResultsSee the other episodes in our series here: Asset Management Is Hospitality's Most Misunderstood Career - Dina Winder, HighgateHotel Success Still Comes Down to One Person - Dina Winder, HighgateThe Best Leaders Create More Leaders - Dina Winder, Highgate A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Monthly owner calls are often viewed as performance reviews, but Dina Winder sees them differently. As EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), she believes the most productive conversations focus less on what happened last month and more on what happens next.In this episode, Dina shares how hotel leaders can prepare for owner calls more effectively, why thinking like an owner builds trust and credibility, and how strong operators use 30, 60, and 90-day planning to drive better results. You'll also hear what separates productive ownership conversations from routine reporting and why bringing ideas, solutions, and a willingness to experiment matters more than having all the answers. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Hotels have more technology, data, and operational tools than ever before. Yet some properties consistently outperform while others struggle to execute.In this episode, Dina Winder, EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), shares why she believes hotel performance still comes down to leadership. You'll hear why the GM remains the most important role in the building, what effective leaders understand about both people and performance, and why even the best tools are useless without someone willing to champion them.See the first episode in our series here: Asset Management Is Hospitality's Most Misunderstood Career - Dina Winder, Highgate A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

Dina Winder is EVP of Asset Management at Highgate and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA). In this episode, she shares the unexpected path that led her into hospitality, from investment banking and real estate to one of the hotel industry's most influential roles: asset management.Dina explains what asset management means in a hotel context, how asset managers represent ownership interests, and why the role spans everything from investment strategy and underwriting to renovations, financing, and long-term business planning. She also discusses what makes hotels fundamentally different from other real estate asset classes and why that complexity is part of what makes the business so compelling.Beyond asset management, Dina reflects on the career lessons that shaped her leadership style, including analytical thinking, attention to detail, learning the fundamentals, and the ability to turn numbers into a story. If you're looking to better understand how owners think about hotel performance and value creation, this conversation offers an inside look at one of hospitality's most influential and often misunderstood functions.See Highgate's portfolio here A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Rob Smith, the CEO and President of Stonebridge Companies, shares an operator's view on how AI can be used to take mundane, repetitive work off people's hands so they can spend more time with guests.You'll hear his "find us a drive-through window" philosophy of letting the best ideas come from people on property, why he sees scheduling and forecasting as the early wins for AI, and why he refuses to hand off guest complaints or housekeeping to a machine.  A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Rob Smith, the CEO and President of Stonebridge Companies, shares what he's found keeps people engaged and performing at their best. He also explains how culture is what underpins the outperformance that hotel owners care about.  A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Rob Smith, the President and CEO at Stonebridge Companies, shares an operator's read on why top-line growth — not cost-cutting — is a sustainable path through today's environment of profit pressure. He explains how Stonebridge grew same-store revenue by 7.8% in 2024 while the market grew by 1.8%, why their revenue-management-first approach drives 41% direct bookings at their independent hotels, and what a deliberate culture of accountability looks like when you're a 174-hotel pure third-party manager.  A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Rob Smith, the CEO and President of Stonebridge Companies, shares the unlikely path that took him from an accounting degree to running his own hotel by 25 and then spending 17 years as a hospitality leader in the Caribbean.You'll hear how a Caribbean hotel owner taught him to stop just getting through the day and start thinking strategically, why working alongside people from other countries changed how he leads, and why he believes everyone should work abroad at least once. This is a story about the range of careers this business can offer the people who give it a chance. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, our career correspondent and hertelier founder Emily Goldfischer continues her conversation with Tamara Lohan, Global Brand Leader for Luxury at Hyatt.Tamara shares what it's like to step inside a large company after co-founding and building Mr. & Mrs. Smith for more than two decades. She gets into the difference between a mentor and a sponsor, why she wishes she'd built her network earlier, and the deep work of repositioning Park Hyatt, Alila, and Miraval for the next luxury traveler. She also makes the case for more women at the top to change the structures of an industry that asks leaders to travel hard, and names the contradiction every visible leader feels between showing up and doing the work.Also see: Travelers Want Hotels With a Point of View - Tamara Lohan, Hyatt A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, our career correspondent and hertelier founder Emily Goldfischer continues her conversation with Tamara Lohan, Global Brand Leader for Luxury at Hyatt,Tamara shares why today's guests increasingly reject scripted hospitality experiences and what great service looks like instead. The conversation explores emotional intelligence in hospitality, the importance of “reading the room,” how Hyatt is thinking about AI and personalization, and why the future of luxury service depends on becoming more human, not less.Also see: Travelers Want Hotels With a Point of View - Tamara Lohan, Hyatt A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

What makes a luxury hotel memorable today?In this conversation, our career correspondent and hertelier founder Emily Goldfischer, sits down with Tamara Lohan, Global Brand Leader for Luxury at Hyatt, to discuss why travelers are increasingly drawn to hotels with a strong sense of place and identity. They also explore Hyatt's luxury growth strategy, the role of storytelling in hospitality, and how wellness is evolving beyond fads into something more meaningful for guests. A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Arnold Amrhein, VP of Investments at CREO Capital, shares the idea behind his widely discussed article "The Anticipation Layer." He explains why data is becoming an asset, what hoteliers lose every time a booking comes through an OTA, and how AI could eliminate the long-standing trade-off between scale and soul in hospitality. A thoughtful conversation on the future of hotel operations, investment, and guest experience.Listen to our previous episode: Hospitality Works Best When Owners Think Like Operators - Arnold Amrhein A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Arnold Amrhein, Vice President of Investments at CREO Capital, shares what his career — from guest relations at Rosewood London to institutional hotel investment across Southern Europe to private equity in Latin America — taught him about the gap between operators and owners, and why closing that gap matters for everyone in the business. If you work in hotel operations and want to understand how owners think, or if you're on the capital side and want a sharper sense of what operators are navigating, this short conversation will give you both perspectives.Read Arnold's article: "The Anticipation Layer" on LinkedIn A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Ken Cruse, Co-Founder and CEO at SCP Hotels, and Pam Cruse, Co-Founder and CMO at SCP Hotels, share their perspective on why values-led hotels are outperforming the broader industry on EBITDA, where guests are actually drawn now that a significant majority distrusts AI, and how vertical integration lets them move faster than chain-affiliated operators ever could.Mentioned in this episode:Our first conversation with Ken and Pam (Nov 2024)SCP Mendocino Inn and Farm and SCP Mendocino Coast LodgeEvery Stay Does Good programArthur Brooks and his latest book: The Meaning of Your LifeShaun Tomson's The CodeJoseph Pine's book: The Transformation EconomyTransformational Travel CouncilOne Tree Planted A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Chris McDowell, Chief Information Security Officer at Actabl, and Justin Call, Chief Legal Officer at Actabl, unpack the growing AI risk that many hotel leaders still underestimate. They explain how people across hospitality are already uploading confidential guest and operational data into public AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, why privacy and compliance rules still apply once that data enters an LLM, and why AI adoption needs to be treated as a business risk decision, not just a productivity upgrade.Chris and Justin also break down what strong AI governance actually looks like inside a hotel organization, how technical guardrails matter more than policy documents alone, and why the quality and normalization of your data will determine whether AI delivers meaningful value at scale. The conversation also explores how hotel leaders should evaluate technology partners handling sensitive data, and why trust, security, and accountability are becoming core parts of the guest experience itself.Also see: Why Our Approach to Hotel Data Earned a Patent and Prepares Hotels for AI - Clark Brayton, Joseph McGroarty & Pritesh Patel, ActablActabl's patent announcementHotelData.com A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Burak Ipekci, the General Secretary of Les Clefs d'Or International and Head Concierge at London's Royal Horseguards Hotel, shares an operator's view of what AI can do in hospitality: take the mundane off your hands so your team has the freedom to sit in the lobby, learn a guest's name, and build the kind of relationship where a guest becomes a friend.If you've wondered where AI fits in a high-touch service environment without losing what makes it human, Burak's framing of "speed up to slow down" is worth your time.Watch our full conversation here on YouTubeMore in with Burak:Hire For The Spark - Burak IpekciEnergy Fit - Burak Ipekci A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Burak Ipekci, the Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel and General Secretary of Les Clefs d'Or International, shares his case for why the hospitality industry is splitting into two distinct businesses, and why only one of them can justify calling itself a hotel. He explains the "concierge mindset" as a philosophy that should run through every role, why emotional engagement is the only thing that justifies a premium ADR, and why teams that don't feel welcomed at the door will never make guests feel welcomed either.Watch our full conversation here on YouTubeMore in with Burak:What It Takes to Earn the Golden Keys - Burak IpekciHire For The Spark - Burak IpekciEnergy Fit - Burak IpekciMore podcasts with Burak:Mauricio Schuler: Concierge - The Beating Heart of HotelsTravel Trends Podcast: Special Hospitality Series: Inside Les Clefs d'Or with Burak Ipekci & Future Trends in Luxury Travel A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

In this episode, Burak Ipekci, Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel and General Secretary of Les Clefs d'Or International, explains what the golden keys actually mean inside the concierge profession, and what it takes to earn them. He shares his journey from becoming a concierge in New York in 1999 to helping lead one of hospitality's most respected global organizations across 85 countries.Burak walks through the rigorous Les Clefs d'Or membership process, the emotional experience of receiving his own keys in front of hundreds of peers, and the decade-long effort to modernize the organization's governance as it scaled globally. He also gives a behind-the-scenes look at how a distributed executive team across London, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Amsterdam, San Diego, São Paulo, and beyond coordinates a worldwide hospitality network built on trust, standards, and service.Watch our full conversation here on YouTubeMore in with Burak:Hire For The Spark - Burak IpekciEnergy Fit - Burak Ipekci A few more resources:If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here. You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestionsIf you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episode delivered to your inbox each day, subscribe here for free.Follow Hospitality Daily and join the conversation on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram.If you want to advertise on Hospitality Daily, here are the ways we can work together.If you found this episode interesting or helpful, send it to someone on your team so you can turn the ideas into action and benefit your business and the people you serve!Music for this show is produced by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands