Podcasts about embassy suites

Doug C. Brown is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and a Sales Revenue and Profit Growth Expert.He has led client award-winning and high-performance teams as well as pioneered profitable development programs for companies. He has advised companies such as Intuit, CBS Television, Procter & Gamble, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nationwide, Embassy Suites, Inc. 500 to 5000 companies, and thousands of other businesses and entrepreneurs.As an independent division head, Doug created, trained, and presented high-impact, results-oriented web seminars for prospects of Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes. Doug increased their division sales by 864% and close rate by 62% in just six months.Today, he helps companies and individuals increase their sales by incorporating sales revenue and profit growth strategies used by top 1% performers through the Top 1% Academy, Sales Revenue, and Profit Growth Masterminds. He also specializes in creating commission-only sales teams and advises companies on how to properly prepare for a high-performing sales team so they can attract and retain elite sales producers.

SPONSOR: Turtle Beach - Level up your game and get 10% off @TurtleBeach with code CHUBBY at https://www.turtlebeach.com/CHUBBY   BONUS EPISODES: https://www.Patreon.com/chubbybehemoth   This week the boys are in Embassy Suites in Lexington Kentucky (the good one!). Nathan is more Mounjaro than person, thinks about DDTing a child on the reg, and must have been getting laid when A Goofy Movie came out. Sam wonders what Venom smells like, accidentally bullied a man for three years, and tells us about going to Disneyland.   Nathan Lund and Sam Tallent are Chubby Behemoth   Mutiny Coffee: mutinyonmainstreet@gmail.com

Pray for Baby Poe hearing and continued ban of abortion; Defund PP because it is dangerous, destructive and rooted in death...don't fall for the lies and deception; Students for Life Cornhole tournament, 4/12, Cardome in Georgetown (contact Jessica at prayerfullyprolife@gmail.com or 502.642.3548 for info and to register); Central Ky Right to Life Banquet with Pam Tebow, Thu, 4/24, Embassy Suites, Lexington (859.272.3920). Share. Make it a great day in the Love & Lordship of Christ (Mark 12:29-31)!

CJ shares the hilarious and inspiring moment Eric Thomas made him “President” of a company that didn't even exist yet — with nothing but a vintage t-shirt and a vision. From that Embassy Suites meeting to global impact, the guys break down what it means to believe before you see results. Plus: Maul's indoor pool story, food temperature debates, retro checks, and why controlling your environment is key to success. This one's equal parts laughter, legacy, and life lessons.

This week we've got tales from The Embassy Suites, Trump getting hit with a microphone, llama walks, and a stolen wife. Video Games for life! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug C. Brown is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and a Sales Revenue and Profit Growth Expert. He has led client award-winning and high-performance teams as well as pioneered profitable development programs for companies. He has advised companies such as Intuit, CBS Television, Procter & Gamble, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nationwide, Embassy Suites, Inc. 500 to 5000 companies, and thousands of other businesses and entrepreneurs. As an independent division head, Doug created, trained, and presented high-impact, results-oriented web seminars for prospects of Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes. Doug increased their division sales by 864% and close rate by 62% in just six months. Today, he helps companies and individuals increase their sales by incorporating sales revenue and profit growth strategies through the Top 1% Academy, Sales Revenue, and Profit Growth Masterminds. For more information, visit https://ceosalesstrategies.com.

Looking to boost your sales revenue? Check out these effective sales approaches that really work and start seeing results.Doug C. Brown is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and a renowned expert in sales revenue and profit growth. As the creator of a predictable, reliable, and measurable math-based model for sales revenue growth, Doug empowers businesses and independent sellers to significantly increase their sales revenue and commissions through a mathematically reliable, predictable, and measurable system.Doug served twelve years in the military before transitioning to a successful career in sales. He worked as the independent President of Sales and Training for Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes. In this role, he achieved remarkable results, increasing the close rate of sales presenter teams by 143% and boosting sales for a product line by an astounding 4150% within just six months. These achievements stemmed from his ability to identify and address gaps in the sales process.With extensive experience, Doug has founded or built over 35 businesses, collectively generating over $960 million in sales for himself and his clients. His expertise has benefitted diverse companies, including Intuit, CBS Television, Procter & Gamble, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nationwide, Embassy Suites, Inc. 500 to 5000 companies, and thousands of other businesses and entrepreneurs.Throughout his career, Doug has earned Top Sales Professional Awards for his outstanding sales performance. He has also led client award-winning teams and pioneered profitable development programs for various companies. Doug C. Brown is a dynamic strategist specializing in creating reliable, predictable, and measurable systems that drive revenue, profit, and growth. In addition to his work, Doug developed and launched Vibitno, a revolutionary sales automation software designed to supercharge sales efforts. Vibitno's powerful platform automates and personalizes meaningful follow-up processes, captures lost sales, boosts client retention, and amplifies sales productivity. The software tracks daily sales metrics and provides comprehensive reporting to optimize the process of doubling sales.With four decades of experience mastering business principles and self-development, Doug is committed to sharing his expertise to help others. Through his teaching and training, he guides businesses and independent sellers to profitably acquire clients by following simple, effective steps that lead to reliable, predictable, and measurable results, including doubling sales. Contact Information:Website: https://ceosalesstrategies.com/ Email: doug@ceosalesstrategies.com LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbrown123/ Gift: https://ceosalesstrategies.com/checklist Remember to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss "Information That You Can Use." Share Just Minding My Business with your family, friends, and colleagues. Engage with us by leaving a review or comment. https://g.page/r/CVKSq-IsFaY9EBM/review Your support keeps this podcast going and growing.Visit Just Minding My Business Media™ LLC at https://jmmbmediallc.com/ to learn how we can help you get more visibility on your products and services.

MCALLEN, TEXAS - The Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP) is partnering with the Rio Grande Valley Partnership to present its inaugural program in the Rio Grande Valley.Building the Valley - Uniting for RGV Regional Growth will highlight the significant of organizations like the RGV Partnership and UT-Rio Grande Valley in shaping the region's future. The program will also explore the opportunities in the region for AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) and allied professionals. The event takes place Thursday, Feb. 13, between 11:00 and 2:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites by Hilton McAllen Convention Center. The target audience is AEC and allied professionals, public sector leaders, developers, financiers, and investors, community leaders and stakeholders.One of the speakers at the event will be I-LinCP founder Carol Warkoczewski The mission statement of I-LinCP is to “evolve the capital projects industry though sharing of knowledge for optimized leadership, delivery and performance.”Warkoczewski believes attendees will gain insights into upcoming projects, selection processes, and project delivery methods, as well as foster partnerships that drive RGV engagement and economic growth.A past president for I-LinCP is Shea Johnson, senior vice president for development at South Texas Facility Partnership. STFP is title sponsor of the event.Johnson's colleague at STFP, Brian Godinez, gave the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service a preview of what to expect at Building the Valley - Uniting for RGV Regional Growth.“Strong partnerships lead to lasting growth. Join I-LinCP, the RGV Partnership, UTRGV, and other industry leaders as we explore the critical role of partnerships and best practices in driving success in the Rio Grande Valley,” Godinez said. “Discover the opportunities, challenges, and impactful initiatives shaping the future of the RGV.”Here is an audio recording of an interview the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service secured with Godinez about the event:Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

Send us a textOur regular co-host, Buxom Gusher, is joined by special guest host, Daddy Gusher, to talk with this week's guest, Emerald Lynn, about the wonderful world of Pet Play! We talk about what Pet Play is, discuss some perspectives on how it makes folks feel, talked about handlers and gave some personal stories from members of the pod!Guest:Emerald LynnInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/mychxmicalimbalancex/Upcoming Guest Events:Durham Punk Flea Market at the Durham Armory in Durham, NC on 02/02Event Details/Tickets - https://www.instagram.com/p/DEKxh1sut5GInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/se_punk_flea_market/Cherry, Cherry, February at The Fruit in Durham, NC on 02/09Event Details/Tickets - https://app.opendate.io/e/fruit-flea-february-09-2025-571641Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_fruitflea/Mad Monster Part Carolina at Embassy Suites by Hilton in Concord, NC on 02/21 through 02/23Event Details/Tickets - https://tickets.madmonster.com/e/mad-monster-party-clt-2/ticketsInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/madmonster/Noted Articles & Sources:Fox Domestication Informationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesticated_silver_foxLinks:YouTube - www.youtube.com/@slutlifepodcastInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/slutlifepodTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@slutlifebrandWebsite - www.slutlifepodcast.com/

Ped & Burk welcome on Brad Elder for the intro of this episode. The boys talk about embarrassing wedding bouquet tosses, a crazy new reality tv show and dumb dating catch phrases, analyzing our own dating phrases. Is "Mario" the brothers' last name?! Restaurant bacon is pathetic except for Embassy Suites. It's time for steel toe indoor slippers. Does Adam have tourettes? Who are the hottest guys on earth? And so much more! Ped and Burk then draft the best football movies before closing it out with a 90s road trip companion. BLUE 42! HUT HUT! Intro Music "Upbeat" by Jon Luc Hefferman (No changes  were  made)  License Link    (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode) Outro Music    "Quittin' Time" by Patrick Lee (No changes were made) License Link    (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode)

David Wolf spent years serving as a music composer and producer of audio content for radio, TV, film, podcasts, audiobooks and multimedia. His previous company, Crywolf Productions, Inc. (1985-1999) and its recording studios provided music, sound design and production services for advertising and also studios such as Amblin, Discovery Channel, NBC Universal and Disney and for many well-known brands such as Southwest Airlines, Miller Brewing, Embassy Suites, Procter & Gamble, Texas Instruments, Brock Hotel Corporation and many more. David founded Audivita Studios in 2016 to apply his experience and the talents, skills  and expertise of his creative team to help companies, publishers, entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders grow their brands and businesses with podcasts and audiobooks.  In 2024, Wolf is on a course to expand the core production business into related industry verticals with the creation of Media Capital Ventures LLC, leveraging his experience in business building and operating experience in production and media. Master of Your Crafts is a captivating podcast featuring conversations with individuals who have dedicated themselves to mastering their craft. Whether it's a gift, talent or skill that comes naturally to them, these individuals have taken ownership and honed their abilities to perfection. Through deep conversation, we delve into their inner dialogue, actions and life circumstances offering words of wisdom to empower and guide you on a journey to becoming the master of your own craft. For more information, visit our website https://masterofyourcrafts.com and Bright Shining Light Website: https://brightshininglight.com Stay connected with us: - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masterofyourcrafts - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MasterOfYourCrafts/ - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1M0vp9H... - ApplePodcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast... - Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b15... - Google Play: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...

Meet Cassidy & Zeek!Cassidy and Zeek started their journey together in Florida. Cassidy's originally from Maryland but moved to Fort Myers in 8th grade. Zeek is a Florida native, born and raised in the Bonita Springs area. Three years ago, these two lovebirds packed up and moved to the Dominican Republic (DR) with the Christian Missionary Alliance, where they've been sharing their faith, connecting with locals, and building up communities ever since.Discovering the Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic's history is rich and layered, beginning as the first European colony in the Americas. Santo Domingo, its capital, was founded in 1496 and is recognized as the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the New World. This city became a critical base for Spanish exploration, and remnants of its colonial past remain in the cobblestone streets and preserved buildings of its Zona Colonial. Over the centuries, the DR has seen periods of Spanish, French, and Haitian rule, each leaving a distinct mark on its culture. The nation gained its independence in 1844, and since then, its resilient spirit has shaped a unique identity celebrated in its music, art, and traditions. Today, the Dominican Republic thrives as a vibrant blend of European, African, and Taíno influences, with a deep sense of pride in its cultural heritage and historical significance in the Caribbean. And if you love music, this is the birthplace of merengue and bachata—two energetic styles that will get you dancing in no time.What's the DR Really Like?When we asked Cassidy and Zeek how they'd sum up the DR in just three words, they said it's friendly, hot, and adventurous! The island's unique mix of rich history, lively music, and breathtaking natural beauty makes it an unforgettable place to live and explore.Best Time to VisitWhile it's a paradise year-round, Cassidy and Zeek recommend avoiding the rainy season. For the ultimate tropical experience, head over between October and July. HolidaysTwo major holidays in the DR are Mother's Day and Black Friday because the Dominicans love to shop. If you happen to visit on these days, get your shopping in! If you are a Carnival fan, it usually occurs between February and April. The DR's primary religion is Catholicism so there are also many holidays centered around it.Must-Visit CitiesThe DR's capital city, the largest city, Santo Domingo, is a must-visit! Known as the oldest city in the New World, it's filled with colonial architecture and historical sites, including the first cathedral in the Americas, Basilica Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor. Check out the old fort walls in the colonial zone. For a taste of Santo Domingo, try the chocolate-making tour, where you can explore the history of the Cacao bean and the different percentages of chocolates, and you get to make your own chocolate bar. For a scenic stroll, walk on the Malecon oceanside walkway, where you can see the ocean, shop from local vendors, and enjoy live music. The city of Santiago de los Caballeros is another gem with a thriving cultural scene. It is a smaller city with friendlier people, and similar to Santo Domingo, it has mountains, beaches, and good food. Santo Domingo and Santiago are a 4-hour drive from each other. La Romana is known for its luxury resorts, golf courses, and the nearby Altos de Chavón, a recreated Mediterranean-style village.Outdoor Exploring Like a LocalBeaches: Punta Cana is famous for its resorts and beaches, which make it a top tourist destination. However, there are many less crowded beaches, such as Las Terrenas, Cabarete, and Puerto Plata, on the northern coast, and Juan Dolio on the southern coast. Las Terrenas is on the northeastern coast, and it is Cassidy and Zeek's favorite with its crystal clear water and perfect palm trees. Cabarete is a vibrant boho surfer beach. Playa Rincon and Bahia de Las Aguilas offer some of the most pristine beaches.Hiking: If you're up for an adventure, try canyoning at El Tabernaculo. This is a must-hike, and you can slide down mini waterfalls. This hike is only about 2 hours long. Another incredible hike is Venti siete Saltos at the Damajagua Waterfalls. Here you can hike a trail up to the top of the mountain and you can float down a river, jumping off 27 rock sections into the next water pool. You can also choose whether you want to do a beginner, intermediate, or expert trek. Salto de Jimenoa. Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Caribbean, standing at 10,164 feet (3,098 meters). You can sign up for a guided camping trip up the mountain, and the views and natural beauty is stunning. What to PackBring your camera! Essentials to Pack: Don't forget the sunscreen, bug spray, and a good pair of hiking shoes if you want to explore beyond the beach!Where to Stay In Santo Domingo, The Embassy Suites is only $130 a night and is much more luxurious than embassy suites in the US. There are many unique historic hotels in the colonial zone. From here you can always have easy access to the happenings of the town such as shopping, events, music and food.Fun Culture Facts!Savoring the FlavorsCassidy and Zeek raved about the food, and we're here for it! Dominican cuisine is a blend of Spanish, African, and Taíno influences, with dishes like mangu (mashed plantains) and la bandera (a hearty plate of meat, rice, and beans). Some favorite Santo Domingo restaurants of Cassidy and Zeek include El Conuco, Osteria del Cappuccino, and La Tapa. Osteria del Cappuccino is an authentic Italian restaurant, and it is so tasty that it is endorsed by the Italian embassy! La Tapa has many options, great steaks, and excellent drinks. Keep in mind water is more expensive than liquor in the DR! El Conuco is a traditional Dominican restaurant located closer to the colonial district. El Conuco is a famous celebrity spot with the citations of Selena Gomez and Brad Pitt, and it hosts live merengue music in the evenings and weekends. Don't even get us started on the coffee—locally grown and deliciously rich, it's a must-try for every coffee lover. Their favorite coffee shop is The Greenhouse. A popular drink in the DR is a mochaccino. Be careful when ordering a Machiatto because, unlike Starbucks, it is an extremely concentrated expresso drink.Travel on Any Budget!The DR has options for every budget. A week's trip could be affordable with plenty of local eats and budget, or if you're feeling bougie, there are tons of all-inclusive resorts and fine dining options, especially around Punta Cana and La Romana.Memorable Moments and What's NextCassidy and Zeek have countless stories to share from their time in the DR, from helping communities to wild "off-the-beaten-path" treks. As they wrap up their time in the DR, they're looking forward to their next destination: Mexico! But if you want to connect with them before they go, follow @_CassidyMarquez on Instagram to chat more about their mission work with the Christian Missionary Alliance. To help Cassidy and Zeek on their next adventure to bring healing and the Gospel and aid to Mexico, click HERE.So, Travel Brats, if the DR isn't already on your travel list, Cassidy and Zeek's stories might just convince you that they should be. Whether you're a beach bum, a history buff, or a foodie, the Dominican Republic has something for everyone!

American Beauty Events. “Where everything falls into place”! Celia and Andrea continue their series of weddings venues with hotels on site. Today we talk to Lynda Fuentes, Director of Catering and Events for American Beauty Events at Embassy Suites in Berkley Heights, NJ. Listen to hear why this elegant venue, specializing in uniquely crafted events should be on your list of venues to check out! Join the conversation. We love your questions, comments, and requests! We also love guests! Past brides, grooms, vendors, and venues contact us! We offer host read advertisement as well. Contact us for more information! Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠andrea@thisjoyous.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Contact us through social media: Facebook, Instagram or website all are titled: New Jersey Wedding Podcast Listen for free wherever you get your Podcasts. Links to this week's vendors: Our intro music is by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@jonathanrusso_guitarist⁠⁠ Andrea Purtell ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.forthisjoyousoccasion.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@weddingofficiant⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Celia Milton: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.njvowsnow.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @njvowsnow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ American Beauty Events https://www.americanbeautyevents.com @americanbeautyevents

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The Professional Women's Network in Charleston hosts a luncheon honoring women in the military…Form Energy transforms Weirton into a robust manufacturing center…and, get some sage advice from some of WV's top innovators and entrepreneurs…on today's daily304. #1 – From CAA – Join the Charleston Area Alliance's Elevations Professional Women's Network Luncheon at Embassy Suites on Nov. 13 as they kick off the “Her Service, Her Story: Women Shaping the Military” panel discussion. Speakers include Brigadier General Michaelle Munger, Major Caroline Muriama, Lee Ann Haley (Former Army Captain) and Mara Boggs (Former Army Major). Register now! Learn more: https://business.charlestonareaalliance.org/events/details/elevations-luncheon-featuring-women-in-military-panel-november-2024-5737   #2 – From FAST COMPANY – Last April, when a tin mill closed in Weirton, it was the last remaining part of what was once a sprawling steel works. Over the last five decades, as the American steel industry declined, the town lost thousands of jobs. But in July, a new factory -- Form Energy -- opened on the same site and started to bring hundreds of jobs back. Instead of turning iron into steel, it uses the metal to make a new type of battery. This new battery is designed to store energy for around for days--something the standard lithium-ion batteries can't do economically. The project has helped begin to transform the town of Weirton, which spent more than a century centered on the steel works. Form Energy's factory has more than 300 employees now, and plans to have at least 750 by 2028.  Read more: https://www.fastcompany.com/91215982/in-west-virginia-a-former-steel-mill-is-now-home-to-a-cutting-edge-battery-plant   #3 – From INNOVATORS & ENTREPRENEURS – Don't miss our guests' wisdom, advice, and hard-learned lessons in Season 1 of Innovators and Entrepreneurs!  Innovators and Entrepreneurs is a bi-weekly segment of the daily304 that features discussions and wisdom from West Virginians who have built their companies and launched new ideas here in the Mountain State. Subscribe to the daily304 YouTube channel so you don't miss an episode, and don't forget to give us a like! Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckgNpkh-Ag4   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.  

In this episode of What Makes You Wonderful, we talk with Erin Noon from Charleston Area Alliance to discuss the upcoming Elevations luncheon. This event highlights the achievements and stories of women leaders in the military. The luncheon is slated Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Embassy Suites in Charleston and offers an inspiring lineup of speakers and provides attendees with a chance to connect and network. Erin also shares how Charleston Area Alliance supports the local business community and the resources available.  For more information you can go to their website: https://charlestonareaalliance.org/ Text Version Tiffney It's time for the What Makes You Wonderful podcast! Hey there everyone! I'm your host, Tiffney Lopez, and this is where we talk about what makes Almost Heaven amazing. Be sure to check out the hashtag WMYW to find all the cool things that we talk about right here on the podcast. Today, we're going to talk about an event called Elevations. It's November 13th at Embassy Suites in Charleston, and I'd like to introduce all of you to Erin Noon. She's the Communications and Events Coordinator at Charleston Area Alliance. Erin, thank you so much for being here. Erin Tiffney, thank you so much for having me. I'm really, really excited to be here today Tiffney  And I'm excited for what we're getting ready to talk about. It's this Elevations luncheon. This is pretty exciting. Erin Absolutely. Elevations is a series that we do periodically throughout the year, usually quarterly, and it features female speakers and unites Charleston's professionals, both women and men, to learn and be inspired by the journeys, challenges, and accomplishments of strong female leaders and role models. So this upcoming one is, like you said, November 13th, and it's going to be at Embassy Suites, and we're going to actually feature four women who are in the military—two who are currently serving and two who have served and have since gotten out of the military. They are Brigadier General Michaelle Munger. She's the Special Assistant to the Adjutant General of West Virginia, Major Caroline Muriama, and she's the West Virginia National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion Commander. And then we have Lee Ann Haley, who was a former Army captain, and Mara Boggs , who is a former Army major and very distinguished. Inspiring women who I think will share some really cool stories and insights from their time in the military. Tiffney  What do events like this provide for people when they come and they hear these speakers? What do you see happening by the end of it? Erin I think it really inspires those who are in the room, and it gives them an opportunity to relate to maybe something that they've been through or take away a message of resilience and perseverance. And it gives women—and men alike—an opportunity to network with one another and see what everybody's going through and what they have going on in their personal lives and professional lives. It's a really good way to connect with someone and take something away from it, whether it's, you know, you're inspired by their story or something that they've done in the past. Just taking away something with you is really the goal. Tiffney  Like you said, this isn't the only event you have. But for those who don't know, Charleston Area Alliance is a way that you guys bring businesses together, right? Explain to me how that works. Erin We're a very unique organization. We bring all of our county's community and economic development communities together, and then we're also a traditional Chamber of Commerce. We're all under one roof. We were built on a legacy of three different organizations that came together back in 2004. We're on our 20th anniversary and we really try to bring the business community together and have them have an alliance with one another. Tiffney  What's your favorite part about whether it's events like this or being part of that larger networking? What's your favorite part about doing all this? Erin I think just being out in the community, you know, meeting different people, seeing what they're going through, and learning about, you know, economic and community development. It's not something that I was familiar with when I took this role. And I think learning about the different challenges that the business community faces, whether it's a large corporation or a small, small little business that started from the ground up. They all do share common, you know, goals and struggles alike. So it's been really fun just to get out there and learn about the business community. Tiffney  And you guys have those resources to help each business. So my next question is whether somebody is interested in this event that's happening November 13th or they're just interested in the Charleston Area Alliance. Where can they go for more information? Erin I would say the easiest way to check us out would be to go to CharlestonAreaAlliance.org. We have all of our information on there, stuff that we've done in the past, stuff that we're currently doing. We have a community calendar of events like Elevations and other things that we have going on, or stuff that our members post on there. So that's probably the easiest way to check us out or just call (304) 340-4253 and ask for any of our staff members. We're a small but mighty team, and we're willing to help out in any capacity that we can. Tiffney I like it, "small but mighty." Just like West Virginia.  Erin You're right!  Tiffney  Erin, thank you so much for being here today. And thank you for telling us what makes you wonderful. Erin Thanks for having me, Tiffney. I had fun. What Makes You Wonderful is a feature of the daily304, your window into wonderful Almost Heaven, West Virginia. You can find us online at wv.gov/daily304 or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. And you can subscribe to this podcast wherever you get all your podcasts so you can catch new episodes of What Makes You Wonderful each week. Remember, you can find us at wv.gov/daily304. That's all for now. It's time to go explore the Mountain State. We'll see you next week. And thank you for making West Virginia wonderful.  

 AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by the program committee for the upcoming 8th AABP Recent Graduate Conference. The program committee includes Dr. Cody Sacquitne (committee chair and AABP Emerging Leader), Dr. Colleen Potter (dairy chair), Dr. Patrick Schmitz (cow-calf chair), and Dr. Annika Johnson (feedlot chair). The conference will be held February 14-15, 2025, at the Embassy Suites in Norman, Oklahoma. There will also be preconference seminars on February 13 which offer additional CE opportunities. The conference is open to AABP members who graduated between 2017-2024. All AABP members will have access to the recordings from the conference presentations by going to the Continuing Education menu of the AABP website and clicking on Online CE (recorded sessions). This is a free member benefit and allows you to access virtual CE that is RACE-approved for no charge! AABP also welcomes all registered/credentialed veterinary technicians of any graduation year to attend the recent graduate conference. Make sure your dues are paid before registering and note it can take up to three business days to process dues payments. Go here to pay your dues so that you can register for the conference.  The theme of the conference is “Be the Beginning” with the intent to empower recent graduates to be the source of change and opportunity in their practices. The conference keynote presentation will be delivered by Dr. Michelle Schack and is titled “Enhancing Sustainability through Animal and Human Well-Being”. General sessions will follow that focus on health – physical health, financial health, and emotional and mental health. The conference will also offer sessions on mixed animal, clinical skills, practice management, beef, dairy and practice tips from the program committee.  Registration is limited, so we encourage members to register now. View the conference schedule on this page. Register for the conference at this link. Make sure you are logged in to the website before registering! All attendees are required to book reservations at this link to attend the conference. Make sure to come a day early for the great preconference seminars that are offered for additional hands-on CE. Find seminar descriptions here. 

Paul Blair is a pastor on the move. Leading churches in both Orlando and in Oklahoma, Paul is always going places. So is his ministry, as he is teaching pastors to be informed and involved as community leaders. Paul leads Liberty Church in Orlando, meeting at the Embassy Suites in Altamonte Springs. He is joined by good friend and Timothy Plan founder Art Ally. Paul's show "Exploring the Word" is heard daily at 7:30 AM.

This week the fellas talk about Sarcastro's update about his experience after having Hurricane Milton blowing through town, the benefits of the bar and breakfast at Embassy Suites hotels, and taking the kids to Halloween haunts.   Fatty provides an update on the poker run he was doing at the lake, Sarcastro gets the silent treamtment, Commando screws up his Spotify algorithm and Banky starts to experiment on himself for food sensitivities and receives some advice from Dr. Fatty.   Intro and Outro music written and performed by Andrés Rodríguez (Androzguitar).

Chalice Welch, a 24-year-old mother of four, went missing on February 2, 2024, after attending a birthday party at the Embassy Suites in Irving, Texas. She was last seen leaving the party with a man. Her phone last pinged in the area of Walnut Hill and Central Expressway in Dallas before going offline, and it was later reported to have been tampered with​​. Human trafficking has been considered as a potential factor in her disappearance. Today we sit down and speak with two experts in the field, one of whom is also former law enforcement and a United States veteran. They help to spread awareness and ultimately aim to improve the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases worldwide, stressing the need for a victim-centered approach​. If you have any information regarding Chalice Welch's disappearance, please contact the Irving Police Department at (972) 273-1010

About Doug C. Brown: Doug C. Brown is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and a Sales Revenue and Profit Growth Expert. He has led client award-winning and high-performance teams as well as pioneered profitable development programs for companies. He has advised companies such as Intuit, CBS Television, Procter & Gamble, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nationwide, Embassy Suites, Inc. 500 to 5000 companies, and thousands of other businesses and entrepreneurs. As an independent division head, Doug created, trained, and presented high-impact, results-oriented web seminars for prospects of Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes. Doug increased their division sales by 864% and close rate by 62% in just six months. Today, he helps companies and individuals increase their sales by incorporating sales revenue and profit growth strategies used by top 1% performers through the Top 1% Academy, Sales Revenue, and Profit Growth Masterminds. He also specializes in creating commission-only sales teams and advises companies on how to properly prepare for a high-performing sales team so they can attract and retain elite sales producers. Check out the latest episode of our Conversational Selling podcast to learn more about Doug.In this episode, Nancy and Doug discuss the following:Understanding commission-only salesOptimizing sales strategiesDoug's experience in revolutionizing seminars for Tony Robbins and Chet HolmesHow does someone become a 1 % earnerThe definition and importance of sales optimizationWorking techniques to close the sale Why “Maybies” are the great start of salesKey Takeaways: Optimization is taking a look at everything that you're doing and then asking two questions: How do I make it more effective? How do I make it more efficient?There are no bad clients, there are bad sales and buying decisions that turn into bad clients.If you make mistakes, don't beat yourself up for it because multi-billionaires who are selling make mistakes too."I became a 1% earner firstly, through declaring and deciding that that's what's going to be. It's a mental game in that regard. A lot of people talk about wanting to become a 1% earner, they want to double their sales, but it's just an idea. It's not a committed idea. Firstly, it requires that commitment and, quite frankly, one's now asking to be in the top 1% of earners in the world. You know, that's a commitment, and it takes time, energy, a lot of studying, and a lot of practice—and frankly, money, right? Because we've got to, we must be investing in things and getting around people who are in the 1% and learning what they're doing and how they're doing it. You know, fortunately for us, we train on that. So, you know, somebody comes here, obviously, they'll learn that. But it's still about getting around, you know, and I still do the same thing today, Nancy. I mean, I search out people that I feel a little uncomfortable being around because of their place in life, right?” – DOUG"So, the conversation of selling is really about having a conversion conversation, and I'll explain what that is versus having a sales conversation, right? Conversion conversations are really doing three things. First, they're boosting rapport continuously. So, you know, we're working on trust, like, and respect. A little luck sometimes doesn't hurt, but it's really about promoting those three. Second, it's constantly moving the conversation in the direction of the business return on investment or personal return on investment that the potential buyer is always looking for. I can expand upon that. And third, we're always creating what we call "yes states." When we move from step to step in the buyer's mind, they're thinking, "Yes, this makes sense," "Yes, wow," or "I didn't know that that's good." You want to constantly create a state of yes throughout the process. Now, on business and personal returns, people buy for different reasons, but they all fall into two categories: What is my business return on investment? What is my personal return on investment? When we really understand that ideal client profile and the ideal buyer persona—their motivations, what they want, need, feel, fear, and value—we can construct our conversation to be more like what we're doing right now: just having a conversation. It's not about taking them step by step, like, "Well, hey, we built rapport here. Next step, let's do a discovery session. Next step, let's..." and so on. That's a sales conversation. If you do conversational conversion the right way, in most cases, you never even do a presentation. They never ask for it." – DOUG"So, the other thing I wanted to say about that, Nancy, is if they're getting a "maybe," I would suggest that through their conversational conversion, they haven't been qualifying or disqualifying. When we're thinking about creating these yes states, if we're creating these yes states, but they're turning out to be "nos," it's like your radar goes up as the selling entity. It might be time for you to disengage or at least qualify why. A lot of times, the "maybes" will come at the end because they're thinking the same thing you are: "I'm really not sure if this will work, but we're trying to get it to a sale." And that's where the apprehension comes up, right? As the seller, we would be much better off going—and we do teach this—if you are not the right fit for this, you gracefully disengage and find out who the right fit is. It goes a long way versus just trying to push the sale. Because there are no bad clients, but there are bad sales and buying decisions that turn into bad clients." – DOUGConnect with Doug C. Brown:LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbrown123/CEO Sales Strategies: https://ceosalesstrategies.com/Download the E-Book: https://www.ceosalesstrategies.com/1PETry Our Proven, 3-Step System, Guaranteeing Accountability and Transparency that Drives RESULTS by clicking on this link: https://oneofakindsales.com/call-center-in-a-box/  Connect with Nancy Calabrese: Twitter:https://twitter.com/oneofakindsalesFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/One-Of-A-Kind-Sales-304978633264832/Website:https://oneofakindsales.comPhone: 908-879-2911 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncalabrese/Email: leads@oneofakindsales.com 

Chris From Brooklyn is back at it again coming to you solo from the Embassy Suites in Orlando. Chris talks Canada never producing a single good cartoon, how the rash of Haitian migrant stories has made the rest of the country New York racist, whether or not Mexico is the new land of opportunity, how traveling with Luis is affecting his Uber rating and so much more!Record Date: 9/13/24Support Our Sponsorshttps://www.zefhemp.com - Use Promo Code GOON25 for 25% off your order PLUS BOGO for a limited time!Email Your Ask The Goon Questions to: askthegoon@gmail.comSee The Boys At Blood & Suds 2 (Armored Combat)https://www.5thcompanybrewing.com/event-details/blood-and-suds-ii-knight-fights-5th-company-brewingFollow the hosts on socialChris From Brooklyn Twitter https://twitter.com/ChrisFromBklynHigh Society Radio Instagram https://www.instagram.com/highsocietyradioHigh Society Radio YouTube http://bit.ly/HSRYoutubeHigh Society Radio Twitter https://twitter.com/HSRadioshowWebsite https://gasdigital.comMike Harrington Twitter https://twitter.com/TheMHarringtonMike Harrington Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themharrington/Notes Of A Goon is a weekly podcast where Goon of note, Chris from BK sits down and yells about childhood trauma, how he'd fix the whole damn country, and all sorts of other bullshit. All while splitting a six pack with you the listener. Chris is joined by his stalwart producer and homeless weirdo Mike Harrington on this journey of self reflection and yelling. There's lots of yelling.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Looking for the perfect venue for your wedding or event?  Tune in Today at 3:40pm PT, 6:40pm ET for special guest Sonesta General Manager Swietlana Cahill as we discuss Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina and Sonesta Irvine locations. Moments with Marianne airs in the Southern California area on KMET1490AM & 98.1 FM, an ABC Talk News Radio affiliate! Swietlana Cahill is the General Manager of Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina and Sonesta Irvine, bringing 30 years of hospitality experience. She has worked with renowned brands like Hilton and Millennium, and boutique properties such as The Peabody Memphis. Her leadership at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Irvine Orange County Airport earned her multiple awards, including "General Manager of the Year." Swietlana has served on executive boards, including the Central City Association of Los Angeles, and holds certifications from the American Hotel and Lodging Association. With a mathematics degree from Moscow State Forest University, she is also a dedicated volunteer for the American Red Cross, Midnight Mission, and Orangewood Children's Foundation. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and traveling.  https://www.sonesta.com/sonesta-hotels-resorts/ca/redondo-beach/sonesta-redondo-beach-marina  https://www.sonesta.com/sonesta-hotels-resorts/ca/irvine/sonesta-irvineWEDDING SPECIAL: Mention Moments with Marianne Radio Show to receive 15% off your wedding package at Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina if you book before February, 2025! HOLIDAY EVENTS: Holiday Event Weeknight Promo at Sonesta Redondo Beach & Marina, Book your event Sunday thru Thursday and receive a 15% discount when you mention Moments with Marianne Radio Show!

Happy July 4th Weekend; SCOTUS agrees to hear child gender mutilation case; Title IX gets support from numerous Federal Courts after Biden Admin guts it; The Family Foundation (TFF) Town Halls - July 30 - Anchor Baptist (Lexington) with Reprs. Jennifer Decker and Matt Lockett; Aug 8 (Sonora); Sept 12 (Somerset); YES on 2 - Amendment to in General Election; TFF Family Forum - SAVE THE DATE - Oct 12 at Embassy Suites in Lexington! Share to inform others.

Audio content is in with readers and that means that audiobooks are now expected from authors, not just recommended. David Wolf, Founder and CEO of Audivita, answers some commonly asked questions including the who, what, when, where, and why of audiobooks in this episode of Smith Publicity's All Things Book Marketing. David Wolf spent years serving as a music composer and producer of audio content for radio, TV, film, podcasts, audiobooks and multimedia. His previous company, Crywolf Productions, Inc. (1985-1999) and its recording studios provided music, sound design and production services for advertising and also studios such as Amblin, Discovery Channel, NBC Universal and Disney and for many well-known brands such as Southwest Airlines, Miller Brewing, Embassy Suites, Procter & Gamble, Texas Instruments, Brock Hotel Corporation and many more. David founded Audivita Studios in 2016 to apply his experience and the talents, skills  and expertise of his creative team to help companies, publishers, entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders grow their brands and businesses with podcasts and audiobooks. In 2024, Wolf is on a course to expand the core production business into related industry verticals with the creation of Media Capital Ventures, leveraging his experience in business building and operating experience in production and media. Concurrently, he co-founded 1125 Studios with Christian Bruun to develop and produce original series podcasts, film and television series. MCV has recently added Stock Day Media to its portfolio of companies to leverage the production team at Audivita Studios specifically for the OTC markets. Learn more at audivita.com and follow them on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn @audivitastudios.Discover more about Smith Publicity at www.smithpublicity.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, & LinkedIn.

 Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs, brought to you by Action Coach Growth Partners. Your host, Bill Gilliland, introduces an exciting opportunity for business owners and leaders in the Asheville area: The Asheville Business Summit. Join Beth Lemmel, she shares the journey and vision behind the Asheville Business Summit, set to take place on August 19-20 at the stunning Embassy Suites by Hilton Asheville Downtown. This event is designed for business owners, managers, and leaders who are eager to grow, learn, and connect with like-minded professionals.Early Bird Special:Take advantage of a 40% discount on tickets before June 14th. Secure your spot now and don't miss this opportunity to elevate your business!For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: wncsummit.comListen, Subscribe, and Share! Enjoy the show and make sure to subscribe for more inspiring stories and practical business tips. See you at the Asheville Business Summit!#business #leadership #entrepreneurship #businesssuccess #businessgrowthBeing a Business Owner is Lonely. But It Doesn't Have to Be...Join The Entrepreneur Experience. Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, regional events and more.

Global Brand Head at Embassy Suites by Hilton, Bonnie Campagnuolo, is recognized as a TMG Hospitality Trailblazer as Embassy Suites celebrates its 40th anniversary!  This episode gives viewers an inside look at what has made the brand successful over the last 40 years and what is on the horizon for Embassy Suites. Ryan and Bonnie go in depth to highlight key initiatives and characteristics of Embassy Suites that contribute to the brand's hospitality dominance. Episode Transcript Our podcast is produced as an audio resource. Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and human editing and may contain errors. Before republishing quotes, we ask that you reference the audio. Ryan Embree: Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in, and we check out what's trending in hotel marketing. I'm your host, Ryan Embee. Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Suite Spot. This is your host, Ryan Emre, here with another edition of the TMG Hospitality Trailblazers series. As we get geared up for a busy travel summer, we are here with another hospitality trailblazer, another Hilton brand leader. I am very excited to introduce our guest for today, Bonnie Campagnuolo brand leader of Embassy Suites by Hilton. Bonnie, thank you so much for being on the podcast. Bonnie Campagnuolo : It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me. Ryan Embree: We got several things to celebrate today. I don't wanna give too much away, but before we start talking about your incredible Embassy Suites by Hilton Brand, I wanna talk about your background and journey that led you into hospitality. As we know, it's always unique to kind of see these paths, which get us to where we are. Where did you start? Was it behind the front desk? Did you just kind of fall in it? Tell us a little bit about your journey to Embassy Suites by Hilton. Bonnie Campagnuolo : So I never worked in a hotel. I started in ad agencies in Orlando, Florida and had a number of travel and tourism clients across the years and across different agencies. I moved to the client side, marketing teams first at Walt Disney World, and then with a vacation ownership company also here in Orlando. And then moved up to DC for a job with Hilton, uh, almost 14 years ago. And I was director of Resorts marketing for the Hilton Hotels and Resorts brand, which was an amazing, amazing ride. From there, I worked on all of our full service brands in marketing and then went over to the brand side and, uh, did what we called, uh, customer experience and innovation for full service brands. And then I have been in this role since July of 2020, and it's, it's a great job. I love my job. Ryan Embree: Yeah. Well, it's interesting that, you know, we get a lot of, a lot of people that I interview on these hospitality trailblazers and they come up originally from operations. So I'm wondering kind of, you know, what do you think mindset, maybe lessons learned that were a little bit different being in hospitality a little bit later in your career? Bonnie Campagnuolo : So I think understanding how we get messages out to guests, how we establish who we are is part of what Embassy Suites needs right now. And I, I don't kid myself about knowing how every little thing happens in a hotel, and I'd surround myself with people who do, and I'm not shy about asking our hotel leaders, if we were to think about doing something like this, how does that affect you? If we were to make a change like this in a guest room, how does that affect what the housekeeper's life is like? Or did we just create something that's really cool, but a pain in the neck to clean because it, you know, creates a little ledge or something that we're not never gonna get, right? So I really, we have tons of folks who know more than me and I love all of them, and we make sure that we have those conversations. And I'd also say my experience on the customer experience and innovation team really taught me how to a...

This is our first opportunity to hear from someone who has extensive experience in the hotel and tourism industry. Rocco Bova grew up in Italy, but always wanted to see and experience the world. While he left home at the age of 18, he returned, but at the age of 24 began his journey that lead to a 25-year involvement in the hotel industry.   From Europe to Middle East, Asia, India, Africa, the Caribbean and Mexico Rocco held many positions in various hotel organizations. Now he is a consultant to various hotel companies to help them grow and cope with all the changes that Covid and other forces has caused.   We get to hear about Rocco's concept about how to reform much of the hotel industry by creating an organization called “Humble House”. He will tell us about it. I can say that from a business point of view, his idea is an interesting and good one to explore.   Our conversation not only covers the hotel and tourism industry, but it also talks about relevant and good business processes and concept. I especially love our last five minutes that summarizes our conversation and puts all Rocco's concepts into a wonderful perspective and good summary.     About the Guest:   Rocco is an experienced hotelier with over 25 years of international experience having worked for some of the best international brands in 11 countries, from Europe to Middle East, Asia, India, Africa, the Caribbean and Mexico.  Educated in Italy, the UK and most recently with Cornell University in Singapore, Rocco is an avid learner and continues his education investigating online to keep up to date with the latest global tourism trends.   He started his career in Dubai with Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, worked with Four Seasons, Hilton, Aman Resorts, IHG, LUX Resorts, Starwood (now Marriott), and other independent companies managing world class, luxury hotels.   Rocco contributes actively as an influencer of the hospitality industry through social medias, writing articles in digital blogs, speaker in several conferences and podcasts, visiting lecturer at hotel schools and has been a Board Member of pro bono organizations like Hoteliers Guild, GSN Planet and the World Wellness Weekend. After years of brewing his idea and mastering the art of hospitality, Rocco has decided to put all his experience and knowledge into a revolutionary hospitality concept with a unique business model and begun working on ''My Humble House'' concept.   Rocco is still actively working in the industry and he is currently in Mexico, consulting for various developers of boutique hotels and master planned communities. ** ** Ways to connect with Rocco:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/roccobova/   https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-humble-house/?viewAsMember=true   About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes:* Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, thank you for being with us. Once again. Welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Today we get to interview someone who's in or who's been involved in an industry. We haven't talked about before Rocco Bova, who was a hotelier for 25 years. He is a consultant in the industry. So we get to talk all about travel, tourism and hotels and all sorts of things like that today with Rocco. I know he's got a lot of thoughts and a lot of things to discuss with us. So looking forward to this a whole lot. Well, Rocco, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here. Mike,   Rocco Bova ** 01:58 thank you so much for inviting me. I like this is unstoppable mindset. You know, this is one of the things why it caught my attention. And when we connect on LinkedIn, so I'm glad, I'm glad and honored to be invited on your show today.   Michael Hingson ** 02:15 And you are down in Mexico right now, right?   Rocco Bova ** 02:18 It's correct. I live in Merida Yucatan. So it's your it's on the southeast peninsula of Mexico, let's say about three hours drive from Cancun, just to give a bit of geography so that everybody is clear on where I where I'm based.   Michael Hingson ** 02:38 So in the winter, do you get any kind of snow?   Rocco Bova ** 02:43 Normally, by let me tell you that yesterday for the first night, I felt called a nice so we went down probably to about 22 Celsius, which is which is kind of winter for us what temperature 22 Celsius,   Michael Hingson ** 03:01 or 22 Celsius is pretty warm. It is pretty   Rocco Bova ** 03:03 warm. But it's cold. Because when you're used to sleep with air conditioning because outside the 36 Celsius definitely is cold for us. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 03:16 Yeah, that's that's a good point. Now just so that people understand. If you're listening to Rocco, that is not a Mexican accent because he's from Italy.   Rocco Bova ** 03:28 Absolutely. I was born in Italy, Mike but I left Italy very young. I was only 18 When I left my village in the south of Italy is a little village called Sheila. In fact, I live in the Strait of Sicily. So from my home, hometown, I can see the point that the tip of Sicily on the other side of the of the water is a beautiful place. But when I was growing up, I said to myself, I'm not going to stay here I want to explore the world I want to travel for as far as I can in things God I've been in few places. I'm very happy that you know, I decided to leave my house, my home. Very young. Right?   Michael Hingson ** 04:09 What was it like growing up in Italy? And what was it like for you growing up as a child and you went to school and all them have a pretty normal childhood or what   Rocco Bova ** 04:20 I am proud to say that probably I had the best childhood that one can have. So you know, I was raised by wonderful parents. I have three are the three brothers sister. We have four of us all together. And you know, we love each other. The family grew obviously with nephews and nieces and solid support. But I think the most important is also the environment where you grew up, is the friends that you grew up with. You know your circle, uh, you know the influence your life and eventually your future you know, so, you know, my, my childhood and you And also my teenage I was, I was growing, you know, the era of you probably the 80s, you know, between 80s and 90s. Those Those years were probably the peak of the, of the century. And, you know, I was lucky to enjoy a certain lifestyle, you know, during this period of time. So, you know, I also was inspired by certain people, you know, that may sound stupid, but even Rocky, you know, you know, we're watching these kind of movies, you know, we're very motivating, very inspiring, you know, that even a normal person can achieve great things. Yeah, through Air Force and hard work. And, you know, that's, that's basically what my life is about. I knew I could do it, it was just a matter of being focused and really work really hard for what I wanted to do. So here I am, after leaving in 11 countries and working for more than 25 companies, you know, some of the best company in the hospitality industry. So what can I say?   Michael Hingson ** 06:07 What did your parents think of you wanting to leave and explore the world?   Rocco Bova ** 06:14 You know, actually, my dad was very scared, you know, may rest in peace is he was always very worried about me, and it was sticky or rock or you got to do, you still don't you don't have a career you don't have, you know, I didn't study University. I went to university later in life, but I didn't study when I was young, you know, so I went to when I finished my high school, I went straight to work. And my mum was also you know, kind of, you know, stay in Italy don't go away, you know, where are you going? And then suddenly, you know, my life obviously changed. Because, you know, I was so stuck, unstoppable. That, you know, I just felt that everything was achievable, you know, just through effort and an hour. And, and yes, indeed, I achieved what I wanted. And, you know, my mom now she actually she told me, you know, it was good, a good a good choice that you left Italy, and you went to follow your dreams.   Michael Hingson ** 07:10 So she, she now feels that you made a pretty good choice. Definitely. Well, that's pretty cool. So she, she supports you and are your, your siblings in Italy still? Or where are they?   Rocco Bova ** 07:26 Yeah, yeah, the entire family stayed in Italy. No, but nobody was crazy. As we you know, the first time I left my hometown, I bought a one way ticket, and I only had a few $100 in my pocket. So you know, I'm kind of like the risk. Let's put it this way. So in addition   Michael Hingson ** 07:44 to doing all the things that you've done, have you ever have you started a family? Are you married or have any children or anything? Yes,   Rocco Bova ** 07:51 I have two beautiful kids, you know, they're now older, you know, they're not children anymore. So my son is 20 and my daughter's 19. And married for about 28 years or with my wife, so very, very happy to have achieved also, my personal life.   Michael Hingson ** 08:10 Being married for 28 years is certainly good. There's so many couples that just don't make it that far. So I am really glad to hear you continuing to do that. My   Rocco Bova ** 08:21 wife My wife says that, you know, we kind of museums couples, that are not many like us nowadays.   Michael Hingson ** 08:29 We were married for two years when my wife passed away last November so we I appreciate it. Definitely   Rocco Bova ** 08:36 yeah, sorry to hear that. But you know 40 years of big my milestone definitely. Yeah, a   Michael Hingson ** 08:44 lot of memories and definitely enjoy it. Well, I'm I'm really glad that you're you're doing so well. And you have two good kids, what are they going to do with their life where they're going to go off and explore the world too.   Rocco Bova ** 08:53 It looks like they are because my son is studying hospitality management. And I can see already are kind of on a right path to travel the world and experience so many things. My daughter she's studying marketing. So for her is still kind of first year study. But yeah, I'm sure they both speak four languages. You know, what, what can stop the nothing really?   Michael Hingson ** 09:20 And that's great. What does your wife do?   Rocco Bova ** 09:23 My wife she's a personal coach and she's a healer. So she helps people to get better in their life both from a physical spiritual and mental way so she she's she's been studying this both as a self learner but also through many different courses as she did in different country from India to Mauritius, and really more recently, Mexico. Maybe,   Michael Hingson ** 09:54 maybe we should explore her coming on the podcast sometime.   Rocco Bova ** 09:58 Sure. Why not?   Michael Hingson ** 09:59 We'd love to talk to, we'd love to talk to coaches. I will sell it about Well, so what did you do? So you left home? And why did you leave home? Did you have a job that you went to? Or why?   Rocco Bova ** 10:12 Believe it or not, I did not have a job when I left when I left to London. I mean, I was still in Italy I was working at at the time, you know, I was 24. And then one one evening, I meet this Brazilian guy, who tells me at the end of the evening work in this restaurant, he tells me Look what you want to do in life. And I was not expecting this question. But when I told him, You know, I want to travel the world. I don't know exactly what I want to do. But one thing I know, I want to travel the world. And he said to me, why don't you come to London? I can help you. You know, so I didn't, I didn't let him finish the sentence because I told me this No joke, I'm coming. And he's now how old?   Michael Hingson ** 10:55 How old? Were you then?   Rocco Bova ** 10:57 24.   Michael Hingson ** 10:59 So what did you do from 18 to 24.   Rocco Bova ** 11:02 I went to army, I went one year to university, but I dropped out after after 10 months. And then the other two years, I was working. So I did some work, obviously, you know, I had to earn my life. And you know, I didn't want to be dependent on my, on my parents. So I worked a couple of years. And and so when I came back to Italy, you know, to my hometown for the summer, I met this Brazilian guy. And so when he told me that he was going to help me to get to London, I say what I'm going so I put together the all the money that I had, which was those days, the equivalent to maybe $600. And, and, you know, I bought a one way ticket, and I went to London with a friend, we went there, we didn't speak English, we're talking you know, with what with our hands like most Italian do, but we literally we couldn't talk in any other language or the hands. So it was funny. But then eventually we reach out to the house of this of this friend. And a few days later, he came and he took us to, to Headhunter you know, like a lady that she was placing young young students or young people to go to work in different restaurants and bars in London. And in a matter of hours, we got our first job so we went to work in this Italian restaurant, during which time I was able to go to school learn English, and then met my wife and then the rest of history because you know I then I started to get to get to understand that the hospitality world and how big it was and how many opportunities they were in not just restaurant but hotels and in the real estate and investment company and everything spa wellness, you know, the the the the industry was so big that I said to myself, you know, I need to study now. So I went back to school at the age of 28. I got my diploma. And then my first job was in London in Jumeirah Beach hotel in Dubai. And then from Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, I went to four seasons in Singapore from four seasons Singapore, I went to the Hilton in Kuala Lumpur. And from there I went to a man resort in New Delhi. Then I went to the Intercontinental Bustan palace in Muscat in Oman, and then I went to looks or tells a resort in Mauritius, followed by St. Regis Mauritius. From there I came back to, to the to the Caribbean with Aman resort for the second time. And then finally I landed in Mexico, where I've been living now for the past several years. Very lovely.   Michael Hingson ** 13:48 And your family just went with you wherever you went. They   Rocco Bova ** 13:53 went with me. They follow me for this 28 years, you know, so my wife, she said to me now that's enough. I know. I want to stop traveling. I'm done with traveling. I'm done with packing and unpacking. Yeah. And so now we've been living in Mexico for the past seven years. And to be honest, actually, I also like Mexico is a beautiful country with nice people. So yeah, why not? is a big country anyway, it will take me maybe another 10 years to explore everything. So I'm sure I'll be busy. So   Michael Hingson ** 14:25 you're you're clearly obviously enjoying being in Mexico, but you're not currently in the hotel industry directly. Right.   Rocco Bova ** 14:35 Well, what I'm doing Mike now over the past three years I've been when I left the operation as such, if you want to say that, and I started to work as a consultant, so I've been working for different companies in different parts of Mexico, but I also work in Dominican Republic for one hotel group then in Puerto Rico, or another group. I've been doing some My remote work for Saudi Arabia, Bali. And, you know, it seems that something is going to happen maybe in Belize. So I can proudly say that I've been busy, very busy actually, even though I never worked as a consultant, you know, normally I consult for one company, which is my employer. But I've been, I've been doing up to seven clients at the same time. You know, last year, for example, I had 1.7 clients working at the same time, you know, so try to remember everything for each of the, each of them was not so easy, but I managed, it was, it was fun, is a difference from being in operation, of course. And that is as as, as interesting because you learn so much from a different angle, now, not just operation and guests. But also you learn about, you know, development, architecture, design, brand, rebranding some time, you know, construction, concept, development, many other things, which, before I was not involved, and also to finish that I also work directly with owners or investors. So that's also very interesting point.   Michael Hingson ** 16:16 So it's a kind of a different environment for you then than it was, but the fact that you have all the hotel knowledge must be something that people look for, and they hire you because they value the expertise that you have.   Rocco Bova ** 16:33 In fact, actually, my tagline on my LinkedIn page is actually lockable. Or tell experts.   Michael Hingson ** 16:40 There you go hotel. And I can   Rocco Bova ** 16:43 say that, yes, I do have quite some expertise, I've been working in this industry for over 30 years, I do educate myself everyday for at least two, two hours a day, every day. And, and I keep up to date with the trends with the evolution of the industry. And, you know, I tried to anticipate what's coming up, because in order for you to be ready for what is happening, you need to, you know, be prepared or, or even know what is coming next. You know, trends are predictable. To be frank, if you are, if you're a good observer, and a good listener to what's happening to other parts of the world, eventually will come to your part of the world so, so I keep an ear open always every single day. That's, that's what is my advantage. So   Michael Hingson ** 17:35 what do you do for two hours every day to keep your education up?   Rocco Bova ** 17:38 Well, there are, there are so many platforms where you can on a daily basis, you know, I'm talking about digital magazine, newsletters, websites. LinkedIn itself is a great platform where you can actually learn, you know, the news, new hotel, opening new calls to opening a new company, forming new brand. So it's, it's, it's a great platform, and it's all free. You know, those days, you know, to 30 years ago, we had to go to a library and there was no internet, you have to buy books, or you have to buy a magazine to learn, you know, you have to spend money. Now, it's all free. You know, it's all. So they're available. So it's just a matter of 1pm focus in knowing where to go and search for those information. So what do you think   Michael Hingson ** 18:29 the hotel industry has? Become? What do you what kinds of changes? Do you think in the hotel or in the travel and tourism industry in general? How has it changed over the years since you started working there?   Rocco Bova ** 18:45 Well, nothing has changed until something happened about three years ago, to be honest, everything was well working pretty well to be frank. And in the industry was going through a time of was going through a transformation was a positive transformation. And then the pandemic arrived, Mike and in then everyone thought that, you know, after the pandemic, we all going to be friends and we all going to be closer, we all going to be hugging each other. Then suddenly, I can tell you that it's actually not like this anymore. I am observing more and more actually, that the industry is becoming colder. It's becoming a lot more focus on bottom line is becoming a lot more focused on business, just being a business, hospitality. This is also business, but first is about people are being hospitable. And I think we're losing a little bit about this value of working in our industry. It's actually being hospitable, genuinely But I understand, you know, people lost a lot of money, you know, some people lost their jobs. And, you know, we lost hundreds of 1000s, if not millions of people, great people working in the hospitality industry, during the pandemic, that network will never come back, ever, because what happened was, you know, the most company, they got rid of, you know, something that they thought it was going to be a cost, you know, which is the payroll, call it the payroll, but you know, there are people. So the first call was to reduce the number of people working for the company, because you know, that we can save our, our business, but they didn't think about the, the effects of this decision. So, guess what, you know, now we're struggling to find talent, they're struggling to find committed people, that they actually want to stay with a company for a long, long time. And when I say long term, I know I don't mean to say for 10 years, but give it at least one year, you know, there's a huge turnover at the moment, which is nearly unmanageable. You know, in the old days, we knew that turnover in hospitality industry was big, but now is bigger. And I feel that most companies are not doing much to reduce down to control or to or to influence, you know, in in a positive way. And probably, this was also one of the reasons why I decided to get into consultants, maybe?   Michael Hingson ** 21:29 Why do you think that is, though? Why do you think that? We, we have such a turnover? Do you think it's just because of the coldness of the industry? And more important? How do you think we reverse that?   Rocco Bova ** 21:44 Well, the biggest reason is actually that if if people don't care anymore, they think they say, you know, if you don't treat me, well, I just go somewhere else. And there are jobs available, there's plenty of jobs available. So companies are desperate for talent, you know, most most of the time, the the, the recruitment process is not the same as it was before they immediately they will take you because they need people, they need legs in the hands to get the job done. And on the other hand, there is also a salary factor, you know, people they say, Oh, well, if I were there, they can pay me 20% more, you know, let me give it a try, maybe it's good, maybe it's not good. And if it's not good, I can change again. So, there is lack of like a commitment. And and there is a focus on earning more basically. So, what do go ahead? No, and I will say, you know, even if most company they have, they have increased the pay, because they did they have to do it, you know, there was no other way, you know, with increase of price for cost, the cost of living and solid support inflation. So, you know, they were obliged to increase salary by 1020, even in some places, even up to 30%. But even with that has more changed. So the commitment has not changed. So that means that people will change again, if they feel that are not properly treated in a place. So, you are asking me, okay, what is the solution to that? I don't know if there is a solution. But I personally am starting to work on a personal project called My humble house. And this happened actually, during the pandemic. So three years ago, I started to work on a on a hotel concept on a business model, that I think it could be the solution to this problem. And it's something very simple, you know, actually is not so complicated. So I said to myself, What if I was part of the business? What if I was responsible for the success of the financial business of my company that employs me. So I started to work in a business model that involves profit sharing with the employees. And then I started to develop this concept, I wrote about 60 pages of the business plan. And I started to share it with a lot of people about 300 plus people around the world. And guess what? I receive the compliment, on compliment and more compliments from more people all over the world. I open I open a LinkedIn page actually where I have 4000 followers already. I was invited to several podcasts like yours, I was invited to write even articles on on business magazine, of focusing on on hospitality. And from that, I gather that there is a need for something like this. I'm not saying that this is the the only solution. But I feel that there is definitely a need for something like this. And, you know, by the comments that I hear from different people, talking about, you know, senior people and Not to give out, you know, the waiter or the or the housekeeper, I'm talking about senior C level executive that they all told me, Rocco, this is a great idea. You know, when can you start one? But now I'm at the point that I'm looking actually for investors and watch this space Mike, you know, you might hear my humble ow soon around your corner.   Michael Hingson ** 25:21 So what's the idea how does it work?   Rocco Bova ** 25:25 It works very simply is hotel, you know this, this is this concept, I cannot change it, you know, I will tell you hotel, it will always be a hotel. But the point is, is the business model. So, generally, I will tell you know, when he first opens, you know, it takes about two to three years to get to break even point. But the business model for this for my humble life, is actually to join a hotel room with residences. So we all know that Brandon residence is nothing new for season, do it. Ritz Carlton do it Mandarin Oriental do it. So it's a proven business model, which means that if I have 25 room, and I have 15 residences that I can sell, and I invest, let's say $20 million, I have 15 residences, maybe each resident, I can sell it for a million dollar each, by the time I sell the residence, I already gained 15 $15 million, that can help me get to the return on the investment much faster, instead of waiting seven years, I may get into three years, the moment you get a real return on the investment, investors are very happy. But also, you get into the breakeven point faster because you have an inventory that is more efficient. I like to remind you that to manage 25 rooms, or to manager 40 rooms, you actually need the same number of staff, you don't need to double your staff because you're doubling your inventory of rooms. So when you are you become a bit of an efficient business is easier to get to your breakeven point, the more you start making profit, you can share this profit with your employees, what would an employee feel a if I earn more, if my boss earn more, or the company I work for earns more, I can earn more too. And, you know, that generates more commitment, longer term commitment. Honesty, you know, people actually do their job instead of wasting time. Because they know if they're more efficient, they actually become better in in, in, in, in business, you know, people that they're selling the business, for example, salespeople, they actually do sell because they know if if they sell more, they're gonna learn more. So everything becomes so much more organic. In the end, everyone will become part of the success of the business. That's why I'm so convinced that you know, profit sharing is actually the the future of the business model of this industry. Maybe every industry, you know, why? Why only few people need to make lots of money. You know, I think that the cake is big enough, and everyone can benefit.   Michael Hingson ** 28:13 So you think that by adding the profit sharing component, that that's the kind of thing that will keep employees and that they won't just jump ship, because they think they can get a better deal somewhere else that profit sharing is a major game changer.   Rocco Bova ** 28:32 That's one of the reason why is not just money. Remember that also, you need to have great leadership, you need to have a company that cares for you, you need to have a proper amenities for the team members, you need to have a great product and also for guests so that they want to come back or at least they want to recommend it. So is a number of things that you have to have. But you know, when you when you devise a new business, you devise or sort of the longer term, you don't devise a new business just for the sake of just going over a few years, and then it goes down or sell it to somebody else. Now the idea is to start the business for the long term. So yes, the ingredients are there. Hotels have been around for hundreds of years. So it's not easy to do. And in new brands are needed, because new generation are coming. And this sustainability, let's call it this way is not just about respect of the environment, but it's also respect of the people and also making the business sustainable for the long term. If the business is not sustainable for the long term, there's not sustainability at all. Basically,   Michael Hingson ** 29:45 where does the guest fit in all this? So you've talked about the the investors, you've talked about the sea level managers and you've talked about the employees and all that. How do the guests influence all About   Rocco Bova ** 30:00 I love this question I think is really spot on whether the guests fit. So imagine I am a guest I'm going to hotel, and I feel team members with a beautiful, genuine smile. The first thought that comes to my mind is a this guy must be very happy here. I'm gonna ask him, Hey, why are you so happy? Guess what, you know the employee can only say Hey, this is a great company, they take care of me. They look after me. They even share the profit. Imagine the guests reaction what the company shares of it with you as an employee. And the employee will say yes, they do actually, you know, every month or every year I at the end of the year, if the company is profitable, we get a share of this profit. So imagine imagine the reaction of the guest. Well, you may say to me, Well, maybe they will avoid tipping the the individual but the employee when the employee is actually so happy they'll provide the best service ever to a guest and the guest when they see the company takes care of their of their employees. They return in they recommend why I'm saying this because I also work for company that they take very good care of their employees I work for full season I work for Jumeirah I work for my resort, I work for Lux hotels, resorts I worked for a company that even the worst situation was scenario they took care of the their team member first. And guess what, they're still there. If they were not so good. Jumeirah will no longer be there. If four seasons not taking care of their team members, they wouldn't be there. So I know for a fact that that taking care of the team members definitely work for the business. And for the guests.   Michael Hingson ** 31:54 It seems to me that you know, of course, that's true for for any company. And I don't know whether it's a relatively new concept that you're introducing to the hospitality industry, but in general, certainly, employees, and everything clicks better. When people are happier, they're having fun. I know that I get to observe a lot of airline personnel as I travel. And I mainly use American because I've been using them for 42 years now, although I think that the airline industry has created a lot of challenges, and is not what it was 40 years ago. But I know that when I travel on Southwest Airlines, the employees seem to at least the last time I was on the flight. And the last several times I was on a Southwest flight to having a lot more fun. And they seem more happier than on any other airline that I've experienced. And they liked that. And they that reaction flows down to the passengers on the airplane.   Rocco Bova ** 33:05 See, I'm not I'm not I'm not inventing anything here, you know, it transpires to the to the customers, when team members, they're very happy or they feel comfortable being around the workplace. You can see immediately when a when a team members is not happy. Because they're they they drag their feet because they're moody because they say they don't even say good morning to you. Would you stay in a place where people don't care about you as a customer? Of course not? Of course not. So it's a reaction is you know, and a lot of people they say, Well, why do I need to waste money on training? Why do I need to waste money on benefit for the team members? But, you know, why not? If you don't do it, what is going to have? What is the worst case scenario that you close business, you close, you shut down because your business not doing well enough. So, you know, I'm Dave, I'm very careful in choosing to work for certain companies, you know, and I am very, very big, analytic, you know, when it comes to deciding whether I work for a company or not. And sometimes I prefer to step out of a company, if I feel that this is not for me, you know, I have nothing to lose. I actually have a lot to lose, if I stay. I prefer to step out. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 34:27 if they're not willing to utilize your expertise, I can understand that and it's unfortunate that we do see so much of all of that happening and the pandemic hasn't helped. Because, as you said, now people want more money and they want a lot of things. But again, is that really it or is it more that they want a really great feeling workplace to be involved with   Rocco Bova ** 34:59 You know, when I, when I think Mike is not, you know, they're just new generation, you know, I belong to Generation X, you know, that's, you know, 53 years old now. And I feel like a millennial, but you know, I'm a Generation X by age spoiled this way. And starting already from my generation, I'm starting to be more more more aware of my environment. And it's not just a matter of, oh, I need to work for this brand, because it's the best brand in the world. All right, you know, I need to work for this hotel, because they won so many awards. No, no, no, first and most important thing for me is to work. Who are the, who are the people behind this company? Who do I report to? You know, what is my relationship with these people? What am I going to get? Not just what they're gonna get out of me? What am I gonna get from them in in in the choice becomes smaller because obviously you start to eliminate immediately your if you are, say an expert, let's say you know, in reading, you know, the situation you can understand if this company is for you or not, by reading the people you're going to use, you are interviewed by for example. So definitely is something that is different now. Now talking about the new generation, the new generation, they might be careless, you know, they say, Okay, let's give it a try. There's nothing to lose. Okay, they try one they stay a few months, then they are, you know, what, no, this is not for me, I'm going resigned and go somewhere else, and then they go somewhere else and they go somewhere else. Because as I said, you know, jobs are plenty at the moment. So there is there is there are many opportunities and people you know, even even people that are tech, tech knowledgeable, you know, they can even work from home or you can do something online, they can program something maybe an application and they can earn some money very quickly, you know, they can just work on Uber or something like that. So there are many ways to earn money today. You know, it's not just about having a full time job.   Michael Hingson ** 37:13 Right? How do you think Airbnb has affected the hospitality industry? That was an interesting question. I thought I would spring up and just see what you thought.   Rocco Bova ** 37:27 I Lloyd Michael, you know, when when Airbnb grew up so quickly, you know, orderlies were scared oh my god, what are we going to do now? You know, these Airbnb guys that they broke everything you know, there was there was no longer hotels only and now that also homes the you know, what, what are we going to do? We're going to lose so much business. Did we hotels keep opening, new brands keep sprouting. The room count around the world keeps growing the population of the world keeps growing too by the way so we are eight plus billion people right now in this planet and the likelihood is that we're going to keep growing even even to more people in that in the next 1015 20 years. So the scare of being affected by Airbnb to me is it was unnecessary. And n is proven by the fact that actually Airbnb pushed hotels to get better. So why do I need to go to an Airbnb and not hotel so it tells the need to start to get the game up because Airbnb was getting the gap very quickly. Airbnb lately started to lose grounds they became too commercial they became they grew too much and there's literally no control so just room rental for one night or two nights or whatever. I'm actually happy that is is some cities like New York Venice you know Rome Berlin and sort of support they're starting to put rules because it is impossible to get a normal rental in city center so that was not good also for normal people like me and you you know if I want to rent an apartment in the center of London or New York or Boston, you know, I don't need to spend $10,000 a month you know, I want to spend the normal a normal rent which is reasonable. And so I'm glad that you know some rules are starting to come into place for Airbnb, because in case you don't know probably you do. Airbnb was was not born to rent a room for one night. Airbnb was, was born to rent a room for students are long term, but not shorter. You know, and when we say short term, it definitely was not one night or two. He was for a month or two months, maybe 45 days but good and Airbnb became another hotel another way to be a hotel without having the permit the licenses, paying taxes and so on and so forth. So, from their point of view, I think that some regulation, they should have come even much earlier. I don't know why it took so long.   Michael Hingson ** 40:15 And I think it makes sense to to deal with something like an Airbnb for long term rentals, because that's not what hotels typically are designed for.   Rocco Bova ** 40:27 No, no, wait for that. You have service apartment. Yeah. Which is, which is like a hotel, but it's now is for serve for long term rent, you know, you have proper amenities for long term rental.   Michael Hingson ** 40:40 Or you have Airbnb, and that's fine. Personally, for me, I certainly wouldn't want to I, I like when I go somewhere to use a hotel room because I don't want to take on the responsibility of preparing food or doing other things like that. But I also know I'm only staying for one or two nights or just a few nights. And I've been in long term rental apartment situations, and that's fine, but that's different, too. So when I when I travel, I just think that it works a whole lot better for me to be in a, in a hotel environment. I know when my wife wife was alive. Since she was in a wheelchair, it also was a lot more relevant for her because most Airbnb type houses that were made available for rental, we're not necessarily overly wheelchair accessible. And there's nothing that makes that happen, or there hasn't been   Rocco Bova ** 41:38 That's correct. That's correct. But on the other hand, we also are in a situation where even Airbnb is starting to transform themselves because they reach a point of stabilizing so what is going to be next for Airbnb as well, they cannot remain what Airbnb was 10 years ago, they need to start to innovate as well, I feel that that's why they're losing ground of it. Airbnb, I think that they do not innovate enough. Since the past five, seven years, they have not changed their business model. You know, this, they tried to make this experience so you know, leave like a lot, you know, leave like local stuff. Therefore, this is not for them, because they don't manage this, you know, somebody else does it for them. I mean, I just feel that Airbnb is probably time for them to do to shake the tree a little bit, you know, and get something new.   Michael Hingson ** 42:36 We'll see what they do.   Rocco Bova ** 42:39 Absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 42:39 So you've talked a lot about the talent pool and that people know they can make a lot more money. Sometimes if they go somewhere else, or they feel they can where it's going to be the end of all that is it? Is it a spiral that's out of control and is never going to change? Or what do you think will happen these are   Rocco Bova ** 43:02 the next two years I think is gonna wait is where we're going to see the worst part of our industry I have a feeling that what's happening right now is gonna only gonna get worse for at least another couple of years. During this two years, I hope that the industry is going to do something and and I hope that they understand that that if we don't do anything, it's just going to get worse and worse. So maybe this is also why this battle you know, my personal battle of getting this off the ground you know, this humble house project to the you know, which may never take off but as far as I'm concerned is already off the ground because a lot of people is already asking me for and it's very curious. So the curiosity for me that means that there is a need for for change in the business model of the industry. I also feel that you know that small investors they should be encouraged. Now when I say startups, I don't mean startups only in technology we should also encourage in help young investasi naturally get into independent hotels rather than be part of a big chain. So there is a trend right now for example, you know that more and more people they want to experience an independent hotel and no big brands that's why big brands they keep churning new brands every every month because customers want something new you know but getting out a new brand from Marriott is just gonna be another Marriott I'm sorry to say that I don't think Marietta can really make a new brand you know they just make another Marriott which is called something else. But it still is a marriage so is the ultimate so isn't a continental. So for as long as the we don't help people you know and the young investors for example, young age first getting into business, you know, I think it's gonna be very difficult to create something innovative really?   Michael Hingson ** 45:07 Well, when you look at, let's say, Hilton, you've got Hilton Garden Inn, you got Hampton Inn and Suites and you've got Embassy Suites, for example, and they're different but it all comes under the Hilton brand. Every Embassy Suites looks alike. I like Embassy Suites because of some of the amenities but is it really a major innovation I guess that's a subject that people could probably debate although you   Rocco Bova ** 45:35 know and all these brands obviously they they they observed there was a segment and it was a niche market I was looking for that kind of product that's why they created it which is fine. But can we can we really make something really unique you know really cool. You know, I think I think the last the last cool brand you know in hospitality was probably 30 years ago you know when the W hotels cave and then one where maybe you know this Ian striker for example, you know, it was kind of innovative in in creating this lifestyle cool vibe, you know, young models and Romanian women you know, going into this bars lively with school, live music, but you know, from there everybody coffee, coffee, coffee based, you know, it was not really innovation Any, any, any longer. So I think, I hope that there will be some some kind of change. So, yeah, the glamping is now coming up as a, you know, one of these hot topics at the moment. So, you know, cabins and tents and whatever, you know, everything that is luxury, you know, their conditioning, and they have all the amenities like a hotel, but they're in the middle of the jungle, this is also kind of new, so it's only five, six years old, this has become kind of very hot topic. But you know, let's see, what's what what else is gonna is gonna happen. That's why I say personally, I didn't want to reinvent the hotel. concept as such, I wanted to reinvent personally, you know, in my humble house, the business model more than the concept, because hotel concept at the end of the day is still the same, you know, no matter what you do is glamping? Or when is the luxury of big box Hotel?   Michael Hingson ** 47:20 There's nothing wrong with that. No,   Rocco Bova ** 47:23 absolutely. Absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 47:25 It's it's the other parts of the infrastructure, as you're talking about that are an issue almost like the talent pool in general. What do you think the the hotel industry is going to have to do? And maybe the other way to look at it is what do you think that the talent is going to have to do to change to address some of the issues that we're facing now? And you said that you think it'll get worse over the next two years? What do you think has to change or will change that will kind of, hopefully bring things back to a little bit more even keel?   Rocco Bova ** 48:00 Well, one, the first we need to get back to school, you know, let's look at the school system.   Michael Hingson ** 48:06 I was gonna ask about that. Go ahead. You know,   Rocco Bova ** 48:10 if you go to hotel school, what are they going to teach you first? And second? Who are the teachers teaching you? Yeah, you know, most of most teachers, probably the last job was 10 years ago, 15 years ago, then they got into teaching, and then everyone went back to work. So they're teaching you something that they've learned 15 years ago, which is already obsolete, completely obsolete. You know, tell schools normally the same student, every every year, or your two years, they send them to six months internship. If I were in the school system, I will send the teachers every year, at least for one month, back to work to understand the same what really is going on in the industry, firsthand, no, through Google or books or whatever investigation, no, no, to leave exactly what's happening in the industry. The second thing, I think that the programs are also, you know, they don't teach students on how to get into work immediately. I mean, probably some school they do Vietnam, but but they don't tell you the they don't tell you real stuff. They only tell you the fluffy stuff, you know, what is beautiful and what works. So, you know, you can meet a lot of people just so true. But let's talk about the real life story. You know, let's talk about you know, let's teach young students or how to make a choice between a m prime P. And people a MP will be you know, how can you choose the best people to work for, you know, one of the things that you need to look when you join a company, not just the brand, and how many awards and how many stars they have under their belt. But what are the leaders behind, you know, so important nowadays. And last but not the least, we should lower the expectation issue. You know, I think that many schools, they give you expectations of you know, when you come out from here, you become a manager? Well, I mean, it's, you know, I remember I made something public some six months ago on LinkedIn. There was a Swissotel school which, you know, with their tagline, Thomas, a student, leave as a manager. Wait a minute, oh, my God, I obviously made it public. I was, I had, like, 22,000 likes or something like this with this post, I was very popular. And, and I also was approached by the school itself, you know, and they told me, Rocco? No, we mean that we didn't want to say this specifically. But I said, Okay, well, what is that you want to say, you know, be honest with yourself and with the students, you cannot promise you cannot over promise and say, No, of course, you come to us and you become a manager doesn't work like that, you know, you have to be honest, also, you know, with, with young young people, because to become a manager, it takes time to become a manager takes knowledge, you have to learn even more when you get out of school. And you have to go through rough time to understand that you know, how to become a manager. So, you know, I remember 113 years ago, four years ago, before the pandemic, you know, I had this student from a very prestigious Hotel School in Switzerland. And he said to me, I want to be a consultant. And I told him, okay, let's talk about in 25 years, then I can tell you how to be a consultant. And he said to me Why 25 years, I said, because he took me 25 years to become a consultant. Now today, I can say, I can consult anyone because I've got the experience. But 25 years ago, I didn't know how to consult. Google doesn't tell me how to consult chat. GPT doesn't tell me how to consult someone, people, they want to know exactly what to do with their business, you know, as a consultant, and my success depends on what I say to my client. So anyway, didn't you didn't like that, and then talk to me ever since. But that's okay. Well, the other part about   Michael Hingson ** 52:17 it is that we live in a world that has been taught to demand instant gratification instant things. And the reality is, it doesn't work that way. And you know that and I know that there are so many people who don't understand that, you know, they come to our school as a student and leave as a manager, what are you teaching them about management? How are you doing it? And, you know, if they're just doing the same old stuff, they're not certainly teaching someone how to truly be a manager, because a manager isn't just someone who knows how to run a hotel. But a manager has to learn the skills of how to deal with employees how to deal with the people who come to the hotel as guests, what what do you do? How do you do it? And how do you make people feel welcome on all sides?   Rocco Bova ** 53:12 Absolutely, in, you know, the most difficult part in our industry, or possibly any industry is actually dealing with people, you know, both customers and employees. But in our industry, I say more our industry, because our industry is made of people, you know, we deal with human failing, every single moment, every single is we're dealing with people feelings. So the way you talk to people, the tone of voice, your body language, your attitude, your mood, influence everything and everyone around you. So if you don't know how to control that, how to manage yourself first, how can you manage others? Impossible. Even less consulting? Come on, let's get real. You know, so,   Michael Hingson ** 53:56 you've said that we've lost millions of people, because of the pandemic and so on, who will never come back? How do we work to get some of those people back? You   Rocco Bova ** 54:07 see, Michael, again, I go back to the title of your or your podcast unstoppable and that not everybody is unstoppable. Not everybody was actually able to have this stamina to continue no matter what. Not everybody was able to come over fear of not knowing what's going to happen to them and to their family and to the to the loved one more. So. Being a stock unstoppable is not for everybody. I think that the people they knew or they became unstoppable because of their strength because of their willingness and because of their stamina. They made it and they will make it again you know, no matter what is going to happen next They will make it again. And, and I've learned that all the time, you know, it's not the first crisis that I go through probably just like you. You know, my first big one was the the team Twin Tower in New York, you know, it wasn't the Middle East at the time. And everyone coming from the Middle East was terrorists, no matter what, you know, we lost business one day to the next, you know, we went from 90% occupancy to zero in a matter of days. You know, when then then, when I was in Singapore, in 2003, we had the first pandemic, which didn't spread as far as right as COVID. But SARS was just as bad for Southeast Asia was terrible, you know, all the hotels in Southeast Asia were empty. And then, and then we have 2008, the financial crisis. In 2007, I was in New Delhi, where they were a terrorist attack, you know, the Taj Mahal is on a surfboard. And then I went, I went, I was in Oman, and we had this Arab Spring. And then, now we are all we also have this, this pandemic, so it's not the first time I go through a crisis. But a crisis also give a lot of opportunities. So if people get into fear, that's where they get lost, that's where they become. They don't know, they don't know what to do. They they get in panic, and then they freeze. Instead, when you get into crisis mode, you need to stay more focused, and understand, how can I make the most of this moment? What can I do now. And, believe it or not, so that you know, also, when I went in, when I went through this particular COVID, you know, it was also it was fearful for me, I cannot lie to you that I was very fearful. For the first time actually, I also came into this freezing position. But then after a few weeks, I start to talk to myself and say, You cannot do that. Now your family depends on you. Your livelihood depends on you. Your mental health depends on you, you got to do something. And then suddenly, I was listening to some podcasts, and then one guy is spying on me so much, I removed my fears immediately. And I and I, I went, I made a decision that actually change my life, change my life and change the life of the wonderful 50 employees that were working at a time in the company in in Chile, Yucatan, you know, when I was employed at the time, and guess what, from the moment, I became so much stronger, so much self confident, in so much secure that again, in, in a situation of of all of a crisis, that is an opportunity.   Michael Hingson ** 57:55 And isn't that what it's about? And I think that you realize that there are so many things that you can't control. And as I talk about here, a lot there, excuse me, all the things that you you do have control over. And those are the ones that you have to address and you chose to let your fear be a tool for you. And you chose to not fear and be overwhelmed by stuff. And yeah, COVID is certainly something that affects all of us, and affected all of us. And I don't know when or if that is going to totally go away. I don't know how, you know, I don't know how it's going to progress. They're talking about there being a major upsurge during the winter. And that's very possibly going to happen. And we're going to have to deal with that. But that isn't something that I have control over. That isn't something that you have control over. But we certainly do have control over how we choose to deal with it. And whether we allow fear to overwhelm us or whether we allow fear to strengthen us, which is what you're talking about here.   Rocco Bova ** 59:09 Absolutely. And become a stalker.   Michael Hingson ** 59:12 And, you know, I, I think everyone can be unstoppable. But many people choose not to learn to grow. And unstoppable in part also really requires that you look at yourself. People don't like to do that.   Rocco Bova ** 59:30 Yep. Yeah, absolutely. I can only agree with you with that.   Michael Hingson ** 59:34 So it is a challenge. Well, any last things, any last thoughts that you want to add to what we've talked about? We've been doing this for an hour and I've really enjoyed it, especially the last five minutes. I love what you've had to say but any anything that you want to leave his final thoughts for us? Well,   Rocco Bova ** 59:54 Michael, I can only say that the hospitality industry is the most one The whole industry in the world, I will not change this for anything, I will do everything all over again for another billion times. I love I keep loving the industry I think is still a wonderful place to be something that you can teach to others. The hospitality industry teaches you a lot, by the way, as is, is an industry that prepares you for so many things, you know, you have situation of fires, bombs, explosion, you name it, you know, everything happens in hotel, you know, you know that. And, and definitely is I mean to say I would recommend it to anyone because he makes you a better person. That's why I was so glad when my son told me that he was going to study hospitality management. So I'm very proud of even and on my daughter as well, because maybe she will get into the industry as well, even though she's studying marketing doesn't say that maybe she's not gonna join the industry, too. So let's see that.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:03 We'll see how that goes. Have you written any books?   Rocco Bova ** 1:01:07 You know what? I'm not gonna lie to you. But the last book I read was The the biography of Steve Jobs.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:16 But you've gotten any? Oh, go ahead.   Rocco Bova ** 1:01:19 No, I will say that, you know, I don't like I don't like to I don't like Hubble as a branch. I'm not an Apple guy. I'm silly. I have my laptop, my window. And my phone is is Google, Google face Google software. So I'm not an Apple guy. However, I love how Apple was born and grew, they grew up to become what it is. Today's a global brand is one of the most successful brands, you know, ever, ever invented. In I love how Steve Jobs actually made this brand. What are these? Today, if today, Steve Jobs was alive, I think that happened would have been 10 times more successful. Today, I agree at least at least 10 times. So I love the guy, but I don't like apple. Sorry. Sorry, for everybody else, you know, well, I   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:17 I like the iPhone, because it's more it's the most accessible smartphone. Now that happened, in part because Apple was going to be sued if they didn't fix it, but they chose to do it. And they did a great job. There about 95% There, there are still things that they should do that they're not but you know, overall, I know what you're saying as far as the hospitality industry. So you haven't written your own book yet. And maybe someday he'll decide to do that.   Rocco Bova ** 1:02:47 Let's see. I'm still too young, off. Hopefully, before I retire, I consider that and see I need to I need to find a ghostwriter. And perhaps somebody can help me with that.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:00 They're out there. And yes, so maybe that that's certainly something that's good to do. Well, my first book was published when I was 61. So see, there you go. You got eight years. Exactly. Well, I want to thank you, Rocco, for being with us. This has been a lot of fun. And I think not only inspirational, but I've learned a lot and I love to hear your your discussions about business and so on, which validates so many things. So thank you for doing it and for being here with us. And I want to thank you for listening out there. We really appreciate it. Rocco, if people want to reach out to you how do they do that?   Rocco Bova ** 1:03:39 It Michael, I'm I'm very active on LinkedIn. So you can type of my full name Rocco Bova, you can definitely find that I know many people with my name. So can you spell that?   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:49 Could you spell it please? Yes,   1:03:50 is R O C C O that's my name. And my family name is B O V A. So you can find me very easily on LinkedIn. And then you you can follow me and I'll be very happy to follow back. And, you know, let's learn from each other. You know, I make my profile, open and public so people can actually reach out you can send me a message without being connected as well. So I reply to everyone that sent me a message. So reach out if you want to have an opinion, or if you want, just talk to me. I'll be happy to do so.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:29 There you go. So reach out to Rocco and tell him what you think and have a discussion with him. I enjoyed this and we're going to stay in touch for sure. And I hope that wherever you're listening, you'll give us a five star rating we would really appreciate that. And of course, as always, I really value getting your emails and your comments and if you'd like to email me, please do so at Michaelhi at accessibe.com that's m i c h a e l h i at a c c e s s i b e.com. I'm gonna go to our podcast page, which is www dot Michael hingson.com/podcast. And Michael hingson is m i c h a e l h i n g s o n all one word. But please give us a five star rating. Reach out to Rocco. I think you'd have a fun time discussing this with him and whatever you want to talk about with him. So I think it makes perfect sense to do and I hope that people will reach out to you, Rocco. And once again, I want to just thank you for being here with us and making us be able to be a part of your day   Rocco Bova ** 1:05:34 has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for the invitation.   **Michael Hingson ** 1:05:41 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Jonesy returns to co-host this week LIVE from Embassy Suites in Baltimore, MD. Him and Lance catch up and talk about the music industry...

Josie sat down with Tracy who works with Embassy Suites and has worked with Kisses 4 Kate for years for an interview! Josie also spoke to Tracy's nephew who was diagnosed with cancer and became a recipient of Kisses 4 Kate's services 2 years ago.

Embassy Suites is celebrating its 40th anniversary, but it's not relying on the past. Undergoing a dynamic transformation Bonnie Campagnuolo, Global Brand Head, Embassy Suites by Hilton, shares hoew the brand continues connecting to owners and customers.

Brand Leader of Home2 Suites by Hilton, Talene Staab,  is named a TMG Hospitality Trailblazer and joins the Suite Spot to discuss Home2 Suites and the incredible developments taking place for the brand.  From designing the hotel to finding new ways to improve the guest experience, this episode covers the key aspects that make the Home2 brand special. Episode Transcript Our podcast is produced as an audio resource. Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and human editing and may contain errors. Before republishing quotes, we ask that you reference the audio. Ryan Embree: Welcome to Suite Spot, where hoteliers check in and we check out what's trending in hotel marketing. I'm your host, Ryan Embree. Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of The Suite Spot. This is your host, as always, Ryan Embree. So excited to bring you another episode in another part of our Hospitality Trailblazers series. If this is your first time, we've been running this Hospitality Trailblazers series for almost two years now, and we are interviewing some of the best and brightest in our hospitality industry, some of those people that are trailblazing a path forward, and we certainly have a guest today that fits the bill. Talene Staab, Brand Leader of Home2 Suites by Hilton, Talene, thank you so much for being on the podcast with me today. Talene Staab: It's great to be here with you today. Thank you so much. Ryan Embree: And we're excited to talk about the Home2 Suites brand and all the innovative and exciting developments that are happening with that brand that you were the head of. But before that, although this is not the first time I have met you, we were just talking off camera about how we met at the Hunter Hotel Investment Conference, had the pleasure to meet in person even though we're doing this interview virtually. With this being your first time Talene, tell us a little bit about your hospitality background, the journey that led you to Hilton and ultimately the brand leader for home two suites. Talene Staab: Sure. My family, my parents had a little diner that was like a breakfast lunch diner in the Boston area, and I worked there in high school and it was one of those places that was like, cheers, where no one ordered their food. They kind of like walked in and everybody knew, oh, Ryan's here. We might not have known your name, but we knew what you would eat for breakfast. And it was like that sense of building community around a small business really stuck with me, even though it was hard work and I just loved it. But I started working in hotels and then my family actually moved from Boston to San Diego and relocated, and they stayed at this Embassy Suites and they called and they were like, you will not believe this hotel. And this was like 30 years ago. So the brand was relatively new. They were like, you get a suite in every room, you get free breakfast and free cocktails. And I honestly didn't believe it. They're like, you gotta work here. So I did. I actually was a smart sales manager there, um, became a DOS and then eventually joined the corporate team. And then when the corporate office moved to McLean, I moved back east with my family, young family, and we kind of looked at it as like an adventure. Let's just see what happens. And it ended up being a really good move because from there I took on a ton of different jobs that kind of took me out of the brand and sales world into more operations. I got to be on the Canopy team. I joined like a week before we launched the brand. So learned about new brand development, learned about owners. Development was the big learning curve for me, which was really exciting. And then that set me up to be, the VP of owner relations owner experience. And that was really cool because I got to see what Hilton looked like from the owner's point of view, like the whole elephant, you know. Ryan Embree: Yeah, yeah, we're gonna talk about that.

Staycations may be just the ticket.

Embassy Suites is celebrating its 40th anniversary, but it's not relying on the past. Undergoing a dynamic transformation Bonnie Campagnuolo, Global Brand Head, Embassy Suites by Hilton, shares hoew the brand continues connecting to owners and customers. 

Addia talks about life, abortion and the impact on women; KY Primaries in 4 weeks - May 21...contact KY Right to Life office (502.895.5959 or kyrighttolife.org) for Voter Guides; Central KY Right to Life Banquet - Thu, 4/25, Embassy Suites, Newtown Pk, Lexington; Dedication of Safe Haven Baby Box #34 in KY...Nicholasville/Jessamine Co Fire Station #4;KRTL Scholarships Deadline this week (contact office). Share to encourage others.

Doug C. Brown is the CEO of CEO Sales Strategies and a Sales Revenue and Profit Growth Expert. He has led client award-winning and high-performance teams as well as pioneered profitable development programs for companies. He has advised companies such as Intuit, CBS Television, Procter & Gamble, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Nationwide, Embassy Suites, Inc. 500 to 5000 companies, and thousands of other businesses and entrepreneurs. As an independent division head, Doug created, trained, and presented high-impact, results-oriented web seminars for prospects of Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes. Doug increased their division sales by 864% and close rate by 62% in just six months. Today, he helps companies and individuals increase their sales by incorporating sales revenue and profit growth strategies used by top 1% performers through the Top 1% Academy, Sales Revenue, and Profit Growth Masterminds. He also specializes in creating commission-only sales teams and advises companies on how to properly prepare for a high-performing sales team so they can attract and retain elite sales producers. This Episode is Sponsored By: Jon Ostenson, Founder of FranBridge Consulting and Top 1% US Franchise Consultant is here to help you explore the world of non-food franchising opportunities today. Jon and his team are part of the largest brokerage in the US and have vetted the market thoroughly. FranBridge is hands down the premier source of the best opportunities in the non-food franchising world. You can hear more of Jon's story and how he started FranBridge Consulting on Episode 250 of our podcast. Sign up for a free consultation call with Jon today at millionaire-interviews.com/franbridgeconsulting and receive a FREE copy of his new book Non-Food Franchising. Franbridge Consulting offers five more non-food franchise opportunities in 2024 that you can explore. FranBridge is hands down the premier source of the best opportunities in the non-food franchising world. You can hear more of Jon's story and how he started FranBridge Consulting on Episode 250 of our podcast. Sign up for a free consultation call with Jon today at millionaire-interviews.com/franbridgeconsulting and receive a FREE copy of his new book Non-Food Franchising. Want to Support the Show? Well we'd love for you to join our Patreon Group!  What's in it for you?  Well you'll instantly get a scheduled call from Austin, where he'll help you with your current or future business... Sign-Up Now at millionaire-interviews.com/patreon.

If you think you know all there is to know about being hospitable listen to our guest, Quentin McElveen and then decide. Quentin grew up in South Carolina and has studied the idea of Southern Hospitality for most of his life. He was serious enough about it that he went to college to study and earn a degree in Hospitality Management. Quentin then worked in the hotel industry securing a variety of jobs in both the front of the house where he interacted with the public and the back of the house where he spent more time dealing with staff, processes and working with the behind-the-scenes system. He feels his time in the hotel and hospitality industry has made him a better person and a much better leader. He discuss with me at length various issues and concepts of what it means to be a leader. I am sure some of you will value much what Quentin has to say on this score. During Covid Quentin transitioned out of the hotel industry and now works in the healthcare field as a “customer experience manager”. His ultimate goal is to get back into the hotel world and eventually own and operate his own hotel. About the Guest: Quentin, a native of South Carolina, has been immersed in the values of southern hospitality since childhood. This philosophy has been reflected in his personal and professional life, driving his interests as a business professional and shaping his character. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from the University of South Carolina, where he chartered the National Society of Minorities in Society USC chapter and held leadership roles in other organizations. With over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, Quentin has served in different capacities, including Assistant General Manager, Director of Operations, and Front Office Manager for diverse hotel brands. He has a proven track record of improving guest satisfaction scores, turning around underperforming hotel operations, and exceeding quality and performance management objectives. As he advances in his career, Quentin is passionate about professional development, coaching others, and leading successful teams. He is committed to leveraging his leadership and training skills to make a significant impact in the hospitality industry. Through his diverse professional background, he has gained valuable insights and knowledge from various industries, which he has effectively utilized to strengthen and improve his leadership abilities. This multifaceted approach has allowed him to develop a unique perspective and skillset, ultimately making him a more well-rounded and effective leader. Despite the challenges that come with pursuing dreams, Quentin always encourages others to think big and embrace their aspirations. His ultimate goal is to become an owner of hotels, a dream that motivates him to learn more about hotel operations continually. If you would like to connect with Quentin, he would be delighted to receive an invitation on LinkedIn. Ways to connect with Quintin: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quentinmcelveen/ About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi, there I am your host, Mike Hingson. Or Michael Hingson, if you prefer and I'd like to welcome you to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. And I bet our guest today Quenton McElveen can talk all about the unexpected. He talks a lot about hospitality, southern hospitality. And of course, the South is supposed to be known for southern hospitality. So we want to get into that, needless to say and learn about it. But that will come as we go forward. But for now, Quentin, I'd like to thank you for being here. And welcome to unstoppable mindset was   Quenton McElveen ** 01:56 a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate this opportunity. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:00 this will be fun. I'm looking forward to it. Tell me a little bit about kind of the younger Quentin growing up and what what life was like as a kid and all that sort of stuff. It's always great to start at the beginning.   Quenton McElveen ** 02:14 So I grew up in South Carolina in a two parent household. I was at a strong Christian background. I was one of the kids that couldn't listen to anything but but gospel music I got in trouble if I tried to listen to something else. I grew up around a lot of a lot of family oriented activities and outings and a lot of my childhood we did a lot of traveling. So I believe that's why I became so interested in hotels. We stayed at hotels, I live on the east coast. I spent a lot of time with Florida. The beaches of South Carolina like Myrtle Beach, had a good childhood, very good childhood.   Michael Hingson ** 02:57 So you went to school in high school and so on. Did you go on to college?   Quenton McElveen ** 03:01 Yes. I went to the University of South Carolina in Columbia, and had a wonderful college tenure while I was there at a very good time. They're majoring in Hospitality Management course. I'm telling you, man,   Michael Hingson ** 03:21 of course. So with all the traveling that you've done, what's your favorite hotel?   Quenton McElveen ** 03:28 When I was younger? My favorite hotel was Embassy Suites. I love to go there. Yeah, I love there. How large the rooms were being looted kid. I like to jump across the bed from one to the other. And the breakfast buffet. I always loved that like the um, so as an adult, I like the Hilton brand building brand hotels. Yeah. I have a credit card.   Michael Hingson ** 03:59 I don't have a Hilton credit card. But I love when I can to stay at Hilton Hotels. And I still love Embassy Suites. I've always been welcomed pretty well there. And it's good to still follow the Hilton. Yeah. Well, it's all part of Hilton. And but so I enjoyed it and I still enjoy the breakfast. They they do a good job with that. And I've even I've even spent time at the manager's reception not being a big drinker. But the snacks are good and occasionally but a drink but I love just the hospitality Embassy Suites. I agree with you. It's it's a great hotel and a great brand. Alright. So you worked at the well at the university and you you charted an organization there, didn't you if I recall? Yeah,   Quenton McElveen ** 04:52 the organization that I reached out there is called the National Society of Minorities. in hospitality. And so that organization was something that we really needed on campus at the time. And it it started a lot of engagement with different students on campus. And it allowed us to travel to Atlanta, to the National Conference twice. While I was there, we traveled to Indianapolis to a national conference got us a lot of exposure with different professionals and students across the parts of the US that had the same issues we had. Well, and I went on further than it. I'm sorry, go ahead. I went on further than that, and joined the National Board of the entire organization. So I went from chapter president to the national program. So right there there. I have got a lot of exposure, do a lot of networking, with industry professionals.   Michael Hingson ** 05:54 So are you still in the hospitality industry today?   Quenton McElveen ** 05:58 Well, I'm not not officially in the hotel industry. But right now, I am a guest services Coach and Trainer, which sounds like hospitality. But it truly is hospitality. But it's not an end to hotel. Industry. Is it your own company? Is not my own company. I work for healthcare company. Okay.   Michael Hingson ** 06:19 Well, we will, we will get to that. Yeah, I know that. That's a little bit of a switch, though, although you can certainly justify it under hospitality, I suppose. And that brings up the question, what is hospitality? Hospitality   Quenton McElveen ** 06:33 is really a feeling that you give to someone else is really a feeling that someone's feels warm and comfortable. And they feel welcomed. Hospitality is a feeling so I'm satisfied. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 06:50 Well, if you don't have it, you, you should I think it's a fair thing to say being hospitable and, and making people feel welcome is something that I, I enjoy. And I've had the opportunity to do it for lots of podcast episodes now. But I've always enjoyed it. And it's, it seems to me that, collectively in this country, we're losing some of the art of hospitality because we can't talk to people. We can't have discussions. We're so fractured. Do you? Do you find that to be the case?   Quenton McElveen ** 07:26 Yeah, I agree. As great as social media and technology we have today is it really it took away the personal interaction that we have we once had before, the advancement that we have with cell phones and the internet. Because we don't have to talk to one another in person anymore. We can do it on the screen.   Michael Hingson ** 07:48 I have heard people say many times that they've been on trips with their kids and their kids are in the back of the car. And they're texting back and forth. And I've never understood why. And I asked somebody once, and they said, because they want to talk about things that they don't want their parents to know. And I'm sitting there going, that is so scary. You know,   Quenton McElveen ** 08:10 it seems like it shouldn't be the other way around. It seemed like texting would have came first. And then eventually when it came out later, oh, you can actually talk to someone now. But it was backwards. Yeah. Wow. Okay.   Michael Hingson ** 08:22 Yeah. And, but and you lose some of the art and some of the nuances of personal context that it would be really important, it seems to me to have That's right. So how, in your way, you went to college, you got a degree? Did you get a bachelor's? Did you go on and get a masters or just a bachelor's?   Quenton McElveen ** 08:45 I got a bachelor's degree, and okay, great to work after that   Michael Hingson ** 08:48 trying to work? How do you teach people hospitality? I'm assuming that when you hire people in a hotel environment, you want to try to get people who are going to be able to be welcoming and so on. But at the same time, isn't it something that sometimes you have to teach the art or help people improve in their hospitality efforts?   Quenton McElveen ** 09:10 When any hiring role that I've had as a full time manager in whatever capacity I was in at the time, I hired for personality, so they had to be already hospitable and coachable in the interview, and what what they were taught was the skills to complete the job, because you can have you can teach someone skill, but it's very difficult to teach hospitality. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 09:37 It is a it's a real challenge to do that. Because as you said, it's a feeling. It's an attitude. It's a mindset, and it's something that people have to develop. I love going to airports. Speaking of hospitality, and whenever I get to a TSA agent, you know when we get to the kiosk or to the counter or not well, though The desk and all that. The first thing they say is, can I have your boarding pass and your ID and I give them my boarding pass? And well, can I have your ID? And of course, what I say is, what's wrong? Did you lose yours? And they mostly do laugh. Or I say, Why do you need my ID? Don't I look like me? You know, I just, it is it is a thankless job. And even at hotels and so on, I love to try to get people to laugh. I think it's one of the things that I've learned to do over the years from probably doing radio, in college and other things. But I think it's so important that we try to make people feel at ease. And of course, there are a lot of people who are uncomfortable around a blind person. And there are people who are uncomfortable about people of other races. And so anything we can do to deal with, that is always worth doing, it seems to me,   Quenton McElveen ** 10:54 that's good to hear how you, you find a way to connect with someone by using humor. I do that quite often, almost every day on the job. And with strangers that I meet. I think there's humor and everything. And it bridges the gap between, like you said different different races. And it's an easy way for me to input hospitality, but humor by using humor, because oftentimes we go to businesses and restaurants, retail stores are just places where you feel like a transaction, like you walk in, they just want to give you what you want and get you out of there. You don't feel like they really care. You know, that number was like a robotic transaction. And I don't like that. So anytime I interact with someone or my current job or anywhere, I want to make sure they feel valued. How do you do   Michael Hingson ** 11:48 that? Can you tell me a story of where you had to do that once or where you decided to do it once?   Quenton McElveen ** 11:55 Sure, I do it quite easily. The easy target for me being in the south is football. I live in. I live in South Carolina. So the two top teams of discussion are University of South Carolina and Clemson. So usually when you talk to someone, you ask them, okay, Which team do you like? And if it's the Carolina person, I just sparked up friendship. If it's a Clemson person, it's a friendly rivalry that we can joke with back and forth. Yes, that's what I do very often. And being here to south. Well, yeah, go ahead. If they're not a college fan, we can quickly move to the NFL, you know, a sports fan. like to talk about their, you know, what they have on or their name. I find different clever ways to, to interact with people.   Michael Hingson ** 12:43 Let's get real serious here, though. So that works great for South Carolina. But what do you do when you get somebody from UNC North Carolina State or Duke? Who comes to visit?   Quenton McElveen ** 12:55 Just checking. We just, we just shift the basketball? Yeah, that's something I've done. Yeah, if you shoot the basketball, and if you're a UNC fan, and you may be casual, you don't really know what's going on. We could talk about the older the older days with Michael Jordan, or move forward. Vince Carter, and we can talk about those days. So   Michael Hingson ** 13:15 yeah, no, I understand. I remember going to a speaking event.   Quenton McElveen ** 13:22 At Oh, well,   Michael Hingson ** 13:25 I, it was somewhere right around Raleigh Durham. And I landed, got to the hotel, and I was gonna just order room service and eat in my room and watch a little bit of TV, which seems innocent enough. It was March, which gives you a clue. I hadn't even thought about it. And I was going to actually watch a TV show that used to be on CBS called without a trace. And I turned the TV on was his getting ready to order. And suddenly the announcer comes out and says the television shows normally broadcast at this time without a trace and whatever, are not going to be shown today because we're going to bring you the UNC North Carolina State basketball game that decides who goes to the championship. And you can watch without a trace at 1:02pm on Sunday morning. Yeah, who's gonna be up there watching that? But, you know, they, they really did take it seriously. It was it was fun. And so I I've watched enough to learn to get into the discussions, but I've been in several situations where sports is ruled what you do. I've had a couple of speaking engagements where I was told you have to end by a certain time so that we can end this event by a certain time, like once in Kentucky, because it was the final two for March Madness and the Wildcats were one of the two teams and they said this all ends at 630 Because by 630 One, this gym, it was in a gymnasium totally full, this gym will be totally empty by 631. And you know what it was? It was I'd never seen people get out so fast. Wow. But you know what? We know what their priority. That's right. We know what their priorities are. It was kind of fun. But I agree, I think humor is, is is an important thing. And it doesn't need to be humor that puts anyone down or anything, right? There's so many ways to make people feel more welcome. And I wish we could really all learn more of that. And even with serious discussions, like nowadays, you can't really talk to anybody about politics. And you can't because everyone takes it so seriously, we become so fractured, you know. But as I put, as I love to tell people, we don't do that on top of mindset, we don't talk about politics. But if we were to I would point out that I'm an equal opportunity abuser. So it doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter. I'm an equal opportunity abuser. I'm with Mark Twain Congress was that Grandal benevolent asylum for the helpless?   Quenton McElveen ** 16:13 So okay.   Michael Hingson ** 16:17 So everybody fits in the same mold. What do you want, but you know, politics is, it's just something that is, is so serious, and we're so steeped in some of that stuff today that we just can't converse about it. And we talk about humor, but the whole art of conversation. And so I'm sure that you were to spend a lot of time just having conversations with people, which helps make them feel more welcome.   Quenton McElveen ** 16:44 Right, and I was trying to meet people where they are, you can kind of have a dessert for people, I fill them out. So you know what they're comfortable with talking about. And that's just it. So I have different conversations with different people depending on the when you're going through at a time when they're already talking about. And so it's never a disrespectful conversation and never insulting. It's always uplifting. And something that builds you up. Have you ever had a   Michael Hingson ** 17:15 situation that where you just could not break through and talk to someone or they were just really obnoxious?   Quenton McElveen ** 17:20 Yeah, I've had quite a few of those. That's what I know just to if they wanted to be transactional. Okay, I'll do that for you. I'm not going to ask you how your day was or anything like that. I'm just going to complete this transaction. I'm going to provide the service that you want me to provide. And I got to be out your way. I'm not going to hold you up at all. Yeah, few and far between. But they happen though. Yeah, that's   Michael Hingson ** 17:48 unfortunate. And you know, you don't know what caused them to be that way. And maybe they're not always that way. But whatever. There's nothing that you can really do about that other than your best guess   Quenton McElveen ** 17:59 right? There. In the hotel industry, there's a difference between hotel leisure and hotel business. So these guests come in with two different needs. against us, they're on vacation, or they're there, they have all the time in the world to spend. So they're going to ask you a lot of questions like what's the best place to eat? And what should I visit while I'm here, they're gonna ask you engage in questions. But the business guests their their own business, they just want to run with a nice, big enough outlet to plug in their laptop and their cell phone and tablet. They don't need to know what a pool is. So why am I spending my time telling them about a pool? They don't need that. They don't want to know, the newest exciting thing in town. They're not here for that. So you got to know what's compensation the half? Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 18:52 I must admit that even if I'm somewhere for leisure, I do want to know where those outlets are. Yeah. To be able to plug things in and especially where the USB ports are these days, which is, which is getting to be more and more important, and probably rightly so.   Quenton McElveen ** 19:12 Yeah, and I believe hotel so far, some of them have done a great job of adapting to the, the new that new target market, because 20 years ago, we didn't need extra outlets, and of course, but now it's almost mandatory. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 19:29 And you got to have enough outlets to make it worthwhile this because people are bringing things that require them and they want them and it's all about convenience. That's right.   Quenton McElveen ** 19:41 Every note is that um, um, we talked about cell phones earlier. Now there are there are apps that you can connect with the desk before you even arrive. There are right before you had to pick up the phone or call now. They don't want you to call it as much now because sometimes you have to talk to a call center versus talking to the front desk. Yeah, well, that wasn't as big as it is now. So things are changing. And there   Michael Hingson ** 20:12 is a huge difference between talking to someone in a call center and talking to someone at the front desk. And I still prefer to call personally and speak to someone. And usually, I can figure out how to get around calling the call center, like if they want if you want to talk about reservations, and they can say, if you want to speak to somebody about reservations, push one, I pretty much am certain that's gonna go to a call center. And not interested in that. So secret, everybody, I just dial zero and go from there. But mostly, I have my act together before I go and have enough information is sent to me via email, or I can look at like the Hilton honors app, and get a lot of information right off the bat. So I get a lot of the data that I need, which is which is important.   Quenton McElveen ** 21:09 I want to I want to answer that. I'm glad you mentioned about that out. I think it's important for those who don't travel often or you're really not that into travel, you may or may not have out it whether you go to Hilton Marriott high Wyndham doesn't matter which brand you go to, I highly encourage you to download the app and do check in on the app, I would not wait to check in when you get there. But download the app and you can use it as a room key in some hotels, you don't have to have physical key. And if you check in on the hell, you don't have to stop by the front desk, unless you absolutely just want to, you can walk right past the front desk, you don't have to check in there and go straight to your room. That's so convenient. And there are times when hotels sell out. If you check it out, you put in much I guarantee your room, no matter what time you arrive, whether you get that midnight or after, if you've already checked in, they're not going to remove you from that room, right?   Michael Hingson ** 22:14 My challenge with some of that though, is in checking in and picking a room. Especially if there are different styles rooms that all fall into the category that I can choose. Not being able to see them and and then giving you the information through pictures. That's a problem for me. Okay, so I have a challenge with that. But I don't mind checking in, but I also still go to the front desk. And the reason I do is it being different enough. very frankly, I want people to know who I am. So they're they'll understand later if I ask questions or call and have a question or just come down or or whatever. So I don't mind speaking to the desk, but that's a personal thing. And it doesn't matter to me if it's business or personal or pleasure. It is still to me. Probably extremely helpful to speak to somebody at the desk.   Quenton McElveen ** 23:14 Right? I agree. It was good to get that personal interaction as well. Just connected with people. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 23:22 Where I see challenges for me a lot is going to a hotel. And they have a lot of hotels have these breakfasts in the morning, the free breakfast or whatever, and you go into this room and they can you can make a waffle or they've got pre made omelets and all that stuff. Sometimes they're not necessarily very good, but they're there. The problem is getting help to find out what's where and actually getting assistance to get things because, you know, unless I just go around with a fork and taste everything in each each container, you know, that's not gonna work very well.   Quenton McElveen ** 24:05 Well, normally, there are representatives that   Michael Hingson ** 24:08 well, there are tenants, but sometimes they're in the kitchen in the back washing dishes or whatever, or they step away. So it's just, they're not always there. And more often than not, it takes a while. But the other problem is, here's what usually happens when I find a breakfast attendant. i I'll go in and I'll stand for a second and usually I can find an attendant fairly quickly. So most of the time, they don't wander off, but then they say, Well, what do you want for breakfast? I don't know. I just got here. What do you have? You know, they always want to know and a lot of times that's why I hate it when people want to read me menus in restaurants and so on. If I go in and they don't have a Braille menu. I say to them, you know, I'd like to know what's on the menu. And then the question is what do you want? Well, you know, the the temptation, when that happens is to say something like, I want to roast duck dinner with stuffing, and other things like that, that I'm sure they're not going to have. Why are you asking me what I want? When I want to know, first of all, what's on the menu? How am I going to figure that out? It's kind of an interesting world we live in.   Quenton McElveen ** 25:22 Yeah. And that's a common question that I get to when I go to restaurants that I have not been to before. Let me see the menu first. And I'll be able to answer that question. Right. But I'll tell you what your hell first, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 25:33 yeah, because seeing the menu doesn't do good for me. Right. And it is a challenge to get people to recognize, well, I got to know what there is. First. There are some interesting apps, and they don't do as much as I would like. But there's a an app, for example, called menus for all. And it has some almost 800,000 different restaurant menus. And what you can do is you can just activate it when you're where you want to be. And it will tell you, starting from the closest going out what the menus are that they have. Unfortunately, I've been doing really well lately in the menus that I've wanted, or for the restaurants that I'm I know I'm at, they don't have. And so I still only get them the menu. There are other ways to get it. And there are a number of ways there's a program called Blind square that I can access. And when I do that,   Quenton McElveen ** 26:29 then   Michael Hingson ** 26:32 it'll see where I am. And blind square also is great at pulling up local menus, it actually goes into the website on its own, and finds it and discovers the menu and then it can read it out loud or whatever. But yeah, menus can be a challenge and restaurants. On the other hand, go to Embassy Suites, the chicken case, ideas are always good. Yes, so I can I can be in a rut pretty easily. In case the Diaz,   Quenton McElveen ** 27:05 if all else fails, go to Embassy Suites. That's a good place to eat.   Michael Hingson ** 27:10 And stay Yeah, it is. pricey. But but you know, there are there are always challenges. And mostly, I do find that people want to do the right thing. But of course, they want to do the right thing a lot more, when you make it joyful for them to want to do the right thing. So I think that's really important to address to   Quenton McElveen ** 27:34 you talking about just employees in general. I'm talking   Michael Hingson ** 27:37 about employees in general, and interacting with with the public employees are going to be more prone to interact with me, if I make it pretty clear that I value them and want to talk with them. And you know that we can have a good conversation as opposed to just being a jerk. That's right. That's right. I agree. So what do you love about the hospitality industry since you were in it for such a long time, and you're still sort of in it, if you will,   Quenton McElveen ** 28:09 it's come natural, to me, is something I've been doing my entire life. And just just being a part of having a job where you hospitality is something that you have to do. It's not hard at all, it comes natural. Even if I wasn't working, I will be doing something with hospitality. Even when I'm not working right now. Like if I go to a mall or something, something as simple as holding the door for the next person. Or something as simple down south, we say Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. I know that's not accepted everywhere. But it shows respect. Just making sure if if there was an accident that happened with someone, someone slips and falls, making sure they Okay, versus pulling your phone out for YouTube and Facebook, you know, just the old school stuff that it's not as valued as much today. So working in the hospitality, industry or working in hospitality, it gives you the opportunity to do that, to get paid for doing something that you love doing.   Michael Hingson ** 29:17 And that's really the issue, isn't it? It's all about making it a fun job and paying for what you love doing and getting paid for what you love doing.   Quenton McElveen ** 29:25 If there's my personality, we have a front of the house, or there is in front of the house and the back of the house for a reason. Not everyone wants to be up front talking to guests, and that's fine. This was the back of the house for and so and then in front of the house person, they don't necessarily want to be in the back. So it's a room for you. You don't have to be customer or guest facing to be in the hospitality industry. But   Michael Hingson ** 29:52 even so, there are going to be times when people in the back of the house are going to have to interact with customers and so they should I understand enough the value of doing it even though it may not be what they do regularly.   Quenton McElveen ** 30:03 That's true.   Michael Hingson ** 30:07 That's right. So it's kind of important. What's your most memorable moment? What's the thing that stands out to you the most about being in the hospitality industry or that happened to you?   Quenton McElveen ** 30:18 When I graduated in 2011, and I love this question. I moved to New Orleans never been there before. Don't have any family there. I moved there, because I have a great opportunity. And it's a culture shock. Coming from South Carolina to New Orleans, they don't even speak the same type of English. So I had to learn English again. When I first touched down in the in the airport, the lady said, she asked me how I was doing but she said, how you doing baby? And I thought she liked me something because she called me baby. But no, that's and then as I continue to go along, that's just how they greet one another there by saying, baby. That's it. Oh, okay. So it's a whole lot different. So my most memorable moment in the hotel industry was opening or reopening the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Hotel was destroyed by a bit of real bad by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina, right. And I was part of that team that reopened it. So I when it comes to mattresses and pillows, sofas, I was part of that team just restocking the rooms, getting them prepared, ready to open. I even had a hand and the 10 replacement in the bathrooms. So that was a big part of my idea. If you're still like that today, how wasn't that when I was there? Notice something I could have credit for. Many years later,   Michael Hingson ** 32:04 I stayed at that hotel. I remember it. It's been a while, but I've been there. And we're attended a couple of conventions in New Orleans as well.   Quenton McElveen ** 32:12 Around what year? It   Michael Hingson ** 32:15 was, it was pre Katrina. Okay. I'm trying to think if I'd been if I've been there since I may have been there once since. But I know I did pre Katrina, and I think I was in New Orleans once and did stay there. And it was after Katrina, but it was several years after I Katrina hit. And then I was also Hurricane Rita, in Texas. And I was in Texas, when all of that happened. And so I got to see a lot of what was going on like in Beaumont, Texas, and around and around there and how people were having to deal with it. It was definitely a sad situation. Yeah. And people were homeless because of what happened. And sometimes I remember it was very difficult to break through to people and get people to smile. And, and I worked at it pretty hard. Course, in one sense, it's easier for me having a guide dog because most everyone loves to pet a Labrador golden retriever. And right, especially when the dog comes up and pushes his or her nose right under your hand and says I'm here. Time to talk to me. And people love that. Yeah.   Quenton McElveen ** 33:34 Now I'm actually working at a property of my   Michael Hingson ** 33:37 current dog would say let me jump in your lap. But that's another story. You're gonna say.   Quenton McElveen ** 33:43 I once worked at a property where we had a adopted dog program. Uh huh. So there was a dog in the hotel lobby by the front desk 24/7 until someone came to adopt that pet and then when that pet got adopted, they brought a new dog in and that was that was interesting and people love to come in and like you said pet pet the dog that we had in at the time.   Michael Hingson ** 34:12 Yeah. Quite she had to have a dog that would tolerate being loved by lots of people but that's fine. Yes.   Quenton McElveen ** 34:20 The only we have many problems so one dog that we had to we had to send back because didn't like the pit   Michael Hingson ** 34:32 only dogs oh no cats, huh? No kiss. Yeah, there's there are differences there and cats would be a different situation all the way around anyway. But still, that's neat that they did that. Where was that? What was what hotel was that? Where was that?   Quenton McElveen ** 34:50 This is actually in Greenville, Greenville, South Carolina.   Michael Hingson ** 34:56 Do they still have that program? Do you think   Quenton McElveen ** 34:59 I'm gonna Sure, I would imagine that they do. But I'm not 100% Sure. That's cool. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 35:07 Now I have been to the Peabody Hotel in Tennessee, where, you know, they have the ducks that go over the bridge every day. And we watched the ducks and my dog was very interested in those ducks. The thing is with with her, she liked ducks. We actually had ducks. That came up on our patio, in Northern California, in Novato, California, we were lived on a lagoon and the ducks would come up because we fed them bread. And if my dog just laid down, they would surround her need to quack at her and so on. And as long as she didn't make any sudden moves, they were they were fine course what she loved to do was suckered them all to getting close by and then she would jump up, and they would all fly away. She loved to watch them. flyweight did not do. But but she she was absolutely very, very sociable and loved them. That was her visit version of hospitality, right? Because she really did she loved the ducks. And, and, and actually, they all got along really well. So it was kind of cool. Nice. Nice. Yeah, it is.   Quenton McElveen ** 36:25 Well, so   Michael Hingson ** 36:29 what? So what is the the hospitality industry taught you what have you learned from being in it for such a long time.   Quenton McElveen ** 36:37 So working in the industry, you meet people from all walks of life, it teaches you diversity. So coming from a small city in South Carolina, where you run the same atmosphere all the time, and that's all you see, once you move out, like for example, when I moved to New Orleans, or, or moved back to South Carolina, and worked in a few different cities in South Carolina, you meet people that fly in from all over the world, really. So it expands a broaden your horizons, you get to interact with a lot of different ethnicities. So it definitely teaches you diversity, teaches you patience, because not everyone has an enjoy, they have time. Let me say it another way. Some people run into some issues, like maybe some accident happened at room was a cleaner web, whatever the case, was it tissue patients because you want to sit down and listen to them completely, and then solve their problem, you don't want to just cut them off. And then to solve the problem, you want to listen to them first. Because that's one way that they're going to feel value. They think that it matter if you listen to them first. So it teaches you that patience, and it teaches you really be a better person. It really does. So because if you didn't have the opportunity to know that, just because you think something is a good idea your co worker is from another country or from another city, another background, they have a completely different idea. And there isn't wrong, yours isn't wrong either. Is is different, you got to figure out a way to come together for the greater good of the assignment that you're on or the greater good of the property and work it out. And it's good to see some from another lens. You've only you only can speak on your life experiences. If you've never experienced something different How can you give a valid input on your coworker has and vice versa. And so that's another way of just broadening horizons. And having a problem solving skills is transferable to any industry that you transfer to your personal life, being able to problem solve, because it's not gonna be perfect every day. There's no two days of like something something's always going to need attention done to it. And if you've done so many times, just being just being a human being, you're gonna have to put those things into practice at some point outside of your job. Yeah. And one thing that I'm not sure if people know it or not, but I won't point they didn't work in in the hotel industry has a lot of transferable skills. Like as we stated before, I currently work in the healthcare industry, but a lot of stuff that I use, I learned from working in hotel talking to a guest with a patient but I call them guests that maybe were frustrated with them. Well, let me tell you the story. Listen, this happened last week. Last week, I got a call that we had a guest that was actually blind guests. And he struggled with getting around in our facility, he, he was able to get dropped off there by the transportation company. And he was able to get picked up. But why he was there. He didn't. He didn't receive the help that he needed. So he told, he told him, the person, his caregiver. And he told me because I worked with guests, the guests experience department. And we met at work. So the next time you come, give us a call, we ensure that you get around to your destination while you're in the building. And when you leave, make sure you get back to the front door. And I got a I got feedback on this week that he saw the difference that he really enjoyed us taking the time to make sure that he was taking care of it. So that looked that's come from the hotel industry. And that was something I love to do. I love to take care of someone.   Michael Hingson ** 41:02 So you think you probably wouldn't have necessarily learned that if it hadn't been for being in the hotel and hospitality industry for so long.   Quenton McElveen ** 41:09 I wouldn't have been exposed to it the way that I have been so would have reacted, maybe not the same. But just my upbringing, I'd love to help people in a way, but going about it in such a way to get it done as quick as seamless as possible. The hotel industry has taught me how to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 41:29 How would you describe your leadership style? Because clearly, you've progressed in the hospitality industry, and you must have been in managerial and leadership positions. And obviously, in college, you did some things that that would mark you as a leader. So what's your style?   Quenton McElveen ** 41:47 Yeah, so yes, I have had some, several manager positions in front of the house, and back of the house with rooms and food and beverage, and my leadership style is charismatic. And hands on down in the trenches with them. We're going to get our work done, but we want to have fun doing it as well. If you're going to laugh joke, you're going to go to see some humor, I want you to feel comfortable, I want you to feel like you matter. It's not a dictatorship, it's not a strong on ruler, ship. Your opinion is needed and is necessary. And as leader, I'm going to frontline not going to ask you to do something that I would not do. So charismatic would be the answer to that.   Michael Hingson ** 42:35 Have you had Oh, go ahead.   Quenton McElveen ** 42:38 Let me give you a housekeeping story. Many times in a hotel industry you have to you're gonna have to pitch in and help housekeeping which is understood, very common. So it doesn't matter that you got a brand new suit on that you bought rolled sleeves up and get in there, make them beds and help clean, that's what managers do. You don't just tell somebody else to do it. And so there have been times where I'm helping house he was in a room to know when to quit, we got it, you go back up to the front, we'll take care of it for you. So that respect level they have they know that I'm willing to help. But in that particular case, they wanted me to they didn't want me to do it that they want me to help it in other ways.   Michael Hingson ** 43:27 But you said a message by what you did that you're willing to help and assist them. Because they they also have a lot they're dealing with so you kind of have their back.   Quenton McElveen ** 43:39 Right? At a town of a family this is is actually international housekeeping. We I'm not in the industry anymore. But this week is special. It's a it's a time where you use your resources and use the time to celebrate housekeepers. And I absolutely love this week. And just scrolling through my feed. There's a lot of different things that are being done this week. There's one hotel, they're getting all the housekeepers a pedicure, but a spa day a lot of celebrations, a lot of food, a lot of acknowledgments. And just think of the hotel industry without housekeeping. You know, hotel would last because they are the heart of the hotel. You   Michael Hingson ** 44:33 in dealing with a lot of different people and all that. Have you had any employee situations that you've inherited, for example, where, again, somebody just didn't respond and you had to take some action because they were not being hospitable?   Quenton McElveen ** 44:52 Yes, yes. There's two I can think of right now. One case it was Is that like, you come in, and you're working, you're working with the public. Like I say, you want to be hospitable, if you just want to come in and just be transactional. I don't want to tell about the exact the exact things that happened. But if you just slipped, somehow slipped through the cracks through the interview, like you played the safe in the interview, and you act it well, but you get the job, and you're totally different person. That's not going to last, well, this isn't going to last long, I should say. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 45:32 And cuz you can't hide it forever. Right? After   Quenton McElveen ** 45:37 about three months is usually a time. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 45:44 It is something that people are going to pick up on. Again, it's so much easier to have fun and enjoy life and encourage others to do the same thing anyway.   Quenton McElveen ** 45:57 Well, one thing that I really enjoy about another thing about working in hotel industry, as I got older,   Quenton McElveen ** 46:05 my focus really wasn't so much. Me, of course, I know I'm going to do a good job. But I want to see how can I develop a team, I kind of lead others to be successful, I kind of build up others to match their dreams and goals, because not everyone wants to be a manager and hold change. Not everyone wants your job. Some people are they're working through school, some people have a spouse that's working, and they just want a second job. Find out what motivates everyone. And that'll help you be a better manager to them. And if you align with your people's needs, they're definitely going to align with yours as well. And, for example, let's say you have your short staffed one day, if you're not a good manager, if you don't treat your team with respect, you can make the phone calls or call people in your phone, you might not get the answer. But then they see, okay, this manager respects me. Let me answer the phones, if they want it, yeah, come in, even even to come in. That makes a big difference in how you treat people. And being a leader, not just a manager, a boss, you get a chance to really change people's lives for the better. And that brings more joy than just by anything. Because I always treat my employees as they were just about treatment, I guess, then I don't, there's no doubt in my mind, they're going to treat the guests. Well, because they see that manager do.   Michael Hingson ** 47:33 You just said something really interesting, you talked about a leader or a manager, or just the boss, what's the difference between a boss and say, a manager or a leader?   Quenton McElveen ** 47:45 Well put boss, a manager in the same category. So a manager, they have a certain task and incomplete goal that they need to reach, they're gonna just reach that goal, and they're going to tell you to go do it. They're part of that airplane is delegation. That's the main part of what they do. Leader, yes, they're gonna delegate as well. But they're going to do it with you, they're going to make sure that you have all the tools that you need to complete the task, the delegation, they're gonna do some of that some of them with you on the front lines. So they while they're on the front lines, now we get to know each other, we've moved on from small talk. Now, I might know something about your family. Now I know about your interest was your favorite ice cream. So when your birthday your birthday gets here, I can give you that? A manager, they don't really care about all those details that much. Just come in, do your job, and and keep it moving. So there's a there's a big difference between a manager and a leader. And I always want to be the leader that I want my layout that I want to have. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 49:03 I think it's important to be a leader in the really good managers learn to assess who has what leadership qualities and know when to give up leadership to somebody else on the team to deal with something that they need to deal with.   Quenton McElveen ** 49:20 Yes, I 100% agree with that. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 49:24 we experienced a lot of that in the World Trade Center, going down in escaping on September 11. There were different people that had different skills that that worked at different times. And and even working with my guide dog, there were times that the dog was able to guide because we could walk side by side and there were times that the dog couldn't be next to me and had to walk behind me just at heel on leash. But, you know, the bottom line is that for the team of me and a guide dog, we both respected each other and I think that's The biggest issue with teams and team building overall, is to develop a true respect among all the team members and that the leader of the team knows, and learns to understand the qualities and abilities of everybody on the team to know exactly that when to allow someone else to take the lead to accomplish something.   Quenton McElveen ** 50:23 Yes, there are several times in department meetings, that was something that we had to accomplish or go over. There are times I would open up the floor until tell the team okay, this is what we need to accomplish. Does anybody have any ideas, I mean, it might be an acid that I have. But reverence is given all the answers, empower somebody else to join in, and give them a chance to lead. And you start to see what you have a lot of stress on your team, if you just allow them to contribute, that have made them that have made them better employees and make them better leaders. I've seen where I've seen housekeepers turn into housekeeping managers. I've had a Front Desk Agent turn into a general manager made throughout progression of the Maya leadership. Yeah. So empowering employee empowerment shoes, for me is a big part of my own. What I do as a leader,   Michael Hingson ** 51:26 well, and as you, let's go back to your discussion, you're having a discussion with people and you say, what, what are your ideas, please contribute? And somebody said something, and you assess, and then maybe make the decision to say, Okay, would you be willing to coordinate starting and working this project, which is, of course, part of what you're saying, it's very important to be able to do that. And I think that that's extremely important. And it shows that people value the people that they work with. And I also believe that good leaders are also servants and Rita understand that, Oh,   Quenton McElveen ** 52:08 yeah. That that goes into employee engagement as well. Once you get your employee engaged, then you don't necessarily have to worry as much about what they're doing whenever you're not around. Because they have an assignment, like you just mentioned, and the deadline, they're going to be working on getting that assignment done. And if somebody is engaged, they're more likely to stay because you want to be somewhere where you feel like you have some type of value. I'm thinking everyone just wants to come in to a place where they know no one wants him to be there. So that employee engagement is another thing as well, that's a big part of my leadership style.   Michael Hingson ** 52:50 I work when I'm dealing with my teams, whenever it is, to get people to understand that I don't want you to just feel that this is a job, I want you to have fun, I want you to come because you want to. And I think that I have to have fun, and I have to set that example. But I want people not to think that a job is just a job, but it is what we're doing. And we're working together. And we're making a difference. And part of my job is to show people when they make a difference and how they make a difference and why that's so important.   Quenton McElveen ** 53:29 In today's world, you know the the generations change from Baby Boomers to Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, the 10 years of the length of time someone stays at a company, it changes. You used to see those that stay at a job for 20 plus years. You don't see that as often now, usually the generation now or Millennials or generation after us because I'm a millennial, my standard job for three years or so? No, maybe less than that. Maybe more now, but I would say three years is probably a good average. And the some of the reasons why they would take a position at another job because they don't feel as value. Another job might offer them something that they can't get at their current position. That's one of the reasons. And as I think that we need to kind of as, as leaders of businesses and companies just kind of evaluate how can we get our employees to stay longer? What can we do? Will it help our bottom line and we figure out a way to keep the longer or I think that's a discussion that needs to be had.   Michael Hingson ** 54:52 You think companies are doing that at all and are catching on to the fact that that probably is a sensible thing or do you think that People just still are viewing workers as commodities without really looking at the person. Because my impression is that there's a lot of that that goes on today,   Quenton McElveen ** 55:12 I think is a topic of discussion. Um, I honestly don't know, what's, what's being done. The the gig economy has played a big part in that. Because so the generation now they can just go quit. And okay, I'll drive Uber for a few months until I can find something else, or am I stupid, permanently, that this was not an option 2030 years ago, that you couldn't take a job like that. Or somebody might say, I'm going to be a content creator. So I'm gonna make my money online. So there are more options now than ever before. And because of those options, it should be some action taken within corporate America. Something that we got to learn?   Michael Hingson ** 56:08 Well, you talked about the lessons that you learn in the hospitality industry that you take to life. How about the other way? What have you learned outside of the hospitality industry that you brought into your work in the hotel industry,   Quenton McElveen ** 56:20 there's something that feels right now it's called Emotional Intelligence. I've never heard of that before. Maybe I'm late to the late to it. Or maybe I think I'm just rattling time. But I've never heard of emotional intelligence before. And the industry that I'm in now, as you teach it as a coach, is understanding how your emotions affects others around you, and how it affects your actions as well. And the fact I've been studying this and teaching it to others, like I've improved my performance as far as having conversations with others, because I understand now, how my actions, even though I might not be trying to do something negative, or I might not be trying to act a certain way, it might come off as a certain way. Emotional Intelligence has taught me that. So that's something I've implemented. And I'm going to use this forever. So pretty cool. So   Michael Hingson ** 57:24 in the world, you we all tend to be inspired by people who's the person who's most inspired you.   Quenton McElveen ** 57:31 Person that as far as me right now is my wife. But she's she's given gives me the motivation that I need to go to go in and move our family forward every day. So my wife is my biggest motivation right now.   Michael Hingson ** 57:51 I had a conversation actually with someone earlier today, and we were talking about that very thing. And he asked who inspired me and I mentioned, my geometry teacher from high school did herbal Shimer, but certainly another person and the person who, if I also were to really talk about inspiration would be my wife, Karen, who was married to me for 40 years until she passed, but 40 years, a lot of memories. But in so many ways, and I even in the book I wrote about the World Trade Center in my life, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man has guide dog on the triumph of trust, to talk about that, and talk about some of the things that she did that. I think only she would think of that I certainly didn't, until she brought it up. It just really helped me make some very wise choices. I always thought she was brighter than I anyway. So you switch from directly being in the hospitality industry, the health care industry? What what caused that? And what do you do now? I think you've told us some of that, but that's a pretty big change going from one to the other in a sense that would seem   Quenton McElveen ** 59:05 Yeah. Really well cause is it 2020 During the the height of the pandemic, the situation that I was in in the hotel at the time, it became a hazardous situation because the room rates went down, a lot of the staffing went down. And the environment wasn't a good environment at time. So just so I can be safer and be closer to my family. I accepted a position outside of the hotel industry, hard decision to make because it's an issue that I love that I'm passionate about. But then I found something called a guest experience coach. So wait a minute, is this a hotel job or something? What's the guest experience coaches doing in healthcare? A job so I looked it up. And it was really, if teaching people and instilling in them what I've learned so many years as a manager in the hotel industry, but teaching it to healthcare workers. And so as a guest experience Coach, what I do is I travel around different campuses of my of my company that train on different subjects like the emotional intelligence, training on telephone etiquette, and how to handle difficult guests, and many other topics as well. So that's what I do now, very similar to what I've done in the past. Do   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:39 you think that you would go back into the hotel industry directly in the future? Are you really happy where you are now?   Quenton McElveen ** 1:00:47 Yeah, so I'd love the opportunity to re enter in a role similar to what I'm doing now where you can use your experience and coaching build others up, like a learning and development manager, or even in a role supporting operations. Like, like, I told you, my biggest, my biggest memory or not remember, you asked him what was my biggest something? I did? And I told you that was New Orleans. My most memorable, memorable moment. Yeah, yes. Opening up a property? I absolutely. That was a great experience. There are there are positions that are that you do just that you go around and you open property. So I would love to re enter the industry will give you an opportunity. Well, hopefully that will happen. Yeah, I believe it will. Well, I   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:45 want to thank you for being with us. We've had a lot of fun over this last hour. And I think you've said a lot of very interesting and important things that we can all take to heart I love your view of leadership and, and a lot of the things that you've said, and I've spent enough time around the hospitality industry, I think to understand it, like I said, I I enjoy dealing with people to and helping to have people feel welcome. And and I know that for me being different because of being blind. It's very helpful to do that. So I I love getting the validation of your philosophy and I appreciate that.   Quenton McElveen ** 1:02:25 Listen Michael, Michael, thank you again, it's a great opportunity to be here with you. And I'm honored that you will allow me to be on your platform. So I appreciate what you do here. And I thank you.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:35 Do you do any coaching privately? Or do you just do it for the healthcare industry? You don't have your own sort of side hustle business?   Quenton McElveen ** 1:02:42 I currently I don't have that, but that's something I've been looking into thinking about.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:47 Well, yeah, if you do, let us know, because we'll let people know. But if people want to reach out to you, is there a way they can do that? Or do you have any contact information that you want to tell people?   Quenton McElveen ** 1:02:58 Sure. You can find me on LinkedIn, you can just type in Quentin McElveen. Can you spell the active on there? Sure. Q u e n t i n says Quentin and McElveen is M c E l v as a Victor e e n. So Quentin McElveen. easiest to find on there and I'm on there pretty often. So that's that's the best place to end to interact with me. That's how we found you. Yes, that's right.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:35 I'm very glad that we did. Well. Thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. We really appreciate it. I hope that you enjoyed what Quentin had to say today and that some of it resonates. Reach out to Quentin, establish a connection and make a new friend all the way around. For my part, I'd love to hear from you hear what you think about today. Give us up an email at Michaelhi at accessibe.com That's m i c h a e l h i at accessibe A C C E S S I B E.com. Or visit our podcast page WW dot Michael Hingson H i n g s o n.com/podcast. And wherever you're listening, please give us a five star rating. We really value those ratings and would very much appreciate you saying that you liked us. And if you've had some things that you want to say about it, let us know. Email me I would love to hear from you. Get your thoughts again. It's Michaelhi at accessibe.com. I know Quentin would like to hear from you as well. And when we all get the chance maybe we'll have to do this again, Quentin, when you go back into the hotel industry, we'll have to just hear what new adventures come up. But I want to one more time. Tell you thank you very much for being here and giving us the opportunity to chat with you.   Quenton McElveen ** 1:04:53 Well, I'm looking forward to that I want that to happen as well. I look forward to   **Michael Hingson ** 1:05:03 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

In this episode of Everyday People, Extraordinary Lives, join Kerry as he interviews Pam and Stacy Pearson about their late daughter, Haley Sue. Pam and Stacy discuss grappling with loss as well as how to carry on the legacy of a lost one. Haley Sue lives on through the Haley Sue Foundation, a non-profit focused on giving back to the community in the way she would. The annual Haley Sue Legacy Ball for 2024 will be at the Embassy Suites, 820 Crescent Center Drive, Franklin, TN, on March 2nd starting at 5:00 p.m. https://www.thehaleysuefoundation.org/legacy-ball/p/legacy-ball-ticketsListeners can support the foundation by visiting thehaleysuefoundation.org.

MAYOR MIKE JOHNSTON AT 2PM TODAY We're going to talk about his success in getting 1,000 homeless people off the streets and then ask, now what? I've got questions from neighbors of the Embassy Suites shelter they'd like asked. I'll also be asking about the cuts to city budgets that he is warning are needed to take care of the flood of illegal immigrants coming to Denver.

Check out this episode as the BBBP crew interviews drivers at the Tennessee Mod Lite Racing Association 2023 Banquet from the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro, TN (12/9/23). Merry Christmas all you Bubbas!

Topics Discussed:  Trump dominating headlines  Meeting Putin  Ukraine forgotten about?  Election night drama  GOP debate this week  Hands and Feet Project  Logan yelled at for Captain Planet toy All for the Hall 2023 Rockettes Christmas  Frazier under fire Logan: Trans Siberian Orchestra is metal  Embassy Suites bacon  Jordan Christmas ornament debacle  Jimmy Patronis Christmas safety tips  KISS “end is only the beginning” hologram show  Text BROS to 989898 #birchgoldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Melchiorri started his hospitality career working at an Embassy Suites in Kansas and then worked his way up to becoming one of the most successful hotel general managers in New York City.Throughout that journey, he discovered some practical things that allowed him to show up for himself and for the hotels and people he served. Then in 2012, he landed a deal with the Travel Channel that led to him hosting nine seasons of the hit show, Hotel Impossible, where he gave millions of people a front-row seat to what it takes to turn around struggling hospitality businesses.Anthony drew from those experiences to write his recent best-selling book, Show Up: The Five Steps to Getting Out of Your Own Way, which I found to be so compelling that I flew from California to New York to sit down with him to discuss what he's learned about leadership and success in hospitality and beyond.Learn more about AnthonyLearn more about Anthony's book, Show UpFollow Anthony on LinkedInFollow Anthony on YouTubeListen to Anthony's podcast with Glenn Haussman, No VacancyBig thanks to Willis and the team at The Algonquin Hotel for hosting us for this conversation!And thanks to our sponsors who help make Hospitality Daily possible:Actabl - a suite of business intelligence, labor management, and hotel operations management software Hireology - the platform that can help you attract better-quality talent, fill open roles faster, and make data-driven hiring decisionsSojern - the #1 travel marketing platform What did you think about this episode? Join the Hospitality Daily community on LinkedIn and share your thoughts. If you care about hospitality, check out the Masters of Moments podcast where Jake Wurzak interviews top leaders in hospitality. His conversations with Bashar Wali and Matt Marquis are a great place to start, but also check out his solo episodes such as how he underwrites investment deals and a deep dive into GP fees you know about. Music by Clay Bassford of Bespoke Sound: Music Identity Design for Hospitality Brands

After an extended weekend terrorizing an Embassy Suites west of Philadelphia, CIB returns with a reaction to the news that all mammals will be dead in just a quarter of a billion years, the just-averted government shutdown, and Dax Shepard getting in trouble for asking very normal questions about gender issues. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it on Facebook or Twitter, leave a comment on the show's page on our website, or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!Show RundownOpen — Mark Strassmann heads to Plains, GA9:45 — Wedding weekend wrap-up28:47 — Getting the football talk out of the way so Lori can go to bed36:23 — Musings on the end of all human life and the dubious utility of such conversations1:10:08 — McCarthy avoids a government shutdown, but will it cost him the Speakership?1:27:45 — How the media deals with trans-related stories2:03:16 — Wrap-up! Stop Making Sense, The Creator, Naked AttractionRelevant Linkage can be found at the page for this episode on our website at https://www.brainiron.com/podcast/episode0161

In this week's episode, the first of Season 5, Patrick and Greg explore the very cool world of receiver operating characteristic, or ROC, curves: what they are, how they work, and why we can give partial thanks to Winston Churchill for their existence. Along the way they also mention: advent calendars, lasagna for 8, Honey Nut Cheerios, radio detection and ranging, flock of seagulls, broken pun promises, Dwayne Johnson, the whale petting machine, Embassy Suites, poison ivy and kudzu, sexy Hulk, smoldering intensity, Spitfires and F-14s, drunken punches, and Where's Waldo.Stay in contact with Quantitude! Twitter: @quantitudepod Web page: quantitudepod.org Merch: redbubble.com

*Note, we are aware part of the video froze; that's life!  RESEARCH! - Dr. Helbig gave a killer presentation today… at Stanford.  It was so cool to see SYNGAP1 mentioned. “Deciphering the Epilepsy Phenome – Understanding Longitudinal disease trajectories and outcomes” it showed how much data you can get form EHRs, ciitizen and NHS.  We need them all.  Sign up for Ciitizen!  https://www.ciitizen.com/SYNGAP1/ - SRF Supported work out of Huganir's Lab is on BioRx! https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.06.552111v1.full.pdf - Grants due on 9/1, already seeing good stuff. https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/professionals/grants/how-to-apply VOLUNTEER SITE IS UP - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/volunteer-with-syngap-research-fund WEBINARS ARE A VALUABLE RESOURCE - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/families/resources/all-webinars/webinars - Yesterday, Dr. Underbakk, Previously with Dr. Courtney NPR ARTICLE INCLUDING JACKIE KANCIR - https://wpln.org/post/episodes/the-cost-of-care-for-disabilities-and-chronic-illness SYNGAP STORIESAshley Frye is killing it.  Suzanne Jones just did an episode.  The CHOP team listens, so do clinicians.  Call Ashley and share your story. COMPANY UPDATES - Stoke had great news - https://investor.stoketherapeutics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/stoke-therapeutics-reports-second-quarter-financial-results-2 - Praxis also having good results - https://investors.praxismedicines.com/news-releases/news-release-details/praxis-precision-medicines-provides-corporate-update-and-9 - Have not heard from RegEl or Ionis. EVENTS - Getting ready for the Soiree - August 26th. - Cannonball set for October 4-6 - SRF SYNGAP1 CONFERENCE      - Register, book etc. https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/professionals/syngap1-roundtable-2023-syngap-research-fund     - Watch #s10e109 https://youtu.be/to8SAwdzCmg BIOMARKERS NEED BIOSAMPLES AND EEGS - Combined Brain collections are great Dr. TJB met our very own Pavel this weekend!  Plasma, plasma, plasma. - UCLA Study is moving forward for EEG collection.  Contact Declan via study page. Upcoming times and places to do biosamples, thanks you Corey we are at 18 Syngapians and 21 Siblings.  KEEP GOING - GLUT1 Deficiency, August 26th, 9am-5pm (Embassy Suites, 13700 Conference Center Drive South, Noblesville, IN 46060) - IRF2BPL Foundation, Sept 22nd-23rd 2023 (Home 2 Suites by Hilton, 7145 Liberty Centre Drive, Liberty Township, OH 45069, 513-644-2207) - KCNQ2 Cure Alliance Conference, Sept 29th-30th 2023 (Hilton Hotel Chicago 300 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60611) - NARS1 Conference, October 1st, 9am-5pm (13550 Commerce Blvd Rogers, MN 55374) - Prader-Willi Syndrome/USP7 Foundation, October 5-7 (1672 Lawrence St, Denver, CO 80202) - TBRS Community, Oct 12th-14th 2023 (Morgan's Wonderland, 5223 David Edwards Dr, San Antonio, TX 78233) - COMBINEDBrain Meeting, Oct 15th-16th 2023 (Washington DC) - FAM177A1, Oct 29th 2023, 9am-5pm (2737 77th Ave Se Suite 101 Mercer Island, WA 98040) - ADNP Syndrome, Oct 30th-Nov 1st 2023 (Los Angeles, CA) - SYNGAP1 Research Fund, Dec 1st-3rd 2023 (8978 International Drive Orlando, FL, 32819) —--- CONFERENCE  Registration link: https://Syngap.Fund/Orlando   Hotels ASAP: https://Syngap.Fund/2023hotel  Shirts https://www.bonfire.com/srf-syngap1-conference-2023/  Volunteer with SRF! Info@SyngapResearchFund.org  This is a podcast: subscribe to and rate this 10 minute #podcast #SYNGAP10 here  - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/syngap10-podcast Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/syngap10-weekly-10-minute-updates-on-syngap1-video/id1560389818 Episode 111 of #Syngap10 - August 12, 2023 #epilepsy #autism #intellectualdisability #id #anxiety #raredisease #epilepsyawareness #autismawareness #rarediseaseresearch #SynGAPResearchFund #CareAboutRare #PatientAdvocacy #GCchat #Neurology #GeneChat --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/syngap10/message

*Note, we aware part of the video froze; that's life!    RESEARCH! - Dr. Helbig gave a killer presentation today… at Stanford.  It was so cool to see SYNGAP1 mentioned. “Deciphering the Epilepsy Phenome – Understanding Longitudinal disease trajectories and outcomes” it showed how much data you can get form EHRs, ciitizen and NHS.  We need them all.  Sign up for Ciitizen!  https://www.ciitizen.com/SYNGAP1/ - SRF Supported work out of Huganir's Lab is on BioRx! https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.06.552111v1.full.pdf - Grants due on 9/1, already seeing good stuff. https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/professionals/grants/how-to-apply   VOLUNTEER SITE IS UP - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/volunteer-with-syngap-research-fund   WEBINARS ARE A VALUABLE RESOURCE - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/families/resources/all-webinars/webinars - Yesterday, Dr. Underbakk, Previously with Dr. Courtney   NPR ARTICLE INCLUDING JACKIE KANCIR - https://wpln.org/post/episodes/the-cost-of-care-for-disabilities-and-chronic-illness   SYNGAP STORIES Ashley Frye is killing it.  Suzanne Jones just did an episode.  The CHOP team listens, so do clinicians.  Call Ashley and share your story.   COMPANY UPDATES - Stoke had great news - https://investor.stoketherapeutics.com/news-releases/news-release-details/stoke-therapeutics-reports-second-quarter-financial-results-2 - Praxis also having good results - https://investors.praxismedicines.com/news-releases/news-release-details/praxis-precision-medicines-provides-corporate-update-and-9 - Have not heard from RegEl or Ionis.   EVENTS - Getting ready for the Soiree - August 26th. - Cannonball set for October 4-6 - SRF SYNGAP1 CONFERENCE      - Register, book etc. https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/professionals/syngap1-roundtable-2023-syngap-research-fund     - Watch #s10e109 https://youtu.be/to8SAwdzCmg   BIOMARKERS NEED BIOSAMPLES AND EEGS - Combined Brain collections are great Dr. TJB met our very own Pavel this weekend!  Plasma, plasma, plasma. - UCLA Study is moving forward for EEG collection.  Contact Declan via study page.   Upcoming times and places to do biosamples, thanks you Corey we are at 18 Syngapians and 21 Siblings.  KEEP GOING - GLUT1 Deficiency, August 26th, 9am-5pm (Embassy Suites, 13700 Conference Center Drive South, Noblesville, IN 46060) - IRF2BPL Foundation, Sept 22nd-23rd 2023 (Home 2 Suites by Hilton, 7145 Liberty Centre Drive, Liberty Township, OH 45069, 513-644-2207) - KCNQ2 Cure Alliance Conference, Sept 29th-30th 2023 (Hilton Hotel Chicago 300 E Ohio St, Chicago, IL 60611) - NARS1 Conference, October 1st, 9am-5pm (13550 Commerce Blvd Rogers, MN 55374) - Prader-Willi Syndrome/USP7 Foundation, October 5-7 (1672 Lawrence St, Denver, CO 80202) - TBRS Community, Oct 12th-14th 2023 (Morgan's Wonderland, 5223 David Edwards Dr, San Antonio, TX 78233) - COMBINEDBrain Meeting, Oct 15th-16th 2023 (Washington DC) - FAM177A1, Oct 29th 2023, 9am-5pm (2737 77th Ave Se Suite 101 Mercer Island, WA 98040) - ADNP Syndrome, Oct 30th-Nov 1st 2023 (Los Angeles, CA) - SYNGAP1 Research Fund, Dec 1st-3rd 2023 (8978 International Drive Orlando, FL, 32819) —--- CONFERENCE  Registration link: https://Syngap.Fund/Orlando   Hotels ASAP: https://Syngap.Fund/2023hotel  Shirts https://www.bonfire.com/srf-syngap1-conference-2023/    Volunteer with SRF! Info@SyngapResearchFund.org    This is a podcast: subscribe to and rate this 10 minute #podcast #SYNGAP10 here  - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/syngap10-podcast Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/syngap10-weekly-10-minute-updates-on-syngap1-video/id1560389818 Episode 111 of #Syngap10 - August 12, 2023 #epilepsy #autism #intellectualdisability #id #anxiety #raredisease #epilepsyawareness #autismawareness #rarediseaseresearch #SynGAPResearchFund #CareAboutRare #PatientAdvocacy #GCchat #Neurology #GeneChat

Guest Hosts: Ashley Frye & Lauren Perry   THE BASICS Who: Everyone! Families (including extended), caregivers, scientists, industry reps.  What: SRF's 2nd Annual SYNGAP1 Conference.  - Registration link: Syngap.Fund/2023ConfReg Where: Orlando, FLORIDA! Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando International Drive Convention Center.  - Room block:  https://Syngap.Fund/2023hotel When: Thursday, November 30th and Friday, December 1st, 2023. *Sea World outing is the Saturday following the conference. More to come on that.  Why: Once in a year opportunity to be in the same room with multiple Syngap families from not only around the US but around the world!  T-SHIRTS: https://www.bonfire.com/srf-syngap1-conference-2023/  — Volunteer with SRF! Info@SyngapResearchFund.org  This is a podcast: subscribe to and rate this 10 minute #podcast #SYNGAP10 here  - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/syngap10-podcast Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/syngap10-weekly-10-minute-updates-on-syngap1-video/id1560389818 Episode 109 of #Syngap10 - July 20, 2023 #epilepsy #autism #intellectualdisability #id #anxiety #raredisease #epilepsyawareness #autismawareness #rarediseaseresearch #SynGAPResearchFund #CareAboutRare #PatientAdvocacy #GCchat #Neurology #GeneChat

Guest Hosts: Ashley Frye & Lauren Perry THE BASICS Who: Everyone! Families (including extended), caregivers, scientists, industry reps.  What: SRF's 2nd Annual SYNGAP1 Conference.  - Registration link: Syngap.Fund/2023ConfReg Where: Orlando, FLORIDA! Embassy Suites by Hilton Orlando International Drive Convention Center.  - Room block:  https://Syngap.Fund/2023hotel When: Thursday, November 30th and Friday, December 1st, 2023. *Sea World outing is the Saturday following the conference. More to come on that.  Why: Once in a year opportunity to be in the same room with multiple Syngap families from not only around the US but around the world!  T-SHIRTS: https://www.bonfire.com/srf-syngap1-conference-2023/  — Volunteer with SRF! Info@SyngapResearchFund.org  This is a podcast: subscribe to and rate this 10 minute #podcast #SYNGAP10 here  - https://www.syngapresearchfund.org/syngap10-podcast Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/syngap10-weekly-10-minute-updates-on-syngap1-video/id1560389818 Episode 109 of #Syngap10 - July 20, 2023 #epilepsy #autism #intellectualdisability #id #anxiety #raredisease #epilepsyawareness #autismawareness #rarediseaseresearch #SynGAPResearchFund #CareAboutRare #PatientAdvocacy #GCchat #Neurology #GeneChat --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/syngap10/message

Dr. David Boschken is a forward-thinking orthodontist from Silicon Valley who has remained at the forefront of orthodontic technology for over 20 years. On this episode, you'll learn about: *Dave's educational journey that took him to UPENN and the UK *How Dave was an early adopter of Invisalign and became a faculty member for Align Technology *How practicing in Silicon Valley influenced Dave's digital transformation journey *Dave's clinical & practice management pearls for Invisalign *How Dave became an investor in Revere Partners, a venture capital fund for oral health care Recorded February 10, 2023 at the Embassy Suites in Orlando, FL during the Orlando Invisalign Expo. Generous support for this podcast comes from KLOwen Stride Custom Braces & Straumann Group.

From having necessary lifestyle downgrades to developing real estate analytical techniques as a general partner for maximum returns, we're going to explore the pros and cons of syndication and multifamily real estate investing with Justin Dixon. Catch him in today's episode as he talks about all these and more!     Topics on Today's Episode  Benefits of having a supportive spouse as a start-up entrepreneur Why you should master the basics of underwriting How to efficiently leverage your network to raise capital for deals Creative ways to locate investors and market deals Multifamily real estate market predictions for 2023     Resources/Links mentioned Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki BiggerPockets Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold | Kindle and Paperback   The KAHUNA BOARDROOM IS NOW OPEN! Join us to create a legacy of time, freedom, and wealth this February 16th - 18th, 2023, at Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort.     About Justin Dixon Justin grew up in a tiny town in central Pennsylvania, and after graduating from college, he found himself working in the recruiting industry, which he has remained in for the last 16+ years. In January 2020, he left a very stable, six-figure salaried job to start his own recruiting firm and a real estate investing business – not great timing to create a recruiting company in 2020 when the world shut down with Covid, and no one was hiring. But over the last 3 years, he has grown his recruiting business to a sustainable level and acquired over 650 multifamily units as a general partner across 4 states. He is passionate about helping those working W2 jobs, who thought real estate investing was only for the ultra-wealthy or for people with a lot of extra time on their hands, get access to this amazing asset class. Connect with Justin Website: Great Venture Capital LinkedIn: Justin Dixon Instagram: @greatventurecapital  Email: justin@greatventurecapital.com Don't forget to download my Free Workshop Quick Start Video Series, and if you like what you have heard, please leave a review on iTunes.