Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show

Dhilon Solanki has been in the hospitality industry for 15 years. As UK & EMEA Director at Sprout, he’s been busy up-serving their customers since the pandemic started. I’m excited to catch up with Dhilon to learn more about where technology and communication sits in the bigger picture for hospitality.  From an idea captured on the back of a napkin by the three Founders in 2008, Sprout ha...

In this bonus episode CEO and Co-Founder of Vita Mojo, Nick Popovici gives an extensive overview of the wave of digital transformations that have to happen across the industry during the last 3-6 months. Nick shares his views on where the industry will be 3 years from now. He believes that the winners are the brands which have radically changed their approach to how they run and operate their busi...

What is it that’s at the core of a truly happy workplace? This is a question I uncover with today’s guest, Henry Stewart, Chief Happiness Officer at Happy. Happy is an award winning Learning and Development organisation offering fun and engaging computer and management training. Happy's vision is outlined by Henry Stewart in his book, The Happy Manifesto. It outlines our 10 principles to create a...

In this episode, Michael talks with experienced pub operator Kris Gumbrell, CEO of Brewhouse and Kitchen. They are an award-winning pub group and they operate more than 20 pubs spread all over the south of England with more in the pipeline. Kris talks about how the pandemic impacted them as a business and that they have used a people-first approach to ensure that they can get through this together...

Calling in from San Diego, Shawn Walchef is a true maverick when it comes to scaling a restaurant digitally. Since the pandemic, his restaurant Cali Comfort BBQ has been three times more profitable than ever. Within 12 years, it’s gone from $300,000 losing money each year to making $3.3 million in 12 years. His secret? The smartphone. It’s common for people in hospitality to work 80 - 100 hours a...

Having been in the hospitality industry for 50 years, today’s guest has seen how the industry can scale. Robin Sheppard launched Bespoke Hotels with Haydn Fentum in 2000, and the group now manages over 9,500 hotel rooms, 8,000 employees and £815 million of assets across the UK. As a soft brand, they’re testament to the sustainability of being bespoke and local. Robin's innovative approach to marke...

Dialling in from Antigua, today’s guest has been instrumental in the making of the Hospitality Mavericks business. So I’m excited to bring on Nicole Antonio-Gadsdon, the ultimate HR rule breaker and expert in luxury hotels especially in the Caribbean. We connected a few years ago on LinkedIn, and instantly realised how aligned we are. So much so that we put together an article about how Mavericks...

Over the past 25 years, Uncle John’s Bakery has remained a staple household name within the Afro-Caribbean Community, with a community expanding across the UK as well as around the world. Founded by his parents, today’s guest is Samuel Mensah, the MD of the company. From the very start, the ethos of the business is the Ghanian saying “ Obeyeyie ”, which means “things will get better”. And amidst t...

JOIN THE COMMUNITY HERE - FACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/2GAvr2W Staring down the barrel of a 60% permanent closure rate...It's time to fix what's broken. It’s time to change the game. The hospitality industry is at a pivotal point and it has become painfully obvious that  business acumen and strategic planning will matter just as much as resilience. There's no shortage of resources ranging from ho...

Today’s guest, Victoria Williams, is on a life ambition to change the world for deaf people. Establishing her company terptree 14 years ago, their goal by 2025 is to positively impact 1 million deaf people’s lives. It’s ambitious, but Covid-19 has highlighted how it affects so many people. The innumerable challenges, such as mandatory face coverings, leave deaf people feeling even more isolated. I...

There’s often a big stigma behind fast food and QSR, but it’s the best way to be the biggest in the world. As former colleagues, I was super excited to catch up with Mark Hawthorne, Former CEO at McDonald's and Guzman y Gomez. With the fast-changing landscape, we need to rewrite the leadership playbook.  Mark has spent decades working with the world leaders of QSR. Currently based in Australi...

With this ongoing crisis, leaders need to develop new skills, such as compassion and a growth mindset, to navigate and rebuild this new landscape. When you feel safe within yourself as a leader, this projects to the rest of your team. In this episode I’m excited to speak with leadership development expert David Klaasen, Founder of Talent 4 Performance. Prior to launching his business in 2004, he w...

Edd Heller joined the hospitality industry late in life – just six years ago. Since then he’s proven to be a real maverick by running the Ethicurean Guild, which cooks delicious food from small farms and producers in other peoples kitchens across Brighton. Since the pandemic Edd and his team have cooked 100,000 meals to those in need – from the homeless to NHS frontline workers. I’m super excited...

In this episode, Michael talks with experienced operator and tech CEO Dan Brookman of Airship & Toggle. Two platforms that enable operators to engage customers by generating pre-sold revenue and recency and frequency of visit. They work with great brands like Boston Tea Party, Roadchef, Leon, Revolution Bars, Byron & Turtle Bay Dan has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industr...

There’s a story behind every business, and it’s an area a lot of us neglect to fully communicate with our consumer. So how do we best tell our story? To find out, I catch up with Mark Smith, Founder and Lead Strategist of Double Up Social, an award-winning social strategy and content creation studio. We explore brands that have succeeded with their digital marketing. Tune in to learn more about th...

The hotel industry has faced a big shake up since the outbreak. Now two months after reopening, MD of Dominion Hospitality Drew Brown joins the show to share how technology has helped drive behavioural change for the regional hotel business. As we enter autumn, we look to see what a successful transition looks like. Join us as we discuss the staycation trend, managing people from their homes and p...

Back by popular demand, Zoey Henderson has worked closely with hospitality brands to be healthier and more sustainable. During lockdown, she launched her own low alcohol beer Fungtn. I caught up with Zoey to learn more about how she came to produce such a drink that is hoppy, textured – and made from mushrooms.  The pandemic has made us address our own personal health, and as hospitality busi...

With a background in theatre and acting, today’s guest Tom Lionetti-Maguire fell in love with the immersive piece. In 2013 he launched Little Lion Entertainment, and operates the likes of The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience. Their mission is to provide live entertainment where the audience is at the heart of it. With the social industry crashing to an abrupt halt this spring, we find out how Tom navi...

We don’t have the answers yet, but we need to ask the right questions in order to navigate through the pandemic. What’s clear is that the hospitality business model of low profit margins needs to change.  Today’s special episode is from a webinar Michael had the pleasure of being on with Rob Liddiard, Founder of Yapster, and chaired by Matt Coulthard from Bizimply. They talked about operation...

We’re going to take a different view of the hospitality industry today – through the eyes of investment. Today’s guest is Ali Aneizi, a M+A and Private Equity specialist, and founder of Tamweel Capital – an investment advisory boutique focussed on brand led consumer facing businesses. As the industry is going through an intense period of natural selection, we explore what future successful operato...

What do successful leaders look like over the next few months? To get to the heart of this, Michael catches up with leadership expert Caitlyn O'Loughlin to dissect how most often it’s the simple things that stick. As Leadership Trainer at LifeLabs Learning, she’s seen first-hand that people-first companies are succeeding during the pandemic. Tune in to learn more about their learning-approach, wha...

As Victoria, Australia is in its second week of its second lockdown, Michael catches up with hospitality expert Shaun de Vries to see his current outlook of the hospitality industry. With over 23 years experience in hospitality, he’s a true student of the industry. He’s currently the founder and director of Open Pantry Co. and host of The Open Pantry Podcast.  Join us as we explore having a r...

Facing repeat openings and closings in LA, it’s been a tough time for so many restaurant owners. But it’s given today’s guest some serious thinking time about the kind of life he wants to live. For too long, the hospitality industry has been running on long hours, low-profit margins and constant competition. It’s time to change the business model for this industry. Joshua Kopel is an entrepreneur,...

In this episode, Michael has Head of Operations for The Athenian Patrick Gray as a guest. Patrick has a lifetime of experience from many great brands like Bill's Restaurants, Boston Tea Party and many more. The Athenian was born out of love for Greek food. They launched at the business at the end of 2014, as a small street food venture offering freshly made souvlaki prepared in the healthiest, mos...

Following months of being on “soldier mode”, we’ve all experienced overwhelm during the Covid-19 crisis. Now more than ever we need to be taking care of ourselves.  Michael catches up with clinical psychologist Dr Vikki Barnes – a true expert in positive psychology. She is the Founder of Positive Wellbeing, a consultancy which supports the mental health of organisations and their people. Vikk...