Checking In by Hotel Owner

In this episode we talk to Francisco Ventura, the General Manager at Sunborn London, the only superyacht floating hotel in the UK. Francisco talks about the experience of joining the hotel at the start of Covid, and how a core team of 13 helped house key workers during this time, the complexities of running a floating hotel, and how the young generation are driving changes in attitude around worki...

In this week's special episode we are joined by Hotel Owner’s very own reporter, Cynera Rodricks. Cynera recently attended a presentation by James Bishop, SiteMinder’s Vice President of Ecosystem and Strategic Partnerships, who spoke about the findings uncovered in SiteMinder’s new Changing Traveller Report, including changing attitudes around dynamic pricing, and what trends are resonating with G...

In this episode we speak to Bill Fisher, General Manager of the Hilton London Metropole, a 1,100-room 4-star hotel and conference centre in central London. We spoke about how he climbed the career ladder from his early days as a banqueting waiter, his experience becoming an Area Manager for Hilton in the Sichuan region of China, and what it’s like running one of Europe’s premier hotel properties.

In this week’s Checking In, we speak to Damien Martin, General Manager of the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff. Damien talks about his journey from fine dining jobs to wider operational roles, the importance of getting to know your team as individuals, the Master Innholders’ Aspiring Leadership Diploma and its valuable networking opportunities, and how more can be done to nurture new industry talent from...

In this episode of Checking In we speak to Karim Malak, the CEO of easyHotel, about his career path from consultancy roles to leading easyHotel today, how the hotel group has maintained high profit margins despite the turbulence of the wider economy, and about his ambitions for easyHotel to leverage its brand and grow from 50 to 1,000 properties.

On this episode of Checking we are joined by Jane Frazer, Director of Sales and Marketing at Fairmont St Andrews. We Discussed Jane’s time working in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and their differences from the UK market, her advice for listeners to wanting to attract more MICE business, and how despite being located at the home of golf the hotel makes sure to maximise its attractiveness to guests other tha...

In this week’s Checking In, we speak to Grant Peires, Communications Director at IDILIQ Group, who has most recently dedicated his work to Kind Holidays, an initiative where hotel space is gifted to families and individuals going through hardship to provide them with a respite and create priceless memories. Grant tells us more about how the initiative works, the impact it has had on some incredibl...

In this episode we're joined by David Hayden, the General Manager at Mercure and ibis London Earls Court Hotel. In this episode, we talked about the hotel’s soft launch earlier this summer, David’s work in helping to refurb and reposition the hotel as a co-branded property, and how this project has helped boost personal and professional growth for him and the team.

In this episode we speak with Tony Barker, owner of hospitality tech platform, Chicostay. Tony tells us about his early career building software to help airlines modernise their ancillary businesses, how Chicostay can help smooth the confirmation and check-in process and free up front of house staff, and how thinking like a retailer can help hoteliers drive ancillary revenues higher than they expe...

In this episode we’re joined by Guy Ivesha, CEO of workspace and lifestyle concept Maslow's. Guy discusses how his love of hospitality runs in the family, his role in redeveloping one of New York's most iconic hotels, how New York hospitality inspired him to set up his own pioneering venture in the UK and the interesting theory behind the name and concept of Maslow’s.

In this week’s Checking In we're joined by Andrew Kendrick, Managing Director of Hotels at Splendid Hospitality Group. Andrew talks about how his love of hospitality began at his family’s own hotel in Wales, the diversity of Splendid’s portfolio and how this enables it to be an agile and ever-developing business, and how those in hospitality can make positive impacts with the people around them to...

This week we’re joined by Sean Wheeler, Hospitality Action Ambassador and a People and Culture Consultant at Sean Wheeler Consulting. Sean talks to us about the ways in which hospitality leaders can best support the mental wellbeing of their colleagues, how the Walk for Wellbeing initiative has grown to become a UK-wide movement, and how you can get involved in this year’s event.

This week we spoke with Louise Tawadrous, client services director at the insights and consultancy firm BVA BDRC. We discussed how Louise began her career with an 8-year stint at IHG climbing up the career ladder, how she pivoted into consultancy and now runs the VenueVerdict programme that she had encountered during her time at IHG, and how she she feels there are some straightforward practices h...

In this week’s episode we’re joined by Marie-Paule Nowlis, the Area General Manager for Sofitel UK and General Manager of Sofitel London St James. Marie-Paule discusses her experience of hospitality in New York and London, and the differences between working in both cities, the importance of authenticity in luxury hotel brands and her own approach to leadership and building trust with her team.

In this episode of Checking In, we're joined by Mark Winter, the Pre-Opening General Manager of Holiday Inn Blackpool, which recently opened in May of this year. In this episode, we talked about Mark’s experience with opening branded hotels, his ingenious hiring initiative that resulted in 3,600 people registering interest in joining, and the perks of being a young manager.

In this episode we're joined by Tim Hentschel, the co-founder and CEO of HotelPlanner. We discuss the process of developing HotelPlanner, how Tim scaled and developed the company, how the platform works in practice and the development of AI and technology in the hotel space.

This week we are joined by Robert Holland, the managing director of HotelPartner Revenue Management. We discussed Robert’s journey in hospitality managing hotels and restaurants and what he learned along the way, what advice he would give to hoteliers looking to improve their revenue management strategies and how the rise of Airbnb offers hoteliers as many opportunities as it does challenges.

This week we are joined by Kerian Barnes Operations and Commercial Director for Starboard Hotels. We discussed Kerian’s journey to her role today, from young chef in male dominated kitchens to overseeing a wide portfolio of chain and independent hotels, The importance of installing an effective training programme and the three things all hotels should be working on today.

On this episode of Checking In we are joined by James Lynch, the Owner of The Albion, an award-winning 12-bedroom hotel located in Cardigan, Wales. We discussed his non-traditional route into hospitality, how that helped shape the Albion and his own approach to running the property and some of the common mistakes people make when designing a hotel.

This week we spoke with Wayne Topley - managing director at Cedar Court Hotels in Yorkshire. Wayne told us about how he steered the business through Covid only months after being appointed as MD, what he would like to see from a new government in terms of helping with the recruitment challenge, and what hoteliers can do to be more sustainable in ways that will really make an impact.

In this episode we’re joined by Simon Numphud, Managing Director of AA Hotel Services. In this episode, we discuss how the AA’s assessment scheme has evolved since inspections began in 1908, the recent modernisation and streamlining of the accreditation, and what this means for hoteliers and consumers alike, and Simon’s passion for mentoring young people in the industry. This episode is sponsored...

In this episode, we speak to Louisa Green, Managing Director of RBH Hospitality Management. We spoke about her recent appointment to the top job, how RBH serves both independent hotels as well as full-service branded properties and the differences between them, and her thoughts on the state of the hotel industry, the economics and the recruitment environment. This episode is sponsored by Hop Softw...

In this episode we’re joined by Charlie MacGregor, CEO and founder of hybrid hospitality group, The Social Hub. Charlie discusses how the student accommodation, leisure stay and coworking mix builds vibrant communities across their sites, how the model has allowed the business to remain agile through Covid and beyond, and his hands-on work in supporting refugees, having founded NGO Movement on the...

This week we spoke with Tim Davis MBE, Founder and Managing Director of PACE Dimensions, a management consultancy firm that advises hotel groups, amongst other sectors. We spoke about his career with Hilton before PACE Dimensions, the importance of securing stakeholder buy-in when implementing change, as well as trends in sustainability and its take up among different generations. This episode is...

This week we are joined by Simon Drake , the general manager of The Store, in Oxford. We discussed the process of turning the historic Oxford department store Boswell’s into a 101 room luxury hotel, the unique opportunities afforded by being an opening general manager including using psychometric tests to help curate his ideal management team and his advice for being an effective leader. This epis...