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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.jurny.com

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

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

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

Contact us to learn more: https://recreationstays.com/refer-a-friend/

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Contact us to learn more: https://recreationstays.com/refer-a-friend/

---

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

SiteMinder

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

SiteMinder

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

On this episode we talk to Casey Pearce, President of Contract Services Group, a commercial janitorial services company based in Southern California about cleaning during these times of COVID-19.

With cleanliness and sanitation at the forefront of everyone’s mind as we start to reopen our economy, Casey’s company offers a service that people will expect to see out in full force as part of our new normal.

We dive deep and talk about what his company is doing to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to providing cleaning services for hotels, office buildings, apartment buildings, and other places where people gather. Some of the items we discuss include:

• What's happening from a regulatory perspective that people need to be aware of.
• How the commercial cleaning industry is changing.
• How businesses can prepare to operate in these new times.
• The innovations that are expected to emerge
  

Resource Recommendation

• Building Service Contractors Association

About Casey

Casey’s career in the commercial cleaning industry started at the young age of 16 when he was responsible for washing the company vehicles and the weekly cleaning of a statue in front of a client’s building. Since that time, Casey has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding every aspect of the business.

After graduating from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications , Casey’s primary focus was acquiring new business and growing the organization’s portfolio as a sales associate. He quickly realized that in order to sell new services and retain current customers he would have to learn everything he could about the cleaning business- operations, marketing, sales and relationship management.

Casey believes that his 20 years of experience and learning the business from the ground up gives him a unique understanding of the challenges and intricacies of maintaining facilities in the safest, most efficient way possible.
Even after being promoted to President in 2006, he still maintains the same philosophy of business that made him a successful sales associate. Casey is passionate about customer satisfaction and building a strong working relationship at each account. His hands-on approach differentiates CSG from its competitors. Casey is proud to be part of the dynamic leadership team of Contract Services Group- a company where “Excellence is not our goal. It’s our standard”.

Website: https://www.csgcares.com

LinkedIn: @caseypearce

knowinghospitality.com

On this episode we talk to Elizabeth Raines, Creative Director at EBR Graphic Design about branding.

This often misunderstood subject can be a huge challenge for businesses, with many not knowing where to start or how to clean up a poorly executed project.

We dive deep and discuss what people truly need to know when branding a business and common pitfalls that result in bad design, why it’s best to seek out the help of a dedicated designer rather than trying to do it in house and the value proposition that an outside designer brings when developing a logo or other company collateral. We also talked about what to look for when trying to find the right person to guide a company through the branding process and how organizations large and small can tell their story through well thought out branding and design.

• About branding a business? (6:42)
  
• What types of collateral should be considered (9:45)
  
• What are you buying when you outsource branding and design? (14:53)
  
• What makes for good/bad branding and design? (16:25)
  
• What is the typical process for developing a brand story? (18:02)
  
• How can companies ensure continuity of messaging, especially with multiple locations? (20:46)
  
• What are “Brand Guidelines”? (23:00)
  

Book Recommendation

• Designing Brand Identify by Alina Wheeler
  

A little more about Elizabeth

Elizabeth Baizer Raines is a graphic designer by trade and creative director for her business, EBR Graphic Design, a strategic creative design firm, with emphasis on holding true to what she considers “good design values.” With a start at Rhode Island School of Design, she has practiced for over 20 years in both her home city of San Francisco and her current home: Dallas, Texas. Throughout her career, she’s had a variety of significant and meaningful projects including those for boutique hotels, luxury retailers (such as Neiman Marcus), beauty retailers (such as Sephora and Mary Kay), and nonprofits (projects for world-class museums and highly sought-after civic projects, such as Dallas’ Trinity River brand, logo, and wayfinding). Her expertise in graphic design includes branding, corporate identity, advertising design, digital & traditional media, and environmental graphic design (including: signage and wayfinding).

Website: www.ebrgraphicdesign.com/

Instagram: @ebrgraphicdesign/

LinkedIn: @elizabethbaizerraines/

https://knowinghospitality.com

In this fantastic and info packed episode with Theresa Ito, Principal at Blue Mountain Solutions shares how to create a thriving internal culture of support and training, the importance of self-driven professional development, setting new leaders up for success, what successful companies do to drive an organizational culture of development and how to keep it alive when the “culture keepers” move on.

It’s filled with tactical and actionable steps you can take today to make a difference in the organizational culture of your company.

A little about Theresa Ito, Principle at Blue Mountain Solutions

Theresa Ito is passionate about people, having worked in hospitality internationally for over 30 years, she loves nothing better than being part of people’s growth.

And that is why she has been successful with her company Blue Mountain Solutions, developing leaders and teams.During her illustrious career in hospitality, Theresa has successfully led teams in iconic brands including Fairmont Hotels, Le Meridien, Sandals Resorts and Hilton International.

Theresa is a qualified certified facilitator for "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and was an instructor at Royal Roads University. Now based in beautiful Vancouver Island, she enjoys servicing a host of local and international clientele, assisting them to thrive in hospitality.

Theresa is energetic and her training is always filled with industry best practices, useful anecdotes and a dose of humor 😊

Website: www.bluemountain.solutions

Instagram: @bluemountainsolutions

Facebook: @Theresa.Blue.Mountain.Solutions

https://knowinghospitality.com

Financial acumen and financial leadership are critical to anyone trying to advance in their career. On this episode, David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, takes us through the details of financial leadership, the importance of creating an environment that celebrates learning and growing financial skills and how financial acumen benefits all aspects of life. He also makes a generous offer to our listeners at the end of the show…

A little about David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach

David Lund is a hospitality financial leadership pioneer who has branded himself “The Hotel Financial Coach.” Just as any great hotel is true to their brand, so is David. His client commitment is about exceptional service. And his #1 focus is to help his clients be more prosperous as individuals or teams.

David’s background includes over 30 years as a Regional Controller, Corporate Financial Director, Hotel Manager and Controller throughout North America at multiple locations.

His services include Financial Leadership Workshops, Personalized 1:1 Financial Leadership Coaching, Professional Speaking, Financial Statement Design, Financial System Design, Policy Manual Creation and Hotel Financial Consulting.

David has a weekly blog that he publishes on his website https://hotelfinancialcoach.com as well as an online training course at https://www.ahla.ca/financial-leadership-david-lund/

Check out his blog and media pages for more: https://hotelfinancialcoach.com/blog/ or email him at david@hotelfinancialcoach.com

https://knowinghospitality.com

Whether it’s to drive customer loyalty, increase sales or improve online reviews, connecting with customers on a more personal level is something that most businesses strive for but most don’t know how or where to start when elevating their service levels.

This show gets in to the weeds and pulls out actionable and sustainable practices you can use right away to train your staff and optimize your operation for better service.

In the show we discuss:

• Understanding emotional triggers along your customer journey
• Focusing employee training on being curious about your customer
• Empathy
• Having a higher level self awareness
• How to optimize the workday for each position so nothing falls through the cracks

https://knowinghospitality.com

On this episode we discuss why you need a customer review strategy. Be it TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, Yelp, OTA reviews, or any of the other countless platforms out there, understanding how your customers interact with and experience your business and how you respond is vital to your success. This is why reviews are so useful… because they give you intel you may not normally have.

https://knowinghospitality.com

Cleanliness is arguably the most important aspect of running a successful hotel or restaurant 

- Beautiful properties can be hugely diminished if they’re dirty and the reverse is true… older, unrenovated properties can be enhanced if they are kept sparkling clean 

- Cleanliness accounts for an overwhelmingly large portion of customer perception of your business and you’ve got to have an eye for detail to do it well 

- If detail isn’t a strength for you then you’ve got to be especially present during the task and take your time when inspecting 

- Well maintained properties can forgive shortcomings in service delivery or exacerbate small service missteps.

https://knowinghospitality.com

On this episode we discuss how and why it’s important to have everyone contributing to the same goal and how to develop better communication throughout your operation. Highlights from the episode: - There is a “guest first” mentality throughout the property - High levels of teamwork between departments - Good communication between departments - All departments attend broader morning and afternoon line ups and share info with their team through their own preshift meetings members - Addressing the “it’s not my job” mentality - Staff trying to help even if the request isn’t from their immediate area of responsibility - Employees own requests and problems, ensuring full resolution all the way to the end - Staff follow up with customers after the fact to ensure satisfaction - There is rarely any semblance of employees saying “no” without offering alternative solutions.

https://knowinghospitality.com

On this episode we share 10 simple practices that you can use right away to improve service in your operation.

Highlights from the show:
1. 5/10 rule 
2. Ending employee conversations when guests are present
3. Acknowledging guests when you pass them in the hall 
4. Opening doors
5. Walking guests part way when they ask for directions
6. Using time of day greetings
7. Avoiding jargon or language that is too casual
8. Be the first to offer assistance
9. Empowerment
10. Tailor your delivery to the level that your guest wants to receive

https://knowinghospitality.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://www.vhghotels.com

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Customers will make requests that are difficult to accommodate but there is a right way and a wrong way to say no. In this episode we discuss how to respond to those requests and why never saying no without offering an alternative will set you and your team up for success. 

Highlights from the show:
- Removing “well intentioned” internal roadblocks
- Overcoming the “it’s not my job” excuse
- Why communication and broader training of your staff gives them the tools they need to respond effectively
- Giving team members the confidence to make decisions without always seeking manager approval
- Steps you can take to implement this concept right away

https://knowinghospitality.com

The first five minutes are the most important part of anyone’s shift. We discuss why you should put a lot of care and attention to this part of the day.

https://knowinghospitality.com

If your operation is struggling with consistency or if things keep falling through the cracks, job checklists are the surest way to get it back on track.

https://knowinghospitality.com

Our first official episode covers the foundation of all well run hospitality operations. They understand the difference between service and hospitality.

http://www.knowinghospitality.com/

Our “origin story” episode discussing who we are and why we’re here. Proven Principles is a hospitality operations consulting company and our podcast aims to deconstruct the best practices of the luxury hotel industry to help you improve your hospitality business operation. 

http://www.knowinghospitality.com/

Keith is the General Manager at the Ambassador Chicago.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

This is a fascinating space that deserves attention.

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

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

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

http://www.cloudbeds.com

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://realtimereservation.com/

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

https://guestxpodcast.com

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://mattrolfe.com/

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://arborlodging.com

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Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.spoton.com

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Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.loreca.be

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

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

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

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

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

Contact us to learn more: https://recreationstays.com/refer-a-friend/

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

SiteMinder

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

SiteMinder

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.jurny.com

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: globalhotelalliance.com

Loyalty Program Website: ghadiscovery.com

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

Email: kristi.gole@gha.com

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.opsanalitica.co

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.turnoverbnb.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.ellisadamsinc.com

Instagram: @ellisadamsofficial

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: bidroom.com

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://nudge.co 

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://stockmfgco.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stockmfgco

Facebook: https://facebook.com/stockmfgco

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stockmfgco

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

Christy is the General Manager of the W Minneapolis.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

W Minneapolis: www.wminneapolis.com

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://www.instagram.com/ex2cx_expert

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for listening to The Proven Principles Hospitality Podcast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Twitter - https://twitter.com/eviivo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/seosteve

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wiideman

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

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

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

CODE: SEOSTEVE (complimentary access)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/dontlookunderthebedpod

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.roller.software

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highlights from the "best of" show include:

Marketing

• Anthony Lazzara - Ep 60 (spending against OTAs)

Staffing and Recruiting

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

Leadership

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

Service

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

Diversity and Inclusivity in Hospitality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: www.rockspringsrc.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website: https://www.breezeway.io