It's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast

Anu discusses how she found her path into hospitality through management consulting and how she was inspired by leadership dedication and corporate culture in making that career decision.  She shares how important her support system is for her and the strategies she's implemented for overcoming negative thoughts. Anu also talks about the important step we should all take before advocating for...

Chip has an incredibly broad network, but more than that, he’s been described as a Social Alchemist, someone who can engage his network in a way that’s transformative for them.  He shares how he developed this talent and talks about the importance of curiosity and a growth mindset.  He offers specific advice for taking risks and his tips for tackling self-doubt.  Chip describes Process Knowledge,...

Peggy shares how she overcame adversity to become the first women elected to PKF Consulting’s partnership as well as the surprising (for some!) P.I.E. elements for success and advice for introverts.  She also shares the story of how Castell Project, the nonprofit she founded to advance women in hospitality leadership, got started - and what’s next to continue helping women advance in hospitality l...

Melissa Maher, who has spent over three decades in the hospitality industry, including serving as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Inclusion Officer for Fortune 500 Expedia Group, shares her personal journey to leadership and lessons she’s learned along the way.  Melissa discusses the importance of asking for what you want, seeking out new challenges to advance your career, and staying positive a...

Dr. Chon, Dean and Chair Professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University,  shares his career journey ascending to his current role and how he transformed the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. We discuss innovation, networking and dumping "head trash". Dr. Chon shares his thoughts on the most important q...

Abby discusses how authenticity and kindness together are where real power comes from.  She talks about how she was able to reopen the resort and quickly fill almost every open position by first establishing the key characteristics and values for certain roles and ensuring they had an inclusive list of qualified candidates.  When leading diverse teams, Abby advises leaders to start by building tru...

Amy shares her journey, which began as a first-generation college student, and how leaning into discomfort and saying yes to opportunities has propelled her career.  She shares how her network helps her to solve issues and explains how different mentors can come in and out of your life.  Amy also provides insights on managing diverse teams and creating an inclusive culture, and why vulnerability c...

Based on Dr. Russen’s recent research on DEI in the hospitality industry, these distinguished professors from hospitality programs discuss the importance of first creating an inclusive culture, so diverse hires can add value and thrive in their new companies.  They also discuss the need for individuals to establish a supportive network and become allies for others, and they encourage managers and...

Ashli discusses having a plan for your career and how to find your voice and advocate for yourself.  As the inaugural Executive Director of the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership at Howard University, she explains one of the reasons black enrollment in hospitality programs has been low, and what her future plans are for Howard’s hospitality program.  She also encourages women and...

Juliette Boone is the managing director and co-founder of an executive recruiting firm. In this episode, Juliette shares her advice for those looking to advance their careers. She also gives pointers for drafting a resume, the importance of LinkedIn, and how other social media channels may play a role in hiring decisions.  Juliette also talks about interview preparation strategies and her advice t...

Fran shares her journey in hospitality including the launch of TIEWN and BLLA, both now very impactful industry organizations.  She talks about the critical importance of public speaking skills, having a positive mindset to accomplish anything you set your mind to, and relying on the right people around you.  Fran also discusses overcoming obstacles and taking risks and why you should always bring...

Krissy shares her journey into hospitality, culminating in the c-suite as well as public company board seats.  She talks about how to start and then grow the critical skill of public speaking and how she tackles taking risks. Krissy also discusses how she balances her career and her family and other aspects of her life, the role mentors and champions have played in her life and why she takes such...

Julienne shares her personal journey to the c-suite, with initial stops in the tech world and construction and real estate, then landing in the hospitality industry. She discusses how pros and cons lists help her evaluate and tackle risks, the time she empowered herself by improving her public speaking skills, and the impact that mentors and champions have had on her career. She offers tips on rel...

Dr. Rach shares highlights of her Amazon Best Seller "Managing The Book on You" including the need to communicate who we have become, advocating for self, correcting first impressions, embracing our uniqueness, jumping to conclusions, the contagion of mediocrity, fear of failing, finding inspiration, and shifting from the public us to the private us. Dr. Rach also comments on Carol Burne...

Terri shares her path to leadership and the role her family played in developing her character and career journey.  She talks about the importance of leading with kindness first, her strategies for developing relationships and support systems, and how her courage helped her lead during the pandemic.  Terri also shares how she can be impacted by her own negative self-talk and what she does to try t...

Sloan became CEO at the age of 38. In this interview, he talks about factors contributing to his success and his advice to his younger self. Sloan also discusses  leading with empathy and his personal brand statement. He ends with some advice to aspiring women and minorities.

Pat shares his background and the contributing factors to his success at Choice Hotels International. He talks about his approach to challenges and advice to his younger self. Pat also touches on the inequity he sees with the lack of women and minorities in executive leadership positions and his advice to them to achieve their career aspirations.

In this episode, we discuss how Kevin’s intellectual curiosity and efforts to develop skills that made him valuable to his companies helped advance his career.  He shares the stories of why he left Host, just as Chris Nassetta was becoming an important mentor to him, and how they reconnected when Chris joined Hilton.  Kevin describes how he approaches and embraces challenges.  He explains how seek...

Dorraine talks about her unexpected path into the hotel industry, why it's so important for women to advocate for themselves, and how she overcomes obstacles when faced with challenges.  She also discusses how she builds relationships and continues to learn and grow and why it's so important for her to be a mentor and champion for the next generation of women in hospitality. Dorraine als...

Tina shares her path from assistant at G6 to the c-suite at the same company 24 years later.  She discusses the mentors and champions who supported her along the way, how she advocates for herself, and the strategies she uses to approach her public speaking.  Tina also shares the intentionality she uses in networking situations, why it's important to celebrate your successes, and how executiv...

Malaika shares how learning a lesson the “hard way” taught her to get support, buy in and alignment across the organization on her future projects, and how her mentors helped her understand the bigger picture at critical points in her career.  She discusses the importance of figuring out what you want to do early on and setting goals for yourself beyond annual goals.  She offers tips for creating...

In this episode, Amazon best seller author Renie Cavallari discusses lessons learned as she grew her company over the past 26 years, strategies to dump the ugly voices that suck our energy and cause stress, how she survived the pandemic through clarity in her plans, how to work with people with "big lies" and how she helped her clients overcome their struggles and challenges as an execut...

Renie talks about her Amazon Best Seller "Head Trash" and how we can dump those ugly voices that inhibit us from realizing out potential. Learn how to use shift questions to become constructive and productive. Renie talks about being aware of the big lies we tell ourselves and how we can develop the proper mindset to complement our skill set and process set. Hear how Renie's work as...

Ted is the CEO of DerbySoft, a leading hospitality technology company that provides distribution connectivity, marketing campaign management and content management services in 197 countries. In this interview, Ted shares his vision of a connected world, his endeavors to help employees tie their daily work to company strategies, and how he builds inclusion and coalesces diversity in language, cultu...

John shares the factors that have helped him be successful, which include being a good communicator both verbally and in writing, raising his hand to help, and being willing to try new things.  He also discusses how, early in his career, he learned from the successful people around him to approach problem solving by asking positive questions.  In building his network, John believes developing a tr...