No Vacancy Live!

Hotels train teams to spot human trafficking and other suspicious activity. Training alone doesn't solve the handoff problem. #NoVacancyNews I talk with Georgine Muntz (CEO) and Patty Jefferson (Chief Revenue Officer) at Visual Matrix about building reporting into the workflow so staff can act fast without leaving their job to go hunt down a manager. 🧠 Georgine says customers asked for better tra...

I'm recording this from a hotel room because that's where I live now. I keep hearing "AI" in every hotel conversation, so I pulled in Kevin Duncan, Executive Vice President, Product at Cendyn to talk about what actually works—especially at the front desk.  🤖 Kevin explains how Cendyn connects guest data across CRM, CRS, and other systems so teams work from one guest profile instead of disconnecte...

Wahlburgers cleans up the messy parts of growth so quality stays non-negotiable.  I'm in Las Vegas with Randy Sharpe, CEO, President, and board member of Wahlburgers. He breaks down what he changed, what he cut, and how he plans growth without letting the brand drift. 🍔 Randy talks about meeting Mark Wahlberg through a luncheon tied to a tequila investment—and how that turned into the CEO role 🧑...

This week I attended CoralTree Hospitality 's Leadership Forum at Black Desert Resort and spent time with Andre' Fournier , Chief Commercial Officer, about what this event should accomplish once people go back to their hotels on hashtag # NoVacancyNews . Andre explains why CoralTree brings its leaders together, how the company onboarded more than 100 new leaders this year, and how Affinity Teams s...

At CoralTree Hospitality 's Annual Leadership Forum, I talked with Tom Luersen , President of CoralTree Hospitality, for hashtag # NoVacancyNews about what the company expects leaders to do once everyone leaves and goes back to their properties. We get into why they bring people together in the first place, how they use Affinity Clubs to keep projects moving, and how they track progress without tu...

Friday Night Audit: the minisode where karma finally collects… with teeth. #NoVacancyNews   Craig Sullivan and Dr. Producer Suzanne Bagnera, PhD, CHA, CED join me for happy hour storytelling starting with "four time zones in one day" and ends with me getting bitten by something, I never even saw. After 200+ episodes of me slinging insults, I consider this a performance review from the universe.  ...

A $70M reinvestment only matters if guests feel it. I'm in Puerto Rico at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar with Andro Nodarse-Leon , CEO of property owner Lion Grove , for #NoVacancyNews . Andro walks through how the team rethought this 30-year-old resort around how people actually spend time on property—what they do, where they go, and why they stay. Andro explains how the rainforest, beach, and golf co...

Luxury doesn't mean more steps. It means fewer problems before guests even notice them. Suzanne "Dr. Producer" Bagnera, PhD, and I spoke with Mourad Essafi , General Manager of Impression Isla Mujeres (a Hyatt all-inclusive), on #NoVacancyNews about what ultra-luxury actually looks like when you stop adding layers and start removing friction. Mourad talks about how his background in sales and oper...

Most hotels want F&B to drive more revenue. A lot of them still make it harder than it needs to be for guests to actually order. Narda Malakzad and Andrea Laderman, co-founders of Goldi, joined me on #NoVacancyNews to talk about something most hotels underestimate: how dietary needs, allergies, and food preferences quietly kill both guest experience and check size. We talk about what actually happ...

This episode of #NoVacancyNews looks at how a hotel management merger came together — the conversations, timing, and decisions that led up to it. I spoke with Len Wolman, Chairman & CEO of Waterford Hotel Group, and Bob Habeeb, Founder & CEO of Maverick Hotels and Restaurants, about how their relationship developed, how long the process took, and what needed to line up before they moved forward. T...

The gap between luxury hotels and everyone else keeps getting wider — and ignoring it won't make it shrink. Suraj Bhakta, CEO & Chief Legal Officer of NewGen Advisory, and I spoke on #NoVacancyNews about what's driving that divide. More important, we talked through actionable insights owners outside the luxury segment can actually implement. Suraj and I get into why upper upscale and #luxury conti...

Food and beverage does more than fill seats — it creates memories, reasons to return, and stories guests take home. That's the focus of this episode of #NoVacancyNews, filmed across Resorts World Las Vegas. I'm joined by Josef Wagner, Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage at Resorts World Las Vegas, for a walk-and-talk look at how a modern integrated resort uses F&B to drive engagement beyond g...

Most hotels look good. That's not the problem. The harder part is giving people a reason to stay longer, spend more, and remember why they were there in the first place. In this episode of #NoVacancyNews , I talk with Alexis Readinger , Founder of Preen , about food-and-beverage design and how often hotels get it almost right — and why "almost" usually isn't enough. Alexis and I get into why so ma...

What hotel owners and investors are doing matters more than what gets said on stage. In this episode of No Vacancy , Glenn Haussman connects with Bruce Ford , SVP at Lodging Econometrics , as he reports from ALIS in Los Angeles. Bruce shares what he's seeing in the data and hearing in off-the-record conversations. The discussion focuses on how owners weigh new development versus conversions, how c...

This Day 3 ALIS update focuses on what the data shows — not predictions, not sentiment. In this episode of No Vacancy , Glenn Haussman connects remotely with Bruce Ford , SVP at Lodging Econometrics , who is on the ground at ALIS in Los Angeles. Bruce walks through current pipeline data and how it lines up with conversations happening at the conference. The discussion stays focused on pipeline mix...

Regional casino resorts don't win anymore by adding square footage — they win by designing experiences that keep guests longer and spending more. That's the focus of this episode of #NoVacancyNews . I'm joined by Kelly Devine , Principal and Partner, and Emily Marshall , Principal and Interior Design Leader at HBG Design , and guest host Dr. Suzanne Bagnera to talk about the evolution of regional...

Hotel loyalty gets talked about a lot. This conversation focuses on how it actually works. For this #NoVacancyNews , I spoke with Chris Hartley , CEO of Global Hotel Alliance , about what loyalty looks like when you stop chasing vanity metrics and start paying attention to repeat behavior, engagement, and direct bookings. Chris explains how GHA approaches loyalty across a global portfolio of indep...

I'm still not at ALIS — snowstorms and airlines had other plans — but that doesn't stop the conversation. This episode of #NoVacancyNews brings Day 2 coverage straight from Los Angeles. Our roving reporter is Bruce Ford , SVP at Lodging Econometrics , reporting live from ALIS while I hold down the Haussman Resort Pool Club & Smokehouse under about 10 inches of snow. Bruce and I talk through what k...

When rooms, tech, and amenities start to feel the same, hotels lean on food and beverage to differentiate — and that's the focus of this episode of #NoVacancyNews , recorded during ALIS. I'm joined by Phil Colicchio and Trip Schneck of Colicchio Consulting , talking from Los Angeles while I deal with snow back home. We talk about the pressure hoteliers feel around food and beverage right now — ris...

As markets mature, they begin to specialize. That's something we're seeing more in extended stay and this episode of #NoVacancyNews shows the next stage of evolution when hotels borrow from apartment living and do it thoughtfully. I'm joined by Kate Thompson, Director of Commercial at Sage Hospitality Group, to talk about The Ann Savannah—an apartment-style hospitality concept built for guests who...

I didn't make it to ALIS this year thanks to a snowstorm — and Delta taking our pilot as we were boarding!! But we're not letting 2,500 miles get in the way of a little #NoVacancyNews content. Bruce Ford, SVP at Lodging Econometrics, is reporting from ALIS while I shovel snow back at the Haussman Resort Pool Club & Smokehouse. Bruce and I talk #hotel franchising trends right now: 🏗️: Why conversio...

In TV we'd call this a filler episode. Craig is in Hawaii and we're sure he wants to be elsewhere. Plus we have no guest. Glenn claims he has some stories though while Suzanne shakes her head in disbelief. Tune and find out!

Building franchise relationships isn't about brand standards — it's about listening, flexibility, and time in the field. That idea sits at the center of this episode of #NoVacancyNews . I'm in Massachusetts at the global headquarters of Sonesta International Hotels , talking with Phil Hugh , Chief Development Officer. Phil walks through how stepping into the CDO role pushed him out of the office a...

Luxury shows up in the small moments, not the marble — and that idea sits at the core of this episode of #NoVacancyNews. I spent time with Christophe Baraton, General Manager of Shutters on the Beach, to talk about what hospitality looks like when you lead from the property level instead of a spreadsheet. Christophe runs a 30-year-old beachfront hotel with deep roots in its local community, long-t...

Hotelier and comedian Alex Coury returns to join Glenn, Craig and Doctor Producer Suzanne to kick off the weekend with a hilarious (they wish) happy hour.