No Vacancy Live!

Subscribe to the newsletter: Text 'hotel' to 66866 Bestselling author, hospitality entrepreneur, disruptive business rebel, and social change agent, Chip Conley is a leader at the forefront of the sharing economy. At age 26, he founded  Joie de Vivre Hospitality  by transforming an inner-city motel and parlayed that into the second largest boutique hotel brand in the world. In 2013, he helped tran...

Veteran restaurant and celebrity chef marketer Herb Karlitz is the visionary behind food festival culture and some of the country's most notable food focused events. He's worked with chefs like Daniel Boulud, Emeril Lagasse, Michael White  and Marcus Samuelsson, with whom he created Harlem EatUp! You my not know him, but you've enjoyed events such as The New York Wine & Food Festival, The Chocolat...

Parris Jordan, Chairman of the Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS), talks to Glenn about the state of the Caribbean. Topics: Is tourism business permanently destroyed, what's the true status of Puerto Rico, what islands were left unscathed, is there a path to recovery, silver lining opportunities. Then, Glenn speaks with Andrew Cohan, Managing Director of Horwath HTL...

Laurent Magnin, CEO of France based XL Airways is the ultimate aviation enthusiast. His goal is to make us love flying again, so we asked him how he managed to get XL to be the top tourist airline for French Tour Operators under his stewardship. We learn all about he's making flying magical again. But first, Glenn has a lot of complaining to do about how US airlines treat loyal customers, and why...

A difficult subject to talk about in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, but one that needs to take place. Glenn speaks with Mac Segal, Head of Fixed Site & Hotel Security Consulting with AS Solution. He's a renowned hotel security expert and we talk about all the issues you want answers to. They discuss, the state of hotel security, is it possible to beef it up, will that actually happen, and lot...

Today we speak with Larry Hambro, VP of Brand Operations with Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham. They discuss how the brand fits into the wider hotel business, his plans for brand expansion, a new grocery delivery service they've started and overall extended stay sector performance.  First, Glenn speaks with Roger Miller, President of RA Miller Hospitality Sales & Marketing Services and Consulting. They...

Hotel Impossible host Anthony Melchiorri is back with all new episodes of Hotel Impossible starting October 2. And he's got a new show too. "Extreme Hotels" is an all new series, launching that very same night at 9pm on the Travel Channel. Glenn and Anthony discuss getting freaked out at a haunted hotel, going to extreme places for extreme experiences, and how this all applies to the mainstream ho...

This week, Glenn has one of his most personally gratifying interviews. Todd English helped create the mold for the modern celebrity chef. He's been a huge fixture and influencer for decades, creating trends we all take for granted . Take food halls, we recorded this show at the Todd English Food Hall, which has been a NY fixture for years. Now every superstar chef is entering this business. First,...

Carlos Flores, President & Chief Executive Officer of Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, just secured a deal for 14 new properties to join the Sonesta ES Suites brand. The brand gets an immediate boost by about 30% and sets the stage for the company's emphasis on extended stay. They also discuss issues such as staying independent when major companies keep getting bigger, and why extended st...

In today's bonus episode, we speak with Sky Tucker of Bartech Systems International. Glenn gets schooled in minibars and the guys go through all the classic arguments why investing in minibars is a horrible thing to do. Truths revealed about how this amenity influences guest satisfaction, while creating a new profit center. Sky also shares combat duplicitous guests looking to steal minibar booze....

This week we learn strategies to make our career work smoothly when faced with adversity. In this case, a total a%$hole. Glenn speak with Bob Sutton, author of the Asshole Survival Guide . Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University.  He co-founded the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design ("the d school").  He is a Fe...

We're getting set to launch a new hotel history podcast we expect will run every other week. Here's our test show, focusing on the Georgian Terrace hotel in Atlanta.  It's an amazing story of a grande dame that hosted the movie premier party for Gone With The Wind. Then it became a home to vagrants, lowlifes and the old Angora Ballroom, which hosted bands like U2 in the early days. Now it's risen...

Today we focus on the impact of Hurricane Harvey and what you can do to help. Glenn speaks with AAHOA Vice Chairman, HP Patel on how the hotel industry is helping those displaced by the storm, and how it is helping fellow hoteliers whose hotels have been destroyed or damaged by the disaster. Glenn also speaks to hotelier Sunny Tolani who reports on how his GMs are helping people affected by the hu...

Glenn was a guest a couple of weeks back on Check Out California , a radio show all about the California hotel business.  The show, hosted by lodging industry superstars Raad Ghantous and Craig Sullivan, was originally broadcast live on August 16. We secured the recording for distribution on the No Vacancy feed. Listen in to the show on the first and third Wednesday every month from 1pm to 2pm Cal...

First up, Glenn and Jeff Polly provide valuable insight on how to create, foster and feed a hotel's social media strategy. It's not as easy as sending a few tweets, and the guys share best practices, as well as what not to do in order to find success via this online medium. Then, Casandra Matej, CDME, CTA, President & CEO, Visit San Antonio on what makes their destination a favorite for convention...

Glenn spent two weeks in Israel, and shares his adventures with Rebecca Alesia, who conveniently booked the trip for him in her capacity as a travel curator with SmartFlyer. The talk the Old City of Jerusalem, Dead Sea, rafting down the Jordan River, riding on ATVs through a blown out Syrian military base, digging up treasures from 2,300 years ago and much more. Then, Glenn speaks with Michaela Gu...

Hey folks! I was in the amazing land of Israel for two weeks for some learning, eating, relaxing and family fun time. Enjoy this video report of what I learned and where I went.  Highlights: Riding an ATV through an abandoned Syrian military base Going on an archaeological and digging up 2,300 year old artifacts The story of Masada, the Western Wall and other critical historical sites.  Swimming i...

In celebration of the life of an industry icon, we present to you an interview with Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar, who passed away last month. This interview was recorded several years ago, and we at the No Vacancy podcast felt we needed to share this 'lost' interview with all of you. He was a mastermind who oversaw the development of EPCOT Center (now known as  Epcot ) at Florida's Walt Disney Wor...

Glenn talks with Hilton's Ayesha Williams on finding the next generation of talent for the hotel business as the industry expands, requiring the expansion of finding and curating new industry superstars. But first, Glenn checks in with TravelClick's John Hach on what you need to know about the state of the hotel industry, where it's headed and lots more. Visit our sponsor:  Kevin Barry Fine Art He...

Hey, you got your museum in my hotel. Well, YOU got your hotel in my museum. That sums up the 21c Museum Hotels concept that's finding success in tier 2 cities such as Louisville, Nashville and Oklahoma City. Glenn talks with Craig Greenberg, the company's president about this very interesting hotel brand. 21c founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson love contemporary art, by creating brand mixin...

Glenn is back with Rick Garlick, Global Travel and Hospitality Practice Lead at J.D. Power , when they dished on social media myths last spring. Hear that show here . Now he is back to talk about which hotels landed in the number one spot on the company's highly respected annual 2017 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study. What we learned: Winning is about understanding your target cus...

Glenn chats with Michael Flaskey, CEO, Diamond Resorts International , and it's all about timeshare . Topics include how timeshare fits snugly into the travel economy, the importance of customer services in the hospitality industry, how Diamond Resorts caters to customers, the value equation of owning timeshare, timeshare industry regulation, ARDA , and how Diamond Resorts' Diamond Clarity sales p...

Marketing to customers in 2017 is tough. The rules have changed, but so has Dorothy Dowling's strategies. In this episode, we explore how Best Western Hotels & Resorts' SVP and Chief Marketing Officer creates marketing plans the better connect with potential guests. We talk about the Stratosphere in Las Vegas affiliating with BW Premier Collection, innovative partnerships with the Disney Channel (...

Happy Birthday America! Glenn kicks off the show out at The End. That's Montauk, Long Island to all you non NYers. He's at the amazing Montauk Yacht Club talking with the hotel's parent company IGY Marinas . He chats with CEO Tom Mukamal, and Charlie Irons, VP Hospitality. They discuss the strategy of running seasonal businesses, and how IGY plans to expand from servicing guests offshore to ones i...

Planning meetings is a laborious process. As a matter of fact, it's pretty time consuming for on-property sales professionals too. Meanwhile, technology has created opportunity virtually everywhere, but the meetings side of the business acts as if its still 1985. Not anymore.  IVvy is leveraging the power of the cloud by offering meeting planners the ability to search, compare, and book function s...