The Hospitality Mentor

Welcome back to another office hours session! Before Steve dives into the Q&A, he shares his experiences from the ongoing challenge of visiting 50 hotels in 50 days, focusing on finding unique, accessible amenities in hotels.  Steve then answers questions from listeners, addressing subjects like using technology to improve customer experiences, managing high guest turnover in vacation rentals,...

This week, Steve is sitting down with Omri Shalev, the CTO and co-founder of Reeco. Reeco is a company aiming to simplify the hospitality industry's operational side. Omri shares his journey from falling in love with coding in Mexico City at 15, through his various roles in startups and big tech companies like Samsung and Microsoft, to co-founding Reeco. Reeco's mission is to streamline hospitalit...

Tune in to hear the most downloaded episode of The Hospitality Mentor podcast, an interview with Mary Rogers! She is now the Managing Director and Area General Manager for these hotels: Montage Healdsburg, Pendry San Diego, Pendry West Hollywood. Mary has had an incredible career in hospitality, from starting at the age of 13 working at a small bed and breakfast in Ireland to managing the Fontaine...

Gabriel Perez, COO of Lodging for the Indigo Road Hospitality Group, shares his extensive journey in the hospitality industry, beginning as a pool bar attendant in Venezuela. With experiences ranging from managing operations at the Intercontinental Hotel to navigating the challenges of condominium hotels and the impacts of the 2008 financial crisis, Gabriel provides valuable insights into the rewa...

Sami Kohen, Vice President of Food and Beverage for Princess Cruises, joins Steve this week to share his remarkable journey from working as a bellman in Istanbul to excelling in various roles across the hospitality and cruise industry. Sami dives into his entrepreneurial endeavors and challenges in Miami's restaurant scene, his transition from on-ship to shore-side roles, his achievements and less...

Lance Sanson, Vice President of Campus Dining at John Knox Village, exploring his extensive career in hospitality. Starting as a busboy in Eugene, Oregon, Lance describes his early years, learning under notable figures, progressing through various roles including management positions in airport dining and eventually transitioning into senior living facility dining services. He outlines the evoluti...

Dive into the exciting world of Airbnb in this podcast episode, where we uncover how Airbnb is changing the game in travel and leisure. We look into why Airbnb stands out, focusing on its new types of stays, high-end offerings, and how it uses artificial intelligence to tailor experiences just for you. The episode also highlights the huge interest in Airbnb rentals for the upcoming US solar eclips...

This week, we're excited to revisit Kirk Peterson's episode. Kirk is the President at Sightline Hospitality and his journey in the hospitality industry, starting from his very first job in food and beverage at a country club to becoming an influential figure in the industry, is fascinating. Kirk discusses the critical role mentors played in his career, the importance of relationships and hard work...

Christopher Calabrese, the Vice President and General Manager of the JW Marriott Resort and Spa and Marriott Cancun, joins the Hospitality Mentor Podcast to share his career journey and insights about the hospitality industry. Christopher discusses his roots in hospitality, which began in his mother's kitchen, and his move to roles across the United States and eventually internationally. He talks...

Cole Boucher, the founder and president of Essential Hospitality, joins Steve today to share his journey in the hospitality industry. Cole's first job started in his family’s company, Boucher Brothers, on Miami beach at the age of 13, and since then he hasn’t stopped. He decided to leave college and start his business, Essential Hospitality, which caters more towards larger hotels, assisting in ho...

In this office hours show, Steve is answering listener questions live from LinkedIn! Steve shares his process of becoming an entrepreneur in hospitality, gives advice for entrepreneurs wishing to enter the hospitality market, and shares strategies for selecting hotels when traveling. You'll also hear his advice for vendors on understanding each hotel's unique needs and highlights how AI can help i...

Nico Foris, CEO of Guest Services Inc, joins Steve in this episode to chat about his journey in the hospitality industry. Starting as a dishwasher at 12 years old, he progressed through various industries, including working as CFO for the Washington Commanders before landing his current role at Guest Services Inc. He shares his insights about the value of hard work, relationship building, listenin...

In this episode, Steve is joined by Sarah Dandashy, a seasoned hospitality expert, best-selling author and travel personality. Sarah discusses her career evolution, starting as a hostess to becoming a renowned concierge at luxury hotels and eventually launching her own successful social media platform 'Ask a Concierge'. Sarah shares what she learned from being a concierge, how she began building h...

In this solo episode, Steve shares his experience from a family trip to Washington, DC, praising the excellent services at the Intercontinental Hotel at The Wharf. Steve also answers several listener questions on topics such as the impact of climate change on travel choices, emerging accommodations for digital nomads, evolving trends in air travel, technology innovations in travel, culinary hotspo...

This week, we're revisiting an all-time favorite episode with Thatcher Brown, Chief Commercial Officer & Head of Joint Yacht Operations at Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings LTD, Owner and Joint Operator of Four Seasons Yachts. Thatcher has extensive international hospitality and travel-related business experience from working in the U.S and Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He has held senio...

Happy New Year! Today, Steve is excited to share his interview with Said Haykal, the General Manager of Faena Hotel Miami Beach & District. This interview was the most downloaded episode of 2023 for The Hospitality Mentor podcast. Said is an experienced operations leader with a ultra-successful career of working in the luxury hospitality industry. He has been involved in opening some of the mo...

In this episode, you will hear from Shawn Tarter - the founder of Realtime Reservation. Shawn describes how he went from working in the finance industry to hospitality, how he got the idea for Realtime Reservation the process of building the technology, why it's important to know about the tech that you represent, why hotels are late adopters to technology, his message to brands that are consideri...

Today, you will hear Steve Turk's guest appearance on the Behind the Stays podcast with host Zach Busekrus. Zach is the Co-Founder of Sponstayneous, a platform like Scott's Cheap Flights but for Airbnbs. Each Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, Sponstayneous releases a carefully curated list of 150 of the best last-minute deals on Airbnb from Canada to the Caribbean and California to Maine. Thro...

In this episode, we explore the hospitality industry's latest trends and stories. Highlights include the grand opening of the Fontainebleau hotel, an $800K diamond ring found at the Ritz in Paris, and the latest online reputation rankings of hotel brands. We also preview Accor's 2024 hotel openings and discuss the emerging trend of 'surprise travel'. Insights into winter travel disruptions at U.S....

Welcome back to another solo show! In this episode, Steve is answer listener questions about hospitality from all around the country. First, Steve recaps Art Basel and how to create unique experiences around the holidays. You'll also hear his thoughts on spiritual tourism, how to tap into the local culture, the importance of backstories in building a hospitality brand, implementing sustainable pra...

In this episode, we delve into various pertinent topics relating to the travel industry. We kick off with the bipartisan No Hidden Fees Act of 2023, which aims to ensure transparency in travel industry pricing. We also discuss a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council, which shows a significant decrease in the sector's water usage. The proposed Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines merger is scrutiniz...

Hamish Brown joins Steve for this episode of The Hospitality Mentor podcast to talk all about his journey in hospitality design. Hamish is Partner at 1508 London, an interior and architecture design studio that creates exceptional spaces worldwide. Hamish graduated from the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design and has been with 1508 London for 13 years, where he has been a Business Development M...

In this episode of Good Morning Hospitality with Sarah Dandashy and Steve Turk, we are excited to have William "Chip" Rogers, President & CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, as our special guest. Chip will share his thoughts on the current state of the hotel/hospitality industry and discuss some of the latest legislation in LA and NJ. Additionally, he will be talking about the...

Join Steve as he chats with some of the hospitality industry's leading HR professionals. You will hear advice and stories from how Isabel Porzecanski, Geri Williams-Fitts, and Laura Barbieri have created successful careers for themselves as HR leaders in hospitality. Isabel is the President of People Traction, Geri is the Chief People Officer at Highgate, and Laura Barbieri is a Corporate Human Re...

Join Steve for a solo show where he is answering your questions! First, you'll hear about Steve's event at FIU and how you can use Hospitality Mentor GPT as a resource. Up next, Steve's answers to questions about iconic restaurant brands expanding to other cities, how historic culinary legacies can maintain their original essence in modern settings, luxury hotel brands moving to the yachting indus...