The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality Podcast

Managing Gen Z hospitality staff means offering skills and purpose instead of a career ladder, says business futurist Kim Seeling Smith on The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality Podcast. With 72% of Gen Z running a side hustle, old-school carrot and stick management only produces short-term compliance. Michelle Pascoe, a Certified Speaking Professional with over 30 years in hospitality, says leaders who...

Real hospitality leadership reduces staff turnover, lifts team productivity, and builds guest loyalty — and according to Eoin Clancy, Principal Associate at Galileo Hospitality Consultants and a 40-year veteran of Hilton, Marriott, and the Cheesecake Factory, the clearest measure of a great leader is simple: would your team drop everything to work with you again? Would you pass that test? Michelle...

Poor customer service keeps winning in registered clubs because the cost of inaction is invisible. Hospitality training expert Michelle Pascoe, a Certified Speaking Professional with over 30 years in the industry, explains that until club leaders build a single service liability number, training investment stays optional, budgets stay cut, and service standards keep drifting. What would change a...

Is customer experience dead? No -- but the way hospitality leaders have been managing it is. Rick Denton, host of CX Passport and a 30-year corporate customer experience veteran, joins Michelle Pascoe to explain why CX as a discipline isn't dying, but the branding around it is -- and what hospitality leaders must do differently to stay ahead. Are your venues investing in the right things, or are y...

Guest loyalty in hospitality breaks down when operators rely on third-party booking platforms and treat checkout as the end of the guest journey. Michelle Pascoe, Certified Speaking Professional and hospitality training expert with over 30 years' experience, explores how hospitality operators can own the guest relationship, reduce platform dependency, and build the direct connections that turn one...

Human connection cannot be automated away in hospitality. Michelle Pascoe, Certified Speaking Professional and hospitality training expert with over 30 years' experience, sits down with Brian Vujnovic, CEO and Co-Founder of MIA Hospitality Management, to explore how AI is reshaping hotel operations and guest experiences while the human touch remains the irreplaceable core of the industry. Can tech...

Building a leadership pipeline in hospitality means investing in your managers' skills, confidence, and capacity before a crisis forces your hand. Michelle Pascoe, Certified Speaking Professional with over 30 years in the Australian hospitality industry, explains why promoting without a development plan sets managers up to struggle and clubs up for costly, avoidable turnover. If your best manager...

Burnout in hospitality teams shows up long before the dramatic crash — in dropped shoulders, extra coffees, and withdrawal from team conversations. Michelle Pascoe, a Certified Speaking Professional with over 30 years' experience in hospitality, and energy coach Rich Ellis share practical tools for reading early warning signs and embedding a simple 1-to-10 check-in system that prevents burnout bef...

Middle management in hospitality is the critical connector between leadership vision and frontline guest delivery. Certified Speaking Professional Michelle Pascoe and leadership expert Hanna Bauer of Heartnomics agree: middle managers who make daily trust deposits, hold non-negotiable service standards, and champion psychological safety are the primary defence against team burnout and high staff t...

Effective restaurant leadership means moving beyond survival mode into a CEO mindset built on three pillars: people, process, and profit. Michelle Pascoe, a hospitality training expert with over 30 years' experience helping clubs, hotels, and hospitality venues build service cultures that retain staff and delight guests, sits down with restaurant coach Christin Marvin to share how independent oper...

When was the last time your venue did something for your community because you decided it mattered — not because a grant required it? In this month's solo recap, Michelle draws on four extraordinary conversations to make the case that community is not something you bolt onto the bottom of your annual report. Community IS the job. Christopher Hill of Hands Up Holidays and Impact Destinations has sp...

Community engagement in registered clubs works when clubs go beyond writing cheques and build genuine relationships with the organisations they fund. In this episode, Michelle Pascoe, Certified Speaking Professional with 30+ years in the hospitality industry, sits down with Club Rivers community engagement leader Jenny Holt to explain why showing up in person — and connecting your community stakeh...

In this episode, I’m joined by Debbie Dickson from The Ary Toukley for a thoughtful and deeply grounded discussion about what community leadership really looks like in clubs and hospitality. We talk about responsibility, visible leadership, staff education and why venues can play such an important role in helping people feel safe, seen and supported. Debbie shares how her club responded to the rea...

When service pressure builds, leadership matters more than ever. In this episode, Michelle Pascoe speaks with Damien Schofield about resilience, calm leadership, communication and team connection in high-pressure environments. Drawing on his experience across security, military support and the Younger Heroes program, Damien explains why teams look to leaders for tone, stability and trust when thin...

Community is often spoken about as a brand value, but in this conversation, Michelle Pascoe and Christopher Hill unpack why it is also a practical strategy for creating better experiences, stronger leadership and deeper loyalty. Christopher shares how his work in purpose-led travel was born from a life-changing moment in South Africa and how that experience shaped a business model built around con...

What will customer service look like in 2026? In this episode, Michelle explores how the future of customer experience in hospitality is being shaped by culture, leadership, employee wellbeing and meaningful measurement. Drawing on insights from recent conversations with hospitality leaders including Andy Goram, Anna Sebastian and Danielle Richardson, we unpack the real drivers behind exceptional...

When we talk about customer service in hospitality, the focus is usually on the guest. But the truth is exceptional guest experiences are created by teams who feel safe, supported, and respected at work. In this episode, hospitality consultant Anna Sebastian joins Michelle to explore why internal customer service — how leaders support and care for their teams — is the foundation of professional st...

How do you create unforgettable customer experiences? The answer might not be where most hospitality leaders are looking. In this episode, Michelle sits down with culture and leadership expert Andy Goram to explore the powerful link between employee experience and customer loyalty. Drawing on decades of hospitality and leadership insight, Michelle and Andy unpack why the best guest experiences sta...

How do you modernise hospitality without losing its heart? In this episode, I’m joined by Danielle Richardson, Joint Director of the Laundy Hotel Group and a fourth-generation leader in Australian hospitality. We explore customer service, community connection, brand positioning and the future of pubs in a rapidly evolving landscape. Danielle shares how growing up in a family hospitality business s...

Is Gen X the most overlooked leadership generation? In this episode, Michelle unpacks the powerful leadership insights from this month's conversations with Kimberly Malcolm, Karen Maher and Michael Kelly — and a surprising theme emerges: Gen X leaders are quietly shaping workplace culture, communication and the next generation of leaders. From psychological safety and respectful workplaces to calm...

Hospitality careers don’t follow straight lines — and that’s exactly where the opportunity lies. In this episode, Kimberley Malcolm, General Manager of Member Experience & Compliance at the Australian Hotels Association (Victoria), shares her journey from pouring beers behind the bar to shaping leadership, compliance and community across the hospitality and gaming sectors. You’ll hear practical in...

How do leaders make a powerful first impression — before they even speak? In this episode, Michelle sits down with leadership communication trainer and pitch advisor Michael Kelly to unpack the subtle (but critical) skills that separate confident leaders from those who struggle to be heard. From body language and vocal tone to pausing, certainty, and executive presence, this conversation is packed...

Content warning: This episode discusses sensitive topics including sexual harassment and workplace safety. In this episode of The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality Podcast, we explore the leadership behaviours that create safer, more respectful hospitality venues — and why hope is not a strategy when it comes to workplace culture. Michelle is joined by Karen Maher, founder of Smart Culture and a leading...

In this special end-of-year episode, Michelle wraps up the December theme of community and shares the most important leadership lessons from over 300 episodes and eight years behind the mic. From heartfelt stories with guests Clare Pearson (Little Wings), Paul Allan (Club Taree) and Natalie Hawkins (Cronulla RSL), to Michelle's own reflections on leadership, resilience, and culture, this episode i...

What does real community leadership look like in 2025 and beyond? In this powerful episode, Michelle sits down with Paul Allan, CEO of Club Taree, to unpack how a regional club created one of Australia’s most impactful community-driven cultures. From raising over $1.6 million, to mobilising Gen Z teams, to conquering the Southern Alps and the Shitbox Rally, Paul reveals the systems, values and min...