Hospitality Daily Podcast

In this episode, Rob Smith , the President and CEO at Stonebridge Companies , shares an operator's read on why top-line growth — not cost-cutting — is a sustainable path through today's environment of profit pressure. He explains how Stonebridge grew same-store revenue by 7.8% in 2024 while the market grew by 1.8%, why their revenue-management-first approach drives 41% direct bookings at...

In this episode, Rob Smith , the CEO and President of Stonebridge Companies , shares the unlikely path that took him from an accounting degree to running his own hotel by 25 and then spending 17 years as a hospitality leader in the Caribbean. You'll hear how a Caribbean hotel owner taught him to stop just getting through the day and start thinking strategically, why working alongside people f...

In this episode, our career correspondent and hertelier founder Emily Goldfischer continues her conversation with Tamara Lohan , Global Brand Leader for Luxury at Hyatt. Tamara shares what it's like to step inside a large company after co-founding and building Mr. & Mrs. Smith for more than two decades. She gets into the difference between a mentor and a sponsor, why she wishes she'd...

In this episode, our career correspondent and hertelier founder Emily Goldfischer continues her conversation with Tamara Lohan , Global Brand Leader for Luxury at Hyatt, Tamara shares why today’s guests increasingly reject scripted hospitality experiences and what great service looks like instead. The conversation explores emotional intelligence in hospitality, the importance of “reading the room,...

What makes a luxury hotel memorable today? In this conversation, our career correspondent and hertelier founder Emily Goldfischer , sits down with Tamara Lohan , Global Brand Leader for Luxury at Hyatt, to discuss why travelers are increasingly drawn to hotels with a strong sense of place and identity. They also explore Hyatt’s luxury growth strategy, the role of storytelling in hospitality, and h...

In this episode, Arnold Amrhein , VP of Investments at CREO Capital , shares the idea behind his widely discussed article "The Anticipation Layer." He explains why data is becoming an asset, what hoteliers lose every time a booking comes through an OTA, and how AI could eliminate the long-standing trade-off between scale and soul in hospitality. A thoughtful conversation on the future of...

In this episode, Arnold Amrhein , Vice President of Investments at CREO Capital , shares what his career — from guest relations at Rosewood London to institutional hotel investment across Southern Europe to private equity in Latin America — taught him about the gap between operators and owners, and why closing that gap matters for everyone in the business. If you work in hotel operations and want...

In this episode, Ken Cruse , Co-Founder and CEO at SCP Hotels , and Pam Cruse , Co-Founder and CMO at SCP Hotels, share their perspective on why values-led hotels are outperforming the broader industry on EBITDA, where guests are actually drawn now that a significant majority distrusts AI, and how vertical integration lets them move faster than chain-affiliated operators ever could. Mentioned in t...

In this episode, Chris McDowell , Chief Information Security Officer at Actabl, and Justin Call , Chief Legal Officer at Actabl , unpack the growing AI risk that many hotel leaders still underestimate. They explain how people across hospitality are already uploading confidential guest and operational data into public AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, why privacy and compliance rules still apply on...

In this episode, Burak Ipekci , the General Secretary of Les Clefs d'Or International and Head Concierge at London's Royal Horseguards Hotel , shares an operator's view of what AI can do in hospitality: take the mundane off your hands so your team has the freedom to sit in the lobby, learn a guest's name, and build the kind of relationship where a guest becomes a friend. If you...

In this episode, Burak Ipekci , the Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel and General Secretary of Les Clefs d'Or International , shares his case for why the hospitality industry is splitting into two distinct businesses, and why only one of them can justify calling itself a hotel. He explains the "concierge mindset" as a philosophy that should run through every role, why em...

In this episode, Burak Ipekci , Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel and General Secretary of Les Clefs d'Or International , explains what the golden keys actually mean inside the concierge profession, and what it takes to earn them. He shares his journey from becoming a concierge in New York in 1999 to helping lead one of hospitality’s most respected global organizations across 85 c...

In this episode, Burak Ipekci , Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in London and Secretary General of Les Clefs d'Or International , shares a practical view of the decisions that shape a career in hospitality — why the boss matters more than the brand, how to read a leader's character in an interview, and why asking questions is the most underused skill in business. Watch our...

In this episode, Burak Ipekci , the Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in London and General Secretary of Les Clefs d'Or International , makes the case for why working in hospitality is worth it. He shares why the instant gratification of hotel work is unlike anything in other industries, and why the world has changed but the energy hasn't.  Watch our full conversation here on...

In this episode, Burak Ipekci , the Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel and Secretary General of Les Clefs d'Or International , shares why hiring a great concierge isn't enough if the energy doesn't match the property. You'll hear how he advises hotel leaders opening new properties to think about the match between a person and a place, and why fit matters as much in h...

In this episode, Burak Ipekci , the Head Concierge at The Royal Horseguards Hotel and Secretary General of Les Clefs d'Or International , shares his view on hiring: why he decides in five minutes whether to spend 55, why great concierge careers start with someone spotting them first, and why caring for people is the one thing you cannot teach. A few more resources: If you're new to Hospi...

In this episode, Philippa Wagner, the Founder of People Places Spaces , and former head of 23 Lab at Ennismore , shares why the hotel industry's segmentation habit is breaking down, what the solo traveler actually wants, and why community can't be manufactured. Learn more about  The Future Guest Report A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here .  You can s...

In this episode, Philippa Wagner, the Founder of People Places Spaces , shares an honest perspective on AI and tech in hospitality, drawing on her Future Guest research. She explains why guests forgive people but not technology, where AI belongs in operations, and how the right tech finally lets you hire for personality instead of tech skills. If you've sat through one too many high-level AI...

In this episode, Joe McGroarty, Clark Brayton, and Pritesh Patel of Actabl share why hotel data has been broken for decades, how their team built the patented normalization layer that fixes it, and why getting this right matters more in an AI-enabled world. You'll hear what's actually happening when revenue isn't easy to report on across your portfolio, the three questions to bring...

In this episode, Chris O'Donnell , the President of Select Service Division at Aimbridge Hospitality , shares how the balanced scorecard turns hotel operations into a meritocracy. You'll hear how Aimbridge cascades five universal metrics from CEO Craig Smith down to every property, why turnaround success starts with quick wins, and the bias-for-action principle Chris carries into every p...

In this episode, Chris O'Donnell , the President of Select Service at Aimbridge Hospitality , shares what it takes to drive hotel profitability for owners amid rising costs and muted top-line growth. He explains why the "middle of the P&L" is where the work gets done, why cutting labor can cost more than it saves, and how investments in tools, training, and culture can lower tur...

In this episode, Chris O'Donnell , the President of the Select Service division at Aimbridge Hospitality , explains where select service hotels are heading and why technology only matters if it gives hotel leaders time back. Chris breaks down how the line between full service and select service has narrowed, how data is reshaping operational decision-making, and why traditional annual budgeti...

In this episode, Chris O'Donnell , President of Select Service at Aimbridge Hospitality , shares why hospitality is an industry that creates both energy and opportunity. A few more resources: If you're new to Hospitality Daily, start here .  You can send me a message here with questions, comments, or guest suggestions If you want to get my summary and actionable insights from each episod...

In this episode, Andrew Arthurs , the President and COO at Actabl , and Stephen German , the SVP of Product Management at Actabl, share how AI can support new hospitality providers and experienced hotel leaders. You'll hear why associate-facing technology matters as much as guest-facing tech, how an "AI coach" can replicate the decision-tree logic of a seasoned operator, and what to...

In this episode, Susie Arnett , the Director of Wellness Programming at Six Senses , shares her real-world take on vibe coding and what AI tools actually deliver when a non-technical person tries to build a digital product. She explains why the promise that anyone can build anything is overstated, what platforms like Replit are useful for, and where she sees the real opportunity for hotels to give...