No Vacancy with Glenn Haussman

Bonnie Campagnuolo, Global Brand Head at Embassy Suites by Hilton, sat down with Glenn on the rooftop of the Asheville property to explain how the brand is winning in the all-suites category — and why developers keep choosing it. The brand's "kit of parts" approach gives developers real flexibility. Build 150 keys in a small market or 500 keys in Nashville. Beach resort or urban downtown. Every property adapts to local demand while preserving the elements that made Embassy Suites Embassy Suites: two-room suites, breakfast omelets, evening reception. The Asheville rooftop, which is Michelin-recommended and busy seven nights a week, is one example of what the kit of parts makes possible. Where the brand is really evolving: food and beverage. Once an amenity, now a profitability engine. Rooftop restaurants, elevated meetings and events catering, and full-service dining give developers a first step into full-service without full-service complexity. That's why the pipeline is holding in a difficult development environment — with new properties opening across the U.S. and internationally in Africa, Doha, Dubai, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. And when Glenn asked what makes it all work? Not the buildings. Not the corporate strategy. The general managers. Visit embassysuites.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

James Hansen showed up with a Paloma. Sarah Becherer poured a digestif. Craig Sullivan had his beer. Glenn was doing whatever Glenn does. This is how you open a conversation about parking. They're from Ocra, which turns empty hotel parking lots into cash. We got there eventually. First we had to sort out Chicago cocktail pricing, why Sarah wants to launch a podcast about parallel parking, and the moral crimes of putting ketchup on a hot dog. Pour something. Press play. Visit getocra.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Liza Amlani, The Chief Merchant, spent 20 years as a merchant at Ralph Lauren. She now studies what retail can teach hospitality. The parallels are closer than you think. Both industries live and die by customer experience. Both rely on frontline workers whose voices too often get ignored. Both are trying to figure out how to bridge strategy from the corporate office to what actually happens on the floor. Liza translates retail's playbook for hoteliers who want a fresh perspective on customer experience, employee voice, and what the future of guest engagement actually looks like. Visit retailstrategygroup.com. Actabl, they give you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Julie Kee, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Belize Collection, just revealed why her hotels are winning. It's not what you'd expect. The Belize Collection owns real estate. Spans jungle to reef to private island. Partners with local communities in ways that feel authentic because they are. And that's become their competitive advantage. But how do you actually turn that into a business model that works? That's the conversation worth watching. Visit thebelizecollection.com. Actabl, they give you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Your guests are done waiting in line at check-in. Wallet key technology just made that line disappear.

We had a guest cancel at the last minute, so Craig, Suzanne, and I opened drinks and talked about my absolute disaster of a travel day. I'm not giving away the whole thing, but yesterday involved delayed flights, a plane too hot to board, a jammed wheelchair, Atlanta airspace doing Atlanta airspace things, a sick flight attendant, a Popeyes dream that died quickly, a late-night LIRR miracle, and the crushing realization that I wasn't getting Taco Bell at the end of it. Suzanne somehow turned our text thread into a blues song, Craig did Craig things, and I tried to explain the whole mess without reliving too much trauma. We also got to the important business:

Jonathan Tisch helped shape Loews Hotels for 45 years, built some of the company's most important projects, and still talks about hospitality as a people business before anything else. Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera cohosts this conversation with Jonathan Tisch, retired executive chairman of Loews Hotels, and we get into the decisions behind Loews Miami Beach, the long relationship with Universal Orlando, the Arlington growth story, and why hotel people still need to fight for more respect. Jonathan also shares one line from his first sales boss that stuck with him through every chapter of his career: Never start a paragraph with "I." That idea runs through the whole conversation. Jonathan keeps coming back to the guest, the team, the community, and the responsibility hotel leaders carry.

We drove through the Las Vegas Loop in a Tesla with Cami Christensen, President/GM of Westgate Las Vegas, and she's got 25 years of stories to tell from inside one of Vegas's most connected properties.

Your mid-market property is about to get a neighbor it didn't expect. Bruce Ford, SVP of Lodging Econometrics, explains why 158 luxury conversions are coming — and what that means for everyone else. Luxury used to be exclusive. Expensive to build. Hard to convert. Not anymore. Brands are loosening their grip. Third-party operators are moving in. Mid-market properties are being stripped down and rebuilt as five-star, with new tech and new standards. And they're happening fast. Here's what worries operators: once a guest stays at the converted property next door with all the new tech, better itinerary management, and total customer value strategy, they're not coming back to yours. Bruce talks through the pipeline — where the money is actually flowing and why your market might be next. China has 3 to 3.5 times more rooms under construction than every other country combined. The Middle East is accelerating. And New Orleans just went from one luxury hotel to seven on one street. This isn't coming. It's already here. From Lodging Econometrics. Visit lodging econometrics.com/global insights. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866. Your mid-market property is about to get a neighbor it didn't expect. Bruce Ford, SVP of Lodging Econometrics, explains why 158 luxury conversions are coming — and what that means for everyone else. Luxury used to be exclusive. Expensive to build. Hard to convert. Not anymore. Brands are loosening their grip. Third-party operators are moving in. Mid-market properties are being stripped down and rebuilt as five-star, with new tech and new standards. And they're happening fast. Here's what worries operators: once a guest stays at the converted property next door with all the new tech, better itinerary management, and total customer value strategy, they're not coming back to yours. Bruce talks through the pipeline — where the money is actually flowing and why your market might be next. China has 3 to 3.5 times more rooms under construction than every other country combined. The Middle East is accelerating. And New Orleans just went from one luxury hotel to seven on one street. This isn't coming. It's already here. From Lodging Econometrics. Visit lodging econometrics.com/global insights. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Your owners are making decisions blind. PM Hotel Group just fixed that. Steve Marino, VP of IT and Hotel Systems at PM Hotel Group, explained at HITEC how they're using AI as their competitive differentiator — not to replace anyone, but to move owners from reactive to proactive. Most owners aren't hoteliers — they're investor-class people who don't know how to navigate systems or run reports. So they wait. They ask. They get frustrated. PM turned that into natural language: "Give me my cost per occupied room across these hotels for the last three weeks." Instant answers. No friction. On the BD side, AI is now helping them identify which assets and which owners actually fit their model, so they're not taking every deal that walks through the door. They're qualifying for the right fit. From HITEC. Visit pmhotelgroup.com or find them on LinkedIn. Unifocus, Workforce Management Redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Here's obvious: Hotel energy prices aren't coming down. Rick West, CEO at Commercial Green Solutions, and Kenny Weston, VP at Commercial Green Solutions, explained why hoteliers need to stop treating utility costs as fixed. ⚡ The "double whammy" is real: your kWh costs are up AND your demand charges are through the roof. But there's $50 billion in rebates sitting in utility programs that most hotels don't even know exist.

Kartik Yellepeddi, Chief Product Officer at Duetto, says AI in pricing is stuck at level one: algorithms that recommend prices. That's the problem. Building three levels is the solution.

Hotels are asking the wrong question at check-in — and Alliants just proved it.

Matthew Bright, SVP and Head of IT at Davidson Hospitality, made a promise not to talk about AI. He broke it 54 seconds in.

Deena Baikowitz is a cat whisperer, networking extraordinaire, and the funnest, loudest (the good kind) person you'll ever meet. She joins Friday Night Audit alongside myself, Craig Sullivan and Suzanne Bagnera, PhD, CHA, CED from Toronto (where she's "in exile" from New York) and the crew immediately put her to work on the pet peeves hotel tournament.

Brent Hayhurst, VP at Curator Hotel and Resort Collection, won't look at a new technology until he knows what KPI it's supposed to move.

Steven Moore, CEO at Actabl, says you shouldn't need to log in to answer your owner's question.

Keryn McNamara, CIO at Aimbridge, told me AI fails the moment it replaces a human instead of freeing one up.

Denise Walker, CIO at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, started her career on a TRS-80. Thirty years later, she told me AI is the first technology she's never had to explain to anyone — people already see why it matters.

At HITEC, I talked with Michael Grove of HotStats, which is now part of Duetto, about why hotel performance has to move beyond rooms revenue. Michael came with actual numbers on profitability, but the conversation went quickly into how owners and operators should read the business. Demand and rate only tell part of the story. Profit depends on where revenue comes from, what it costs to capture it, and which parts of the operation deserve more attention. We got into U.S. profitability, global travel shifts, food and beverage pressure, wellness, golf, ancillary revenue, and why Michael likes the phrase "performance engineering." I like that phrase because it gets closer to how owners and operators actually need to think. Revenue is one piece. Profitability tells a much fuller story. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Hotel operators don't lack AI options. They lack a clear way to evaluate them. At HITEC, I talked with Shannon McCallum, VP of Operations at Resorts World Las Vegas, about the HFTP AI Collective and how operators can make smarter decisions around AI tools, robotics, chatbots, reporting, and vendor partners.

During HITEC in San Antonio yesterdayn, I talked with Robert Matsuoka of Duetto about Duetto Labs and how AI could change the daily work of hotel revenue teams. Revenue managers already spend too much time pulling data from different systems, building reports, checking forecasts, and trying to figure out what needs attention first. Robert's view is that AI should cut through that noise so smart people spend more time making decisions and less time fighting spreadsheets. We also talked about forecasting, pricing, profit data, and how Duetto is thinking about the next phase of revenue management technology. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

I'm at HITEC in San Antonio today and tomorrow, and I talked with Stephen Katsirubas, CIO of Pursuit Collection, about AI that's already doing real work for guests and operators. Pursuit has a lot more going on than rooms and room nights. They're dealing with lodging, attractions, retail, boating, gondolas, sky trams, and all the guest questions that come with those experiences. Stephen isn't talking about AI in some vague "future of hospitality" way. He's talking about using it now so guests get faster answers and teams spend less time buried in the same basic questions. One example got my attention: Pursuit cut call volume by more than 30% in one area by helping guests get answers about hours, parking, pet rules, and other basics before they need a person. Thanks to Unifocus. Workforce management redefined. Visit unifocus.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

I talked with Harry Javer, Founder and Producer of The Lodging Conference, and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera about why this event keeps pulling people back year after year. I've been going for about 25 years. Suzanne's coming for the first time. That gave us two very different ways into the same conversation. The Lodging Conference brings the industry conversations people need right now: finance, construction, development, AI, adaptive reuse, conversions, residential hotels, and the dealmaking that shapes what comes next. I'll also be back on the main stage hosting one of the general session panels, so I wanted to hear directly from Harry about what's shaping this year's event. But the event also has the thing most conferences can't manufacture: people actually relax. The lazy river race helps. The duck race definitely helps. So do the morning activities, the evening events, and the way the property takeover keeps people running into each other all week. That's what makes the conversations different. People still talk deals, capital, brands, development, and strategy. They just do it in an environment where everyone feels a little more human. Harry also shared what first-timers should know, why the event keeps selling out, and why registering before June 30 matters. And yes, I fully intend to defend my title as king of the lazy river race. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

On No Vacancy, I talked with Charif Zahrane, Managing Partner at M7 Services, about the hotel technology mess sitting underneath the AI conversation. Everybody wants to talk about AI. Charif wants hotel operators to look at what sits below it first. Data. Infrastructure. Security. System connections. The unsexy stuff that decides whether the shiny new tool actually works or turns into another headache. That's where this conversation gets useful. Hotel operators can't just throw AI on top of messy systems and expect magic. They need a cleaner foundation, a better understanding of what they're connecting, and partners who understand how hospitality actually runs. Charif also gets into why the old "break-fix" IT model doesn't match where hotels are headed. This one's for anyone trying to figure out what hotel tech should look like before AI makes the whole thing even more complicated. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Today we answer the most important question of all, what Arnie missed. Arnie Garfinkle tosses back some cocktails with Glenn, Craig and Producer Suzanne for this week's Friday Night Audit. Bets are open to how late Arnie shows up for his guest spot.

At last week's NYU IHIF, I talked with David Duncan, President and CEO of First Hospitality, about where hotel investment still works when new construction rarely pencils. That's the part of the market I keep hearing more about: not shiny new projects, but existing hotels where the right capital, brand strategy, operating discipline, or management change can unlock something better. David has a useful view on that because First Hospitality now plays on both sides of the equation: investment and operations. In this conversation, we got into why more opportunities may come from assets that need work, why development still feels difficult, and how First Hospitality thinks about growth when every deal has to earn its way forward. We also talked about new markets, talent, culture, and why entering a city as an operator takes a lot more than running the numbers from a spreadsheet. Thanks to Actabl. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Most hotel AI conversations stay too abstract. Rob Smith, CEO and President of Stonebridge, brought it back to the work operators deal with every day: financials, trip reports, sales data, STR reports, and property-level decisions. I recorded this conversation during last week's NYU IHIF conference, where Rob shared how Stonebridge uses AI inside hotel operations right now. Stonebridge uses Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot at the corporate level, and the company has rolled out hashtag#Copilot across its hotels. Rob talked about using hashtag#AI for faster answers, better property context, and fewer wasted steps before a team has to chase another call, email, or report.

At last week's NYU IHIF, Glenn Haussman talks with John Schultzel, Chief Growth Officer at Olympia Hospitality, about drive-to demand, shrinking booking windows, rate discipline, destination marketing, and how hotels can stay close to guests without losing the human side of hospitality. Olympia operates across New England, up and down the East Coast, and as far west as Colorado, giving John a clear look at different market patterns. He sees continued opportunity in drive-to leisure markets, even when broader economic stress makes travelers more cautious. Drive-to demand can hold up when travelers still want a getaway but rethink distance or transportation Short booking windows make pricing discipline harder when hotels watch pace late in the week Creative packages beat panic discounting when travelers make last-minute decisions Hotels need stronger destination marketing because guests often choose the place before they choose the property Weather should change the message, not kill the opportunity AI can help marketing teams move faster while still keeping the human side of hospitality intact Thanks to Actabl. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

During last week's NYU IHIF, I talked with Ryan Bosch of Arriba Capital because hotel transactions have picked up, but closing deals still takes a lot more creativity than people may realize. Ryan sees a growing performance gap between hotels where owners continually invested in their properties during the last six years and hotels where owners delayed CapEx. Now that gap is showing up in value, refinancing pressure, and whether some owners decide they're better off selling. Deferred CapEx has split hotel performance inside the same markets Owners who continually invested in their properties now have stronger assets Some owners now face refinance pressure and larger cash-in requirements More sellers need a transaction, not another round of market testing Buyers still want "meat on the bone" so they have room for value creation after closing Creative capital stacks and alternative financing help more hotel deals close Thanks to Actabl. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.

During last week's NYU IHIF, I spoke with Ryan Rivett of the Rivett Organization and Brian Quinn, Chief Development Officer at My Place Hotels, because Brian's new role points to something bigger than a personnel move. Brian matters in this story because My Place is moving into its next phase with the Rivett Organization's broader platform behind it: ownership, operations, construction management, technology, engineering, design, and franchise development. That combination separates My Place from a lot of franchise organizations. Developers aren't only hearing about a flag. They're hearing from a company that still owns hotels, operates hotels, develops hotels, and understands the parts of the process that can overwhelm owners and investors.

At Hilton Orlando, Glenn Haussman talks with Shannon Butler, Director of Catering and Events, about how the hotel uses Xpodigital for flexible event branding, real-time updates, and incremental revenue through digital signage. Meeting planners want spaces that feel customized to their programs Digital signage lets Hilton Orlando update schedules, sponsor messages, sizzle reels, and award content in real time Xpodigital removes the large upfront investment barrier for the hotel and ownership Revenue share adds incremental income while improving the planner and attendee experience Association groups turn signage into sponsor inventory and build revenue for themselves Xpodigital supports the hotel team on-site and remotely, keeping updates fast and execution tight Hilton Orlando started with one screen, saw results, and expanded from there Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed? Text HOTEL to 66866.

Hamilton Princess doesn't compete like a typical resort. The property leans on 140+ years of history, a museum-level art collection, and a luxury guest who keeps traveling even when the economy gets noisy. Glenn Haussman and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera talk with Diarmaid O'Sullivan, Director of Sales & Marketing at Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, about how the hotel differentiates and keeps repeat business strong.

Wayne Tabor is President and CEO of the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association and is way too classy to be having happy hour drinks with Glenn, Craig and Suzanne. Yet here we are.

Seventy-three percent of new vacation ownership purchases now come from Gen Z and millennials. That changes the pitch, product strategy, and member experience conversation for every company in vacation ownership. During ARDA Spring Conference, I spoke with Gordon Gurnik, COO of Hilton Grand Vacations, about younger buyers, points-based flexibility, AI, and the experiences HGV builds around ownership.

Hotel owners staring down PIPs have three choices: spend the money, sell the asset, or rethink management. During NYU IHIF, I spoke with Ben Perelmuter, CEO of Remington Hospitality, and Scott Geres, General Manager of Hotel Edison, from inside the Hotel Edison in Times Square. Ben says hotel deal activity has finally picked up after several slower conference cycles. Owners face brand pressure, capital decisions, and asset sales, and Remington Hospitality has already added 17 new third-party deals in the first four months of the year.

During NYU IHIF, Hilton debuted Undergraduate by Hilton, a brand-new conversion product aimed at university markets where a full Graduate Hotel may not fit. Jenna Hackett, SVP, Global Leader, Lifestyle Brand Management at Hilton, joined me for a conversation about how Undergraduate by Hilton connects with Graduate Hotels while giving owners a more affordable, scalable conversion option.

At NYU IHIF, I talked with Zack Gharib, President of Red Roof, because the brand made three moves worth watching at the same time: entered Canada, pushed tech growth, and rebuilt the website around AI search. Then the numbers back it up: app performance up 55%, loyalty enrollments up 29%, and 54,000 app downloads across Q1/April/May.

7.2 seconds behind the bar can cost about $1.1M a year. That's how Tobin Ellis, a 30-year bar industry veteran, thinks about bar design: eliminate problems before they happen, then let the team sell more with fewer steps.

One frustrating thing about hospitality: guests want to research rooms visually, but most hotel websites don't include video. When hotels force guests to imagine a room, they simply move on. So I talked with Jason Craparo, CEO of hovr, and Ethan Wiseman, VP of Product Management at aven hospitality, about what hotels can do right now to fix that disconnect.

We're back in the Hotel Pet Peeves bracket… but first, we nearly lose the plot over Glenn's "Haussman Resort Pool Club Smokehouse & Dispensary Brewery" (still a working title). Friday Night Audit brings Craig Sullivan, Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera, and our guest Elyse Poland ("Bucket Hat") back for the Infuri-Eight—plus the usual friendly violence.

During the recently held ARDA Spring Conference, I met Scott Weisz, EVP Strategic Business Operations at Marriott Vacations Worldwide, and we got into loyalty—because it doesn't work the same way in vacation ownership as it does in hotels. We talk about what actually keeps owners coming back: the booking journey, real service on-property, and experiences that match how younger travelers want to travel now.

Our friend Bruce Ford, SVP at Lodging Econometrics, joined me right after Lodging Econometrics released its Global Hotel Pipeline report—and it comes with a few surprises and some "pay attention to this" moments for owners, operators, brands, and suppliers. We walk through what the report shows across new construction, renovations, and conversions—and how the mix shifts depending on where you look.

Skytouch ships AI tools. The tools help associates move faster, feel more confident, and stay engaged on shift. Hotels keep more good people, and guests feel the difference. I talked with Charlie Green at Skytouch Technology about what the AI handles now and what the roadmap adds next.

I'm at Hyatt Regency Orlando, where I'm with Managing Director Paul Joseph breaking down how the hotel uses Xpodigital to modernize the on-site event experience while adding profitability by selling digital signage as sponsor inventory through revenue share.

Memorial Day weekend means higher bar volume. That's the perfect time to raise drink quality without slowing service. I'm at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in the Velvet Lounge with mixologist Yelena Anter Cocktail Vision, making her Brain Teaser Margarita and talking through the real takeaway for hotels: build hashtag#cocktails that look premium, taste balanced, and give guests a reason to trade up. Westgate Resorts

Live experiences drive operating success because they create reasons to travel, reasons to spend, and reasons to come back. That's why Marriott Vacations Worldwide is building Inner Circle around them. I talked with Mike Flasky, President and COO of Marriott Vacations Worldwide, about what changes when the offer expands beyond the villa and into the full trip.

Only 40% of hotel tech revenue-side professionals hit their full bonus target. Glenn Haussman and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera talk with Ed Clark, Founder of Hospitality Tech Jobs, about his new salary + sentiment report and what it says about hiring, comp, and career paths in hotel tech.

F1 week in Las Vegas turns a stay into a full itinerary, and Hilton Grand Vacations builds owner value around the full trip, not just the nights. I talked with Derek DeSalvia M.S. DeSalvia, EVP and Chief Customer Officer at Hilton Grand Vacations, at the ARDA Spring Conference about owner benefits beyond the property, multigenerational hashtag#travel, and how the trip stays seamless from booking through the experience.

Ryan Labbe owns and operates numerous restaurants in bars in Vegas including Rosina Cocktail Lounge at Venetian, voted one of the "best bars in Las Vegas" by Condé Nast Traveler. Glenn, Craig and Doctor Producer Suzanne ruin it all during tonight's weekend kickoff Happy Hour. How this

Travel + Leisure Co turns Margaritaville and Sports Illustrated into something owners feel after the trip ends: access, events, and reasons to come back. At the ARDA Spring Conference, I talked with Louis Acosta, SVP Sports, Entertainment, Event Marketing and Sales at Travel + Leisure Co, about how the company uses brand DNA to build demand—and why that matters when budgets tighten.