The Lights On Podcast

Travis Weber is the Vice President of Sales for the Americas at Duetto, a leading revenue management platform that helps hotels maximize profitability through dynamic pricing and data-driven insights. Duetto has been recognized as the #1 Revenue Management System in the HotelTechAwards for four consecutive years, reflecting its strong reputation in hotel technology. Travis brings a unique perspect...

Bernard Tan is the Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Castle Resorts & Hotels, a Honolulu-based hospitality management company operating a diverse portfolio of hotels, condominium resorts, and vacation rentals across Hawaii and New Zealand. With over 20 years of hospitality and consulting experience, he leads commercial strategy across revenue management, distribution, digital m...

Michael Russell is Co-founder of Howzit Hostels and Malama Capital, where he focuses on hospitality investing, hostel operations, boutique lodging, and experiential real estate. He has experience across short-term rentals, commercial real estate, and hospitality assets, with a focus on acquisitions, repositioning, operations, and portfolio growth. During COVID, Michael acquired a distressed one-st...

Kevin Aucello is the Principal at Powell & Aucello, a Honolulu-based hotel brokerage and advisory firm specializing in hotel investment, transactions, and development across Hawaii, Micronesia, and the South Pacific. With over 30 years of experience in Hawaii's hotel investment market, he has been involved in more than $1.5 billion in hotel real estate projects and is recognized for his deep marke...

Josh Graham is the Head of Market Development for North America at Cloudbeds, a leading hospitality technology company that provides unified, cloud-based solutions for hotels and other lodging businesses. In his role, he drives market awareness and helps hoteliers adopt unified, data-driven solutions to modernize their tech stacks and improve performance. Before Cloudbeds, Josh spent over a decade...

Jessie Fischer is the Founder and CEO of GuestOS, an AI-native communications platform that powers real-time, multilingual guest engagement across hotels, destinations, and global events. Under her leadership, GuestOS has gained rapid traction through industry referrals, with its AI teammates handling up to 30% of hotel calls and freeing staff to focus on in-person guest experiences. Drawing on he...

Susan (Sue) Graves is the Founder and CEO of Experience Alive, a hospitality technology consultancy that helps hotels, restaurants, and convention centers implement sustainable tech solutions to optimize operations and guest experiences. Under her leadership, the company has achieved measurable outcomes, including a 30% increase in sales revenue and a $140 million renovation for a major convention...

Rodger Wada is the Senior Regional Director of Revenue Management at Springboard Hospitality, a leading third-party hotel management company that specializes in driving revenue and operational success for independent and branded hotels across the US. With nearly two decades of experience in hospitality, he has built a strong reputation in the Hawaii market, leading revenue strategy across prominen...

Dan Wacksman is the Founder and CEO of Sassato LLC and Hawaii Hotel Hui, where he leverages decades of expertise to help hotel clients make strategic decisions and execute on marketing, distribution, and technology projects. Under his leadership, Hawaii Hotel Hui has grown into a key industry platform, reaching over 4,000 hospitality professionals across the Hawaiian Islands. With over 20 years of...

Geoff Graf is the Vice President of Business Development at Hogan Hospitality Group, a hotel management company that operates and develops hospitality assets for property owners. He leads efforts to identify opportunities and build strategic partnerships to support portfolio growth. With decades of experience, he has held leadership roles across operations, asset management, and business developme...

Emanuel Moura is the Director of Growth at Lights On, where he leads a holistic approach to hotel marketing that blends paid acquisition, lifecycle email, organic traffic, and data infrastructure into one connected system. Based in Honolulu, he built his career in growth out of college at a Bay Area drone startup before moving into hospitality, and now works across independent and boutique hotels...

Brent Shiratori is the Founder and CEO of Aidia Marketing, a branding and strategic marketing firm that helps organizations build brands that drive growth. With more than 25 years of experience, he has led brand and marketing initiatives across multiple industries, including hospitality, tourism, and technology. Brent previously served as Vice President of Global Brand at Outrigger Resorts & Hotel...

Jesse Stein is the Global Head of Real Estate at Airbnb, a global travel platform that connects guests with unique places to stay and experiences worldwide. He joined Airbnb in 2020 and has played a key role in building partnerships that expand supply, from multifamily housing initiatives to hotel collaborations. Prior to Airbnb, Jesse was a Principal at KHP Capital Partners, where he invested in...

Keri Brown is the Vice President of Commercial Strategy at Lights On, a company that helps independent hotels maximize revenue through expert pricing, distribution, and digital marketing strategies. Throughout her career, Keri has held senior roles at major hospitality brands, including Marriott, Hilton, and Highgate, as well as her most recent position as Area Director of Commercial Strategy at O...

Jacob Messina is the CEO of Stayntouch, a leading hospitality technology firm that provides cloud-based property management systems (PMS) for hotels. Under his leadership since 2022, Stayntouch has achieved record growth and become one of the fastest-adopted PMS platforms in the industry, enabling hotel clients to implement new systems in as little as 48 to 72 hours. Jacob's diverse hospitality ba...

Hillary Folkvord is the Founder of Lady H, a lifestyle and consulting brand focused on hospitality, entrepreneurship, and mentorship. She is the owner and operator of boutique hotels, including RSVP Motel, Farmers Daughters Cafe, and The Cottages at Bigfork, located in Montana. With over 17 years of experience in hospitality, she has expertise in property development, branding, revenue strategy, a...

Kin Sio is the CEO of Lights On, a company specializing in digital marketing and revenue management for independent hotels and resorts. He grew up in Macau and transitioned from a successful tech career to entrepreneurship after acquiring Lights On in early 2025. Drawing on his background in technology and hospitality, Kin helps small hotel businesses optimize pricing, distribution, and their onli...